Image via Getty/Kevin Mazur
Yes, it’s here. It has been nearly five years since Kendrick Lamar released his last studio album Damn. But at last, a new Kendrick Lamar album will finally arrive. Whether you know him best as Kung Fu Kenny, King Kunta, Cornrow Kenny, K-Dot, or King Kendrick, it’s undeniable that Kendrick is already cemented as one of hip-hop’s greatest rappers. And while his bars have constantly received critical acclaim since the days of releasing singles like “Hiiipower ‘’ for Section.80, it’s about time his great sense of style receives some recognition too. While Kendrick isn’t typically put into the same spotlight when it comes to fashion compared to artists like Tyler, the Creator or Playboi Carti, he has pulled off some great fits within the past decade. In some cases, his co-sign even helped blow up some brands that are worn by tons of celebrities today.
Kendrick typically dresses in a more humble fashion compared to his dripped out contemporaries, but he has gone all out on some of his looks over the years. He was wearing Pyrex Vision hoodies weeks after Virgil Abloh introduced the brand in the early-2010s, and wearing archival Raf Simons and Craig Green pieces for recent performances at the Grammys.
To celebrate the release of his fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, we rounded up some of the best Kendrick Lamar outfits of all time. Scroll down to take a look at how K-Dot’s style has evolved over the years.
BET Hip-Hop Awards
When: 2012
Standout Piece: Rhude T-shirt
The 2012 BET Hip-Hop Awards was a monumental moment for a young Kendrick Lamar. At the time, K-Dot was just 25-years-old and still riding off the success of his independently released debut studio album Section.80, which he dropped in 2011. By the time the 2012 BET Hip-Hop Awards came around, Kendrick had signed to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment and was gearing up to release Good Kid, M.A.A.D City later that year. At the awards show, Kendrick performed the album’s lead singles, “The Recipe” and “Swimming Pools (Drank).” He wore a black bandana T-shirt, which was actually the very first release from a new Los Angeles-based clothing brand at the time called Rhude. The rapper also wore a red colorway of the T-shirt when accepting his award for “Lyricist of The Year,” pairing it with a jeans and some loosely-laced Timbs. Originally, Rhude’s founder, Rhuigi Villaseñor, had no plans to sell the T-shirt that he designed for himself until Kendrick’s stylist hit him up. When Kendrick wore his T-shirt at the BET Awards, it jump started the now-revered West Coast label that’s gone on to be co-signed by a countless number of rappers and celebrities. “[After] he performed in my shirt, I remember I was in a car with my sister, at the time we were driving a beat-up Forerunner, but I woke up and saw my phone make 100 racks off Paypal,” Villasenor told Complex in an interview back in 2017. “I cried to my sister because I came from stretching $10 to 100 racks. It changed my life.” Clearly, Kendrick has always held it down for LA since day one.
'Late Show with David Letterman'
When: 2013
Standout Piece: Pyrex Vision Hoodie
Days after releasing the music video for “Poetic Justice” with Drake, Kendrick came on the Late Show With David Letterman to perform one of the biggest singles to come off Good Kid, M.A.A.D City with a live band that included Terrace Martin on the saxophone. On his way out of the Ed Sullivan Theater, he stopped and signed autographs for fans in a hoodie that is familiar to any streetwear enthusiast. Yes sir, Kendrick was on the work of the late Virgil Abloh quite early as he’s seen in this photo wearing a Pyrex Vision “Caravaggio” hoodie just months after Abloh unveiled his first solo fashion endeavor. Clearly, Kendrick was tapping into a street goth vibe with this look as seen with his leather motorcycle pants and Christian Louboutin sneakers. While ASAP Rocky probably pulled off a similar look around the same time, we got to give it up for Kendrick for tapping into Pyrex Vision so early.
‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ New York Premiere
When: 2014
Standout Piece: White Chuck Taylors
While K-Dot is clearly not afraid to pick up some trendy pieces here and there, he would declare on his standout verse on Big Sean’s 2013 track “Control” that he was done with designer labels. “I ain’t rockin’ no more designer shit, White T’s and Nike Cortez, this red Corvette’s anonymous.” While Kendrick has worn various designer brands throughout his career, his looks typically steer away from big brand logos or ostentatious pieces from luxury houses that rappers like Pharrell wear. His look for the premiere of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a good example of the chill everyman fits you would typically find Kendrick in. Here, he’s wearing some jeans, a Levi’s denim T-shirt, and a New York Yankees fitted cap. Of course, K-Dot keeps his style true to the West Coast by rocking a pair of all-white Chuck Taylors. Kendrick’s love for Converse would come full circle in 2022 with an official collaboration between Converse and Kendrick’s creative company pgLang. The collaboration included pgLang’s take on the Chuck 70 and Pro Leather.
Austin City Limits Music Festival
When: 2016
Standout Piece: Enfants Riches Déprimés ‘Frozen Beauties‘ Flannel
By 2016, Kendrick had cemented his place as one of the most critically-acclaimed rappers of our time. After releasing his third studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly, in 2015, he would rack up numerous awards and accolades. To Pimp a Butterfly led to the artist winning four Grammys—which included the award for Best Rap Song for “Alright” and Best Rap Album—and receiving his first number one album on the Billboard 200. His compilation album filled with unfinished demos from To Pimp a Butterfly, Untitled Unmastered, also topped the Billboard 200 that year. Needless to say, Kendrick was in his prime thanks to the widespread critical acclaim of To Pimp a Butterfly. And he celebrated that moment by updating his closet. At the Austin City Limits music festival in 2016, he threw on an Enfants Riches Déprimés flannel from the Los Angeles-based label’s Spring/Summer 2016 collection with some raw denim jeans and white sneakers. The piece Kendrick wore was also seen on the likes of Kanye West and has grown to become one of the brand’s most coveted garments. Today, it fetches as much as $1,800 on the resale market today and sellers claim that only 50 of these were made. When Kendrick does throw a rare piece like this one on, trust that it’s always going to be something special.
When: 2017
Standout Piece: Fear of God Tracksuit
Two years after releasing To Pimp A Butterfly, Kendrick would top the charts again with the release of his fourth studio album, Damn. Again, the album would receive accolades that included Grammy wins for Best Rap Album. It even became the first non-jazz or classical work to earn a Pulitzer Prize for music. The release of Damn also led to one of Kendrick’s biggest tours with stops at huge venues like the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Travis Scott and Shelley—who was known as D.R.A.M. at the time— came along for the tour that grossed nearly $41.4 million in ticket sales in just North America alone. Shows during the tour played up Kendrick’s “Kung Fu Kenny” moniker with martial arts-inspired dances and movies playing during the show. Naturally, Kenny had to put together a fit that was also inspired by old school Kung Fu movies. For this Barclays Center show he donned a yellow tracksuit from Fear of God’s Fifth Collection. While it’s clear that Kendrick has always shown love for Los Angeles clothing labels, this fit was especially apt for the Damn tour because the yellow tracksuit was reminiscent of the one worn by Bruce Lee in 1978’s Game of Death.
MTV Video Music Awards
When: 2017
Standout Piece: Prada Camp Collar Button Up Shirt
Award shows are really where Kendrick shines when it comes to great looks and live television performances. At the MTV Video Music Awards in 2017, Kendrick performed “DNA” and “Humble” in a red Balenciaga puffer jacket while ninjas were climbing walls of fire engulfed in flames. “It was something we wanted to do for the tour but the insurance policy didn’t cover it, so VMA’s came through for the insurance policy,” said Kendrick’s creative partner Dave Free, about the pyrotechnics behind the performance. “Everything worked out so we’re just blessed to be a part of it here tonight.” The standout look Kendrick wore that evening was a Prada fit he wore both on the red carpet and while accepting the Video of the Year award. Along with a Prada suit, Kendrick also wore one of the luxury label’s popular camp collar shirts that featured a bold graphic comic book print. To fully complete the look, K-Dot also threw on some jewelry by Chrome Hearts and Jason of Beverly Hills. This was a damn good outfit, no pun intended.
