These five trailblazers blended funk, soul, and electro to create the sounds that future West Coast rappers—from Dre to Kendrick—would transform into hip-hop history.

See the list of winners at the BET Awards 2025.

When asked to clarify why Kendrick Lamar's sound was temporarily cut at the Grammys, CBS responded with one word:

Here’s something I’ve been wrestling with for a while. And before anything else, let me set the context properly.

Kendrick Lamar's genius lyricism is shown yet again.

The Kendrick Lamar song turned protest chant against police violence identifies a daily balancing act: There is hope, and there is despair. There's the ideal world, and there's the real one.