The California State Senate officially declares Kendrick Lamar an icon

By Katie Rife | May 12, 2015 | 11:00pm

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The California State Senate officially declares Kendrick Lamar an icon

The California State Senate is probably hipper than most, what with all those movie stars, musicians, and hippie pot farmers in their constituencies. One of those constituents is Kendrick Lamar, who was declared a “Generational Icon” by the legislative body yesterday in honor of his various artistic and philanthropic efforts. Lamar was introduced by state Senator Isadore Hall III, who represents Lamar’s home district of Compton; in his speech, Hall praised Lamar for his commitment to the neighborhood he came from, citing his support of sports, after school, and music programs in the Compton Unified School District.

After Hall’s introduction, Lamar briefly took the mic, where he said, “Being from the City of Compton and knowing the parks that I played at and the neighborhoods, I always thought how great the opportunity would be to give back to my community off of what I do in music,” before thanking the senate for the honor. He then posed for pictures with members of the legislature—hopefully at least one of whom told him he should probably run for mayor when he’s done, to be honest—and briefly met with Hall and Governor Jerry Brown. Video of Hall’s speech, and Lamar’s, is below.