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The Artistic Force Behind Why Kendrick Lamar Changed His Name Early in His Career

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Sometimes, an artist’s stage name isn’t quite right. They could be trying to introduce a new era or attempting to change from a name they came up with earlier in their career. Regardless, there are an abundance of examples over the decades. Mos Def eventually shifted to his government name Yasiin Bey. 2 Chainz didn’t find Tity Boi nearly as marketable as a solo act. For Kendrick Lamar, he used to be known as K. Dot.

But why change that? K. Dot seems like a fine enough name. It may not be the name they announce at the Grammys, but no one has the foresight to know what it really is. In the end, it might not even matter. So why bother?

Ultimately, it was a play to let his audience get a little closer to him as an artist. In a 2012 interview with DJ Drama, Kendrick Lamar said he reserved the term “K. Dot” for his friends. However, his mother called him by his real first name Kendrick. His father did the same. If he was going to lay out his entire story on display for everyone to listen to, he might as well let fans know him completely.

Kendrick Lamar Shares The Reason He Used His Real Name as His Artist Name

“I just felt like the artist I wanted to be was somebody that people can actually feel and relate to. With the story about me growing up in the whole city. I felt like the best artists in the world [let] people actually gravitate toward their story. Actually can say ‘that’s me.’ So I woke up one morning, I said, ‘the best thing I can do is start giving these people me,’” Lamar told DJ Drama.

“Giving them my name and what my mom calls me rather than what my homies call me. K. Dot, that’s when I grew up in the neighborhood in Compton. My mom’s called me Kendrick. Straight up, Kendrick Lamar,” he continued.

The West Coast superstar changed his moniker from K. Dot in late 2009 with a self-titled EP. In a separate interview in 2012, he felt like every record under the K. Dot name was just for the love of rapping. But to take the next step in his musical journey, he couldn’t just rely on that style. Instead, he insisted that his fans truly know him and know his actual name accordingly.

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