A dissenting take on Kendrick Lamar's Pulitzer win

Kendrick Lamar won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, a milestone for hip-hop

The acclaimed rapper won for his 2017 album “DAMN.,” which includes sonic nods to the culture’s long history and lyrics that grapple with its complications. Critics noted that the award suggested hip-hop had been welcomed into the upper echelons of the art establishment.

Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN." was the first hip-hop album to win a Pulitzer

Kendrick Lamar's 2017 Pulitzer win for his album "DAMN." made history as the first hip-hop artist ever to receive the award. The Pulitzer Prize for music is usually awarded to classical and jazz compositions, making Lamar's win even more unexpected.

The Pulitzer Prize has had its fair share of controversies

From fabricated articles to fiction that inspired FBI surveillance, these are five of the most controversial moments in Pulitzer Prize history. Among them is the Pulitzer board's decision not to give novelist Sinclair Lewis the 1921 award for fiction. This snub led the author of "Main Street" to become the first Pulitzer recipient to reject the prize in 1926.

What it's like to win a Pulitzer

Four Pulitzer Prize winners share how winning the award has impacted their lives and journalism careers. The high-profile nature of the award tends to legitimize the author and grant them better access to jobs and opportunities, but it can also increase pressure on the writer to meet the same standard of their award-winning journalism.

In 2012, the Pulitzer board chose not to award a prize for literature

The literary world was shocked in 2012 when, for the first time in more than three decades, the Pulitzer board decided not to award a prize for literature. The jury had selected three finalists—Karen Russell's "Swamplandia!," David Foster Wallace's "The Pale King," and Denis Johnson's "Train Dreams"—but no winner.

Sometimes, an award isn't given for a category

When the Pulitzers decided not to issue a 2021 award for editorial cartooning, it was surprising, but not unheard of. In fact, the same thing happened in 2012, when the Pulitzer board ignored the jury's recommendations for the fiction prize.

Winning Pulitzers doesn't attract readers to newspapers.

Kendrick Lamar's breakthrough concept album was inspired by real events

The rapper's 2012 album "good kid, m.A.A.d city" follows a young, impressionable protagonist who unwittingly becomes associated with a series of crimes. As this episode of the "Disgraceland" podcast explains, Lamar's album may be nonlinear and impressionistic, but it's based on autobiographical elements.

Critics believe Grammy expert panels primarily benefit legacy artists

When the expert review panels for the Big Four awards were disbanded, it was with the hope that the decision would lead to a broader range of nominees and winners. But, in practice, it's not clear that it's playing out that way.

Writer James Baldwin once criticized Langston Hughes for squandering his talent

In 1959, Baldwin, the author of renowned works like “Go Tell It on the Mountain” and “Giovanni’s Room,” reviewed Hughes’ “Selected Poems” for the New York Times. Baldwin panned the book, writing, “Every time I read Langston Hughes I am amazed all over again by his genuine gifts—and depressed that he has done so little with them.” (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Some critics argue that Grammys favor commercially successful artists

For this two-part series of Slate’s pop music podcast "Hit Parade," pop critic Chris Malanfi looks into the relationship between commercial and critical success and how the Grammys are affected by outside influences like the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Grammy snubs and losses have generated controversy over the years

While there’s always some friction when major award nominees are announced from those who believe a favorite has been snubbed, the Grammys have attracted quite a bit of pushback in the last few years. Much of the controversy centers around the show’s purported unequal treatment of artists of color, particularly Black artists.

Kendrick Lamar brought his Drake feud to the Super Bowl stage

At the Super Bowl LIX halftime show in New Orleans, Kendrick Lamar leaned into his high-profile feud with Drake, turning months of diss-track drama into one of the most discussed performances in recent Super Bowl history.

The evolving categories of the Pulitzer mirror the state of contemporary journalism

The inaugural prizes in 1917 selected four winners: two for newspaper journalism (including a look inside the German Empire amid World War I) and two for books. However, the slate has evolved to include online-only outlets (2009), magazines (2015), and audio reporting (2020). The 2024 Pulitzers, in particular, marked a noticeable shift: More digital outlets were awarded than traditional newspapers, illustrating a sharp decline in local newspapers and a rise in digital outlets.

Fiction winners see the most financial gain

The Pulitzer Prize brings prestige but inconsistent financial benefits. For nonfiction writers, receiving the award does increase sales, but only modestly. The big winners are the fiction writers, some of whom have seen sales double after a win.

The Dylan/Whitman connection

Even before his 2016 Nobel Prize, critics often wrote about Bob Dylan with a seriousness typically reserved for literary figures. In this critical analysis, Jones Hogsed continues the tradition, analyzing Dylan's vision of America alongside Walt Whitman's.

