American rapper Kendrick Lamar has appeared in 73 music videos, including 37 featured appearances and one uncredited appearance. He has also released three short films and was featured in numerous television shows. For his debut studio album, Section.80 (2011), Lamar released music videos for his debut single "HiiiPower", "Tammy's Song (Her Evils), "A.D.H.D", and "Rigamortis", each helmed by various directors and released in 2011.[1] He followed with a sole music video in 2012 for "Swimming Pools (Drank)", in support of his second album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. He released four more music videos for the album in 2013, and made his debut as a music video director with the video for "Backseat Freestyle". He debuted as a film producer with the short film M.A.A.D (2014), which was directed by Khalil Joseph and inspired by Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.[2]
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Lamar continued to co-direct his own music videos with his creative partner Dave Free, under the collective name the Little Homies.[3] His third album To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) produced five music videos for "I",[4] "King Kunta",[5] "Alright",[6] "For Free? (Interlude)",[7] and "These Walls" featuring Bilal, Anna Wise, and Thundercat.[8] At the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, "Alright" won Best Direction.[9] Lamar also won Video of the Year and Best Collaboration during the ceremony for his work with singer-songwriter Taylor Swift on the video for "Bad Blood", which later won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video.[10][11] In the final hours of 2015, Lamar released the short film God is Gangsta, which he co-directed and co-edited.[12][13]
For his fourth studio album, Damn (2017), Lamar released five music videos for "Humble", "DNA", "Element", "Loyalty" featuring Rihanna, and "Love" featuring Zacari.[14] The video for "Humble" won six accolades at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, including Best Direction and Video of the Year; becoming the first artist to win the award for a video they co-directed.[15] "Humble" also received the Grammy Award for Best Music Video.[16] With the four music videos supporting his fifth album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022), Lamar delved into executive production. His third short film, We Cry Together – A Short Film, won the Film Craft Grand Prix for Direction at the 70th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.[17]
Music videos
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As lead artist
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Director(s) | Notes | Album | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Bitch I'm in the Club" | 2009 | — | Dee.Jay.Dave | C4 | [18] | |
| "Compton State of Mind" | — | Compton State of Mind | [19] | |||
| "Jason Keaton & Uncle Bobby" | — | Brandon Dimit | Kendrick Lamar | [20] | ||
| "She Needs Me" | 2010 | — | Jerome D | [21] | ||
| "Ignorance Is Bliss" | — | Dee.Jay.Dave OG Michael Mihail | Also writer | Overly Dedicated | [22] | |
| "Monster Freestyle" | — | Calmatic | — | [23] | ||
| "H.O.C." | — | Jerome D | Overly Dedicated | [24] | ||
| "Cut You Off" | — | Calmatic | [25] | |||
| "P&P 1.5" | Ab-Soul | Jerome D | [26] | |||
| "Michael Jordan" | Schoolboy Q | Fredo Tovar | [27] | |||
| "HiiiPower" | 2011 | — | Fredo Tovar Scott Fleishman | Section.80 | [28] | |
| "Tammy's Song (Her Evils)" | — | Jerome D | [29] | |||
| "A.D.H.D" | — | Vashtie Kola | [30] | |||
| "Rigamortis" | — | The ICU | [31] | |||
| "Swimming Pools (Drank)" | 2012 | — | Jerome D | Good Kid, M.A.A.D City | [32] | |
| "Backseat Freestyle" | 2013 | — | Kendrick Lamar Jerome D Dee.Jay.Dave | Co-director | [33] | |
| "Poetic Justice" | Drake | The Little Homies Dee.Jay.Dave Dangerookipawaa | [34] | |||
| "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" | — | The Little Homies OG Mike Mihail | [35] | |||
| "Sing About Me" | — | Darren Romanelli | [36] | |||
| "i" | 2014 | — | The Little Homies Alexandre Moors | Co-director | To Pimp A Butterfly | [37] |
| "King Kunta" | 2015 | — | Director X | [38] | ||
| "Alright" | — | The Little Homies Colin Tilley | Co-director | [39] | ||
| "For Free? (Interlude)" | — | The Little Homies Joe Weil | [40] | |||
| "These Walls" | — | The Little Homies Colin Tilley | [41] | |||
| "Humble" | 2017 | — | The Little Homies Dave Meyers | Damn | [42] | |
| "DNA" | — | The Little Homies Nabil | [43] | |||
| "Element" | — | The Little Homies Jonas Lindstroem | [44] | |||
| "Loyalty" | Rihanna | The Little Homies Dave Meyers | [45] | |||
| "Love" | Zacari | The Little Homies Dave Meyers | [46] | |||
| "All the Stars" | 2018 | SZA | The Little Homies Dave Meyers | Black Panther: The Album | [47] | |
| "Family Ties" | 2021 | Baby Keem | Dave Free | Also executive producer | The Melodic Blue | [48] |
| "The Heart Part 5" | 2022 | — | Kendrick Lamar Dave Free | Co-director and executive producer | Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers | [49] |
| "N95" | — | Kendrick Lamar Dave Free | [50] | |||
| "Rich Spirit" | — | Calmatic | Also executive producer | [51] | ||
| "Count Me Out" | — | Kendrick Lamar Dave Free | Co-director and executive producer | [52] | ||
| "The Hillbillies" | 2023 | Baby Keem | Neal Farmer | Non-album single | [53] |
As featured artist
As producer
| Title | Year | Artist(s) | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Hooligan" | 2020 | Baby Keem | Executive producer | [91] |
| "No Sense" | 2021 | Executive producer; credited as K.L. | [92] | |
| "Durag Activity" | Baby Keem and Travis Scott | [93] | ||
| The Melodic Blue | Baby Keem | Album trailer; executive producer | [94] | |
| "Issues" | Executive producer; credited as KL | [95] | ||
| "First Order of Business" | [96] | |||
| "16" | 2022 | [97] | ||
| "With The Villains" | Tanna Leone | [98] | ||
| "Death n’ Taxes" | [99] |
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Artist(s) | Director(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Win" | 2018 | Jay Rock | Dave Meyers Dave Free | [100] |
Filmography
Film
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Lennon or McCartney | Himself | Short documentary film | [101] |
| M.A.A.D | Short film; also producer | [102] | ||
| 2015 | God Is Gangsta | Short film; also co-director and co-editor | [103] | |
| 2017 | Louder Together | Documentary film | [104] | |
| 2018 | Jay Rock: Road to Redemption | [105] | ||
| Quincy | [106] | |||
| 2019 | Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes | [107] | ||
| 2022 | We Cry Together – A Short Film | The Man | Short film; also co-director, writer, and executive producer | [108] |
| Kendrick Lamar Live: The Big Steppers Tour | Himself | Concert film; also executive producer | [109] | |
| The Show: California Love | Documentary film | [110] | ||
| 2023 | Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé | Documentary concert film | [111] | |
| The Melodic Blue: Baby Keem | — | Short film; executive producer only | [112] | |
| TBA | Untitled Trey Parker film † | — | Producer only; in development | [113] |
Television
| † | Denotes series or specials that have not yet aired |