The 2018 Pulitzer Prizes have been announced, and there were many expected winners of American journalism's highest accolade including a joint prize for The New Yorker and The New York Times' coverage of the Harvey Weinstein scandal. The biggest surprise, however, came when Kendrick Lamar's Grammy-winning album DAMN took the Pulitzer Prize for Music.
It's a nearly unprecedented occasion; almost every award winner that has preceded Lamar has recorded a jazz or classical composition. That the first mainstream musician to take the prize is also a rapper is incredibly telling of the influence Lamar's words have on listeners.
Although he didn't win the Grammy for Album of the Year in January (DAMN lost to Bruno Mars's 24K Magic, but it did win the Grammy for Best Rap Album), this latest award shows that the Pulitzer committee does have its finger on the pulse in a way the Recording Academy does not.
"The time was right," Dana Canedy, the administrator of the prizes, said in an interview shortly after the announcement.
"We are very proud of this selection. It means that the jury and the board judging system worked as it’s supposed to — the best work was awarded a Pulitzer Prize."
She added: "It shines a light on hip-hop in a completely different way. This is a big moment for hip-hop music and a big moment for the Pulitzers."
The board described the album as "a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life."
Tyler Coates is the Senior Culture Editor at Esquire.com. He lives in Los Angeles.