The Washington Post's Janet Cooke returned her Pulitzer

When Washington Post reporter Janet Cooke published her profile of an 8-year-old heroin addict named Jimmy in 1980, it created an instant uproar. Social workers, police officers, and even the mayor of Washington, DC, all jumped into action to try to get the child help, but no one could find him. Within hours of Cooke receiving a Pulitzer for the piece, everything began to unravel as it was revealed that she had fabricated not just Jimmy's story, but her own as well. She eventually returned the award.

Pulitzer's newspapers were intended for the masses

His newspapers, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the New York World, transformed journalism by marketing to a mass audience rather than just the elite.

The full list of every Pulitzer Prize winner

Since its inception in 1917, over 2,000 Pulitzers have been awarded to writers published in the US, from poetry and fiction to investigative reporting and history books. You can explore the winners by decade and year, or see the winners by category, including those no longer used.

In 2016, Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his lyrics, marking the first time a rock songwriter had won the award.

The 100 best Pulitzer Prize-winning books

No ranking is definitive, but this site compiled expert analysis with book sales and other factors to rank the best books to win the Pulitzer. The list is topped by Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" and includes fiction and nonfiction winners, providing a starred fan ranking and endorsements from experts and famous people.

Watch writer John Steinbeck's Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

Some allege that Dylan plagiarized his Nobel Prize lecture

The speech bore striking similarities to entries on SparkNotes, a summary site that's often used by students looking to skip assigned reading. Neither Dylan nor his management commented on the matter, though some critics suggested it was just another part of Dylan's career-long performance.

Women work harder for Pulitzers

While the Pulitzers have never been segregated by gender, a 2012 study by the University of Missouri found female winners required significantly more elite credentials—Ivy League degrees, experience at top newspapers, and the like—than their male counterparts. Similar credentials are also overrepresented in the category of international reporting, suggesting the award favors those with more privileged upbringings.

Explore a list of hip-hop's all-time greatest diss tracks, including songs by 2Pac, Nas, Kendrick Lamar, and more.

Reporting on the Santa Cruz storms

The Pulitzer on the Road podcast interviews prizewinners for insights on their work and takes a deep dive into issues relevant to the awards. This episode focuses on Lookout Santa Cruz, a digital California-based outlet that won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News for its coverage of the devastating storms the region faced in early 2023. Lookout’s reporters discuss the importance of local news coverage.

Visualizing 100 years of Pulitzers

This fascinating data visualization breaks down a century of Pulitzer Prizes. Award categories are laid out against a timeline, and the symbols used to represent each winner indicate the topic of the winning work; the number of prizes won by that outlet thus far; and whether the prize was awarded to an individual or a newsroom. For the best viewing experience, zoom in using the magnifying glass on the cursor until it hits full-screen mode.

Why Metallica sued Napster—and enraged music fans

When Lars Ulrich, the drummer for metal legends Metallica, began his press campaign against Napster, an early filesharing software, he said he was fighting for artists. Listeners weren't convinced, especially because data suggested that filesharing services helped record sales rather than hinder them. This history of the ordeal contextualizes more modern problems in the music business, especially considering streaming services like Spotify were initially seen as a solution to illegal filesharing.

The Nobel Peace Prize is sometimes awarded to inspire ideals, not honor achievements

Critics argue this approach has led to regrettable choices, such as honoring Yasser Arafat despite his militant past or Barack Obama before he established a peace legacy. Committee member Kåre Kristiansen resigned in protest after Arafat was named a laureate in 1994.

Historians debate whether 'Hamilton' is good for historical education

In this article, historians debate whether "Hamilton" deepens public engagement with US history or distorts it—examining accuracy and racial casting, and whether the musical's cultural impact outweighs its historical compromises.

The duties and importance of Grammy expert panels have shifted over the years

The anonymous expert panels were first introduced into the Grammys voting process in the '90s to counteract claims that the awards weren't "with it" anymore—basically, that they were biased toward more traditional music acts. Of course, that was also the argument for disbanding some of them in 2022: Many people thought the panels were introducing their own bias into the nominations. Now, they exist mainly to ensure genre nominations are correctly categorized. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Pulitzer left $2M to Columbia University to establish the Pulitzer Prize

The man who transformed the New York World into the largest newspaper in America in the late 1800s left his home country of Hungary in 1864 to fight in the US Civil War. When he died in 1911, Pulitzer left $2M to Columbia University to found its journalism school and establish the Pulitzer Prize.

Hip-hop lyrics are often used in criminal trials in a controversial practice that blurs the line between art and evidence.

