Fall 2023

Kendrick Lamar

Platinum Rap Artist

From the Series Gateway Biographies

  • Interest Level: Grade 4 - Grade 8
  • Reading Level: Grade 5

Kendrick Lamar is American hip-hop royalty, with twenty-three tracks and three albums that have sold more than a million copies and gone platinum. As a respected MC, Lamar speaks to socially conscious issues and racial injustice in his lyrics. His fans connect with his music and message, and he rocketed to star status.

Born in Compton, California, Lamar witnessed hardships early in life, from seeing a shooting and racial riots to poverty. He turned those experiences and thoughts into words when he realized his love for writing, especially lyrics. Lamar learned songwriting from some of his musical heroes—DMX, Snoop Dogg, and Jay Z. Then his mixtapes got him signed to a label and his music started hitting the charts. Soon Lamar was going on tour and winning Grammys, and today this rapper’s music influences and reaches fans around the world.

Format Your Price Add
978-1-7284-9174-5
$23.99
979-8-7656-0294-2
$11.99
978-1-7284-9751-8
$35.99
Available at all major wholesalers and distributors. Save 25% when you buy direct!
Interest Level Grade 4 - Grade 8
Reading Level Grade 5
Genre Social Studies
Category 5 Kinds of Nonfiction, 5KN: Narrative Nonfiction, Biography, Diverse Books: Race & Ethnicity, Diverse Books: Social Justice, Diversity
Copyright 2024
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Lerner Publications ™
Language English
Number of Pages 48
Publication Date 2023-08-01
Text Type Narrative Nonfiction
BISACS JNF007040, JNF007110, JNF036060
Dewey 782.421649092 [B]
Dimensions 7 x 9
Lexile 930
ATOS Reading Level 6.0
Accelerated Reader® Points 1.0
Features Bibliography/further reading, Index, Source notes, Teaching Guides, and Timeline

Lerner eSource™ offers free digital teaching and learning resources, including Common Core State Standards (CCSS) teaching guides. These guides, created by classroom teachers, offer short lessons and writing exercises that give students specific instruction and practice using Common Core skills and strategies. Lerner eSource also provides additional resources including online activities, downloadable/printable graphic organizers, and additional educational materials that would also support Common Core instruction. Download, share, pin, print, and save as many of these free resources as you like!

Gateway Biographies

Discover the human side of newsworthy, historical, and pop culture figures, and learn about people leading key social movements or handling crises. Each biography in this easy-reading series is peppered with quotations and stories, accounts of successes and failures, and descriptions of… View available downloads →