Here's Why Kendrick Lamar Won the Pulitzer Prize Billboard spoke to Pulitzer Prize Administrator Dana Canedy about Lamar’s win for his 2017 album ‘DAMN.’ “The important thing about this is the jury and the board just decided that the album is a work of vernacular avant-garde.” “It's a dense and sophisticated collage of hybrid sounds, polyrhythms, layered under what we would probably consider pulsing kinetic text. The brilliance of the music is what's shone through.” “I think this is a huge moment for the music industry and the Pulitzer Prize, and we're proud of it.” Lamar is the first non-jazz or non-classical artist to receive the prize in the 75-year history of the award.