The enduring relevance of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’

Some critics have argued that Key’s past as a slaveholder and his lyrics demeaning slaves mean the country should select a new national anthem. Mark Clague, a professor of musicology, understands that perspective, but suggests Key’s song, despite its warts, is still a fitting anthem.

One journalist argued New Journalism writers prioritized ego over public service

Michael J. Arlen wrote a critique of the then-fashionable and popular form for The Atlantic in 1972, warning about the risk of emphasizing a writer’s perspective over facts. While Arlen applauded the innovation of the style, he believed focusing on voice and perspective could be irresponsible.

Ralph Waldo Emerson celebrated Walt Whitman, then regretted it

Emerson famously praised the first edition of Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass,” which Whitman used to promote the collection. In doing so, Whitman effectively created the modern book blurb, though he did so without Emerson’s permission, leading to a prolonged, passive beef between the two.

The Pulitzer Prize for photography has gone to the photographers who took some of history's defining images

The prestigious literary awards also include two prizes for photography: one for features and another for breaking news. Recipients have captured some of history’s most famous photos, including the iconic photo of US Marines raising the flag atop Mount Suribachi in Iwo Jima (by Joseph Rosenthal) and the legendary photo of Babe Ruth on the day of his final game (by Nat Fein).

In 1974, Norman Mailer touted graffiti as an intellectual art form

The Pulitzer Prize winner explored the style in his 1974 Esquire essay, "The Faith of Graffiti," before expanding on it in a book with 81 photos by Jon Naar. In it, he traces the form back to its ancient roots and compares graffiti writers to Renaissance painters.

Joseph Pulitzer created modern journalism

Long before there was cable news, there were newspapers, and Joseph Pulitzer was their king. A Hungarian immigrant, Pulitzer began his career as a reporter himself before buying a newspaper that he could shape with his editorial vision. Pulitzer's papers were bold, provocative, and visually striking, setting a new standard for newspapers nationwide as they moved into the 20th century.

Jean-Paul Sartre rejected his Nobel Prize in literature in 1964, believing it was antithetical to his role as an artist.

Hear why one author thinks college rankings may be irrelevant

For more than three decades, US News & World Report has released an annual ranking of the country's best colleges. An extremely influential list that can determine application volume, funding decisions, and more, the rankings have been compiled by a secret algorithm indecipherable to many on the opposite side of the table. Author Malcolm Gladwell attempts to unpack the calculation, ultimately raising the question: How relevant is the list?

Unpacking the controversy surrounding race and the Oscars

In 2015, #OscarSoWhite went viral on social media, highlighting the disproportionately low number of nominees of color compared to their white colleagues. Data also shows divisions when it comes to age, gender, and nationality.

Critics have debated 'the great American novel,' arguing which book best captures the spirit of American literature since the 19th century.

Joseph Pulitzer mainstreamed yellow journalism

One way Joseph Pulitzer revolutionized the newspaper industry was by developing an approach to reporting that relied on sensationalism and could be a little loose with the facts. Pulitzer and rival William Randolph Hearst pushed that sensationalism to the next level in their competition to attract readers.

The criticism of 'selling out' has waned in the 21st century

Although patronage was a regular part of artists’ income throughout the 19th century, the insult “sell out” gained prominence in the 1950s. The jazz and folk communities, in particular, levied the term at artists they believed had sacrificed their integrity for financial gain.

Langston Hughes wrote a foundational text for the Harlem Renaissance

Although the 1920s artistic movement lacked formal leaders, Hughes' 1926 essay "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" established him as one of its figureheads. Hughes' piece argues that Black artists should not be ashamed of their race; instead, they should embrace it, while simultaneously pursuing their own individual artistic visions.

Critics say Burning Man pollutes and promotes elitism

Following the storms and extreme circumstances of the 2023 Burning Man, discourse has circulated about elitism, pollution, and more problems brought by the festival.

King was awarded the National Medal of the Arts in 2014

For decades, Stephen King has been a pop-culture titan, though he was often pegged as unserious and formulaic by the more high-minded literary establishment. That began to change in the 1990s, with critical reconsiderations of his work. It was fully cemented in 2014, when he received the National Medal of Arts.

Sartre admired American novelist William Faulkner

In addition to writing philosophy and fiction, Jean-Paul Sartre was also a literary critic. His 1939 essay on Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury" focused on the way the American novelist commented on time, favorably comparing him to Marcel Proust. Ultimately, Sartre argues Faulkner's "despair" about a "closed future" is a result of the "social conditions of our present life." Ever the existentialist, though, Sartre suggests this reality is something that should inspire rather than depress.

Read the New York Times profile of TAKI 183

The 1971 article about the young graffiti artist and his many acolytes exposed the burgeoning subculture to a large audience and also detailed the effort to clean the work from the city's walls. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)