Kendrick Lamar’s highly anticipated headlining Super Bowl performance is coming, and Billboard‘s breaking down his journey on the Billboard 200 and Billboard Hot 100, from Overly Dedicated to his latest project, GNX.

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Tetris Kelly:
It’s no secret: Everybody’s excited to see Kendrick Lamar take the stage at the Super Bowl Halftime Show. But who is Kendrick? What’s his story? And how did he land on the world’s biggest stage? This is Billboard Explains: How Kendrick Lamar Arrived at the Super Bowl.

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born on June 17, 1987 in Compton, Calif. Growing up, he took an interest in poetry and creative writing, and excelled academically. Having witnessed gang violence and police brutality at an early age, Kendrick processed his trauma through stories and poems, before later turning them into lyrics. At 16, Kendrick made his first mixtape, 2003’s Y.H.N.I.C. (Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year) under the name K-Dot. The project led him to signing with the independent label Top Dawg Entertainment. He dropped more mixtapes, until he decided to go by his real name – Kendrick Lamar – and dropped his fourth mixtape, Overly Dedicated, which was his Billboard chart debut.

Kendrick then made his Billboard 200 debut with Section.80 in 2011, reaching No. 113. In 2012, Kendrick dropped Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, featuring singles like “Poetic Justice” and “Swimming Pools (Drank),” which was his Billboard Hot 100 debut. He followed that up with his next album, To Pimp a Butterfly, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The album featured the track “I,” which won him his first Grammys for best rap song and best rap performance. Then came his third studio album, DAMN., in 2017. The album earned him another No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and featured the track “Humble,” which peaked at No. 1 on the Hot 100. 

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