Courtside at the Lakers Game
When: 2017
Standout Piece: Nike Cortez Kenny II
Here’s another great fit that shows off Kendrick’s day-to-day style. At a Los Angeles Lakers game, Kendrick is seen sitting courtside wearing his own Damn merch hoodie, a cap with lyrics from his Damn song “Fear” embroidered on the front, some classic camouflage military pants, and an intriguing pair of red Nike Cortez sneakers that boasted a cloth tab that reads “Don’t Trip” running vertically across the laces. The pair Kendrick pulled out for the game was actually a preview of one of his collaborations with Nike that released throughout 2018. Prior to signing a deal with the Swoosh, Kendrick had collaborated with Reebok on several pairs of sneakers between 2016 and 2017. In collaboration with Nike, Kendrick re-imagined a West Coast favorite, the Nike Cortez. His first Nike shoe, the Cortez Kenny I, arrived in January 2018 in an all-white colorway with “Damn” printed in Nike’s iconic font. Kendrick designed a total of four versions of the Cortez Kenny and even released a merch capsule with Nike to coincide with it. However, the rarest Cortez Kenny was one worn in this courtside photo. While Nike’s Cortez Kenny releases aren’t as expensive as Travis Scott’s collaborations with the footwear brand, the Nike Cortez Kenny II’s limited SNKR Pass release in Los Angeles made it far harder to get than the other three models he designed. The last sneaker Kendrick designed for Nike was his take on the brand’s React Element 55, which was released in 2019.
60th Annual Grammy Awards
When: 2018
Standout Piece: Archival Raf Simons Button-Up
Again, Kendrick pulled out all the stops when coming on to perform at an awards show. At the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, Kendrick opened the show with a medley that included Damn’s “XXX” and “Lust” along with “King’s Dead” off the Black Panther soundtrack that Top Dawg Entertainment produced that year. Aside from coming home with five Grammy wins that year, Kendrick also had one of the best fits of the evening. Kendrick performed wearing an archival Craig Green jacket from the British designer’s Spring/Summer 2015 collection. The jacket and other pieces Kendrick wore during the performance were sourced from the archivist David Casavant. But the real crown jewels that Kendrick wore were garments from the Raf Simons Spring/Summer 2002 collection. For the performance, Kendrick threw on a pair of pants and an extremely rare button-up sleeveless shirt from one of the Belgian designer’s most revered runway shows. The collection—titled “Woe Unto Those Who Spit on the Fear Generation…The Wind Will Blow It Back.”—has grown to become a collection that is emblematic of Simons’ eye for designs that are deeply inspired by rebellious youth subcultures. Seeing how Kendrick’s own singles have become rallying cries at protests, this look was an especially fitting one for a hip-hop artist who paved his own lane by constantly going against the grain.
Day N Vegas Music Festival
When: 2021
Standout Piece: Airei Outfit
When Kendrick finally ended his long hiatus by coming to perform as the headliner at the Day N Vegas music festival in Las Vegas in 2021, he arrived wearing a look that co-signed an up-and-coming brand from Los Angeles. That label was Airei, a fashion line founded by 29-year-old Drew Curry. “For me, Kendrick Lamar is one of the greatest artists of our time. He’s always been like a superhero,” Curry told Complex. “It was a completely surreal experience.” The pieces Kendrick wore are from the first two collections Airei ever produced and were styled by Kendrick’s current stylist Taylor Mcneill. She also styled Kedrick’s Coachella 2022 fit that recently went viral. Nearly a decade after Kendrick co-signed Rhude, he’s continued to help raise awareness for other young clothing labels that are currently rising in Los Angeles.
Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show
When: 2022
Standout Piece: Louis Vuitton Suit by Virgil Abloh
At the end of 2021, fashion tragically lost the great menswear designer Virgil Abloh. Abloh was a true fan of hip-hop culture and the subcultures that propagated from it. So, it was only right for one of the world’s biggest rap stars to throw on a piece designed by Louis Vuitton’s former creative director of menswear as a subtle tribute to his greatness. For the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show—a monumental Halftime show that featured a full line-up of hip-hop artists for the first time in the game’s entire history—Kendrick arrived in a Louis Vuitton suit by Abloh. The outfit Kendrick wore was from Abloh’s Fall/Winter 2022 collection and was paired with jewelry from Tiffany & Co. Kendrick’s outfit and performance at the game also paid homage to performances during Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814-era in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Thanks to the Los Angeles Rams taking home the championship ring in their hometown, Super Bowl LVI became a memorable moment for Los Angeles. Kendrick’s appearance, along with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, only made it more of an iconic win for the West Coast.