Kendrick Lamar “Overly Dedicated” Mixtape Download & Stream

Kendrick Lamar’s official 9/15/10 release of his “Overly Dedicated” Mixtape with features such as Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Dash Snow, Javonte, BJ The Chicago Kid, and many more.

The official Kendrick Lamar mixtape, Overly Dedicated is now available and features artists such as Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Dash Snow, Javonte, BJ The Chicago Kid, Jhene Aiko, Ash Riser, Dom Kennedy & Murs, U-N-I, Skeme, and Brown. The tape features the hit “Michael Jordan” and the remix for “She Needs Me” featuring Dom Kennedy & Murs.

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987), simply known as Kendrick Lamar, previously known as K.Dot, is an American rapper. He is currently signed to Top Dawg, Aftermath, and Interscope. Lamar is also a member of West Coast hip hop supergroup, Black Hippy, along with fellow California-based rappers and label-mates Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul.

Kendrick Lamar first gained major attention after the release of his fourth mixtape, Overly Dedicated, in 2010. In 2011, he released his first independent album to critical acclaim, Section.80, released exclusively through iTunes and instantly ranked as one of the top digital hip hop releases of the year. Early in his career, before releasing his major label debut, Lamar amassed a large Internet following, and had already worked with Dr. Dre, Game, Drake, Young Jeezy, Talib Kweli, Busta Rhymes, E-40, Warren G, Bun B, Tech N9ne and Lil Wayne among other popular artists. His major label debut studio album good kid, m.A.A.d city, was released October 22, 2012 to universal acclaim. The album was later certified Gold by the RIAA.

Kendrick Lamar was born in Compton, California, to parents from Chicago, Illinois. In 1995, at the age of eight, Lamar witnessed his idols, Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre, film the music video for their hit single ”California Love“, a very significant moment in Lamar‘s life. Lamar attended Centennial High School in Compton, where he was a good student.

In 2003, at the age of sixteen, Lamar released his first mixtape, Youngest Head Nigga In Charge, under the name K-Dot. The mixtape garnered enough attention for Lamar to get a record deal with Los Angeles-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment. He then released a twenty-six track mixtape two years later titled Training Day (2005). From 2006 through 2007, Lamar, alongside other young West Coast rappers such as Jay Rock and Ya Boy, had opened for fellow West Coast rapper Game. Lamar, under his pseudonym K-Dot, was also featured on Game’s songs “The Cypha” and “Cali Niggaz“. In 2008, Lamar made a cameo appearance in the music video for Jay Rock‘s debut single, “All My Life (In the Ghetto)”. More recognition came Lamar‘s way after a video of a Charles Hamilton show surfaced, where Hamilton went in the crowd to battle fellow rappers in attendance. Lamar did not hesitate and began rapping a verse over Miilkbone‘s “Keep It Real“, that would later appear on a track titled “West Coast Wu-Tang“.

After receiving a co-sign from Lil Wayne, Lamar released his third mixtape in 2009 titled C4, heavily themed around Tha Carter III LP. Soon after, he decided to drop K-Dot as his stage name and go by his birth name. This resulted in him releasing a self-titled EP, the Kendrick Lamar EP, in late 2009. In 2009, Lamar also formed Black Hippy, a supergroup with label-mates and fellow California-based rappers Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q.

In 2010, he toured with Tech N9ne and Jay Rock on The Independent Grind tour. On September 23, 2010, he released Overly Dedicated, a highly acclaimed mixtape that included a song titled “Ignorance Is Bliss” in which he glorifies gangsta rap and street crime, but ends each verse with “ignorance is bliss”, giving the message “we know not what we do”. That song specifically made legendary hip hop producer Dr. Dre want to work with Lamar. This led to Lamar working with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg on Dre‘s Detox album and him considering signing to Dre‘s label, Aftermath Entertainment.

He has stated that 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Nas and Eminem are his top five favorite rappers. Tupac Shakur who is probably his biggest influence, influences not only his music, but his day-to-day lifestyle as well. In terms of subject matter and technical ability, Kendrick Lamar has often been compared to Tupac, Eminem, Nas, and Jay-Z. Lamar gave Lil Wayne (during his Hot Boyz days) credit for influencing his style. He has said that he also grew up listening to Rakim, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Overly Dedicated is still one of Kendricks best works yet so check it out below and show support. Follow Twitter @kendricklamar @Medievalbeatz

Download the Kendrick Lamar “Overly Dedicated” Mixtape over at Datpiff.com and stream it below.