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Monday, 16 April 2018

Kendrick Lamar Wins Pulitzer in ‘Big Moment for Hip-Hop’

Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer for “DAMN.” makes him the first nonclassical or jazz musician to receive the prize since the awards expanded to music in 1943. CreditAmy Harris/Invision, via Associated Press

In late January, the Compton, Calif., rapper Kendrick Lamar lost the Grammy Award for album of the year to Bruno Mars. “DAMN.,” Mr. Lamar’s fourth LP, was his third straight to be nominated but ultimately fall short of the trophy, considered by most to be the top prize in popular music.

But perhaps not anymore.

On Monday, Mr. Lamar’s “DAMN.” took home an even more elusive honor, one that may never have even seemed within reach: the Pulitzer Prize for music. Mr. Lamar is not only the first rapper to win the award since the Pulitzers expanded to music in 1943, but he is also the first winner who is not a classical or jazz musician.

“The time was right,” Dana Canedy, the administrator of the prizes, said in an interview after the winners were announced. “We are very proud of this selection. It means that the jury and the board judging system worked as it’s supposed to — the best work was awarded a Pulitzer Prize.”

She added: “It shines a light on hip-hop in a completely different way. This is a big moment for hip-hop music and a big moment for the Pulitzers.”

Mr. Lamar’s “DAMN.” has sold more than 3.5 million albums, including digital streams, since its release in April 2017. CreditInterscope Records, via Associated Press

Mr. Lamar was not immediately available to comment on his win. But Terrence Henderson, the record executive known as Punch from Mr. Lamar’s label, Top Dawg Entertainment, acknowledged the achievement on Twitter, writing that from now on, no one should “speak with anything less than respect in your mouth for Kendrick Lamar.”

Ms. Canedy said the board’s decision to award Mr. Lamar, 30, was unanimous. The board called the album “a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.”

“DAMN.,” which featured Rihanna and U2, along with kinetic production from Sounwave and Mike WiLL Made-It, among others, topped the charts and was among last year’s most-streamed albums, while also tackling thorny issues both personal and political, including race, faith and the burdens of commercial success. Though his work is often serious — and searing — Mr. Lamar, a dense and bruising lyricist, has managed to become a pop-cultural juggernaut as well, performing during halftime of this year’s college football national championship and overseeing the soundtrack for “Black Panther.”

The music finalists, selected by a five-person jury and then presented to the board for a winner selection, also included the composer Michael Gilbertson’s “Quartet” and the singer and composer Ted Hearne’s “Sound From the Bench.”

David Hajdu, one of the music jurors this year and a critic for The Nation, said that the group considered more than 100 compositions, including “some pieces of classical music that drew upon hip-hop as a resource,” leading to a philosophical discussion among the jurors about what could be considered.

“That led us to put on the table the fact that this sphere of work” — rap music — “has value on its own terms and not just as a resource for use in a field that is more broadly recognized by the institutional establishment as serious or legitimate,” he said.

When someone mentioned Mr. Lamar’s “DAMN.,” there was “quite a lot of enthusiasm for it,” Mr. Hajdu said, though some members of the jury were less familiar with hip-hop than others. (The jury also included the violinist Regina Carter; Paul Cremo of the Met Opera commissioning program; Farah Jasmine Griffin, a Columbia professor of English and African-American studies; and the composer David Lang.)

“But we listened to it and there was zero dissent,” Mr. Hajdu said. “A lively and constructive conversation, but no dissent.”

He added: “It was a beautiful moment. I left the deliberations on a cloud.”

The news of the prize sent a jolt through the classical music world, where living composers often struggle to be heard — competing not only against those who work in more popular genres, but also the long-dead greats who make up the classical canon. Some pooh-poohed Mr. Lamar’s win — one classical composer called it “insulting” on his Facebook page — but many others embraced it.

Caroline Shaw, a frequent collaborator of Kanye West’s whose “Partita for 8 Voices” won the Pulitzer in 2013, posted a YouTube video of Mr. Lamar on her Twitter feed with one word: “Yes.”

Mr. Hearne, whose cantata “Sound From the Bench” was a finalist, praised the decision to award the Pulitzer to Mr. Lamar, calling him “one of the greatest living American composers, for sure.”

“The work that’s on that album is every bit as sophisticated and experimental as any music,” he said in a telephone interview. “The idea that that’s not classical music, or that’s not experimental music, or that’s not art music is completely unfounded.”

It was not until 1997 that the Pulitzer Prize for music went even to a jazz work: Wynton Marsalis’s oratorio “Blood on the Fields.” In 1965, the Pulitzer jurors recommended awarding a special citation to Duke Ellington, but were rejected.

Mr. Hadju, the juror, said that in recent years, those behind the Pulitzers have sought to “assertively think and listen more expansively, with more open ears,” pointing to wins in the music category by the experimental jazz musicians Ornette Coleman in 2007 and Henry Threadgill in 2016. Other popular musicians have been recognized by the Pulitzers with special awards for their influence, including Bob Dylan, who also won a Nobel Prize in Literature; Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop musical “Hamilton” won in the Pulitzer drama category two years ago.

And while “DAMN.” has sold more than 3.5 million albums, including digital streams, since its release, according to Nielsen, “There was no talk about recognizing something that was already popular,” Mr. Hajdu said. “Just: ‘Listen to this — this is brilliant.’ This is the best piece of music.”

2018 NBA playoffs: Warriors come back to top Spurs; vintage Wade too much for young Sixers

Warriors guard Klay Thompson drives between San Antonio’s Spurs guard Danny Green and Bryn Forbes (11) during Golden State’s Game 2 win Monday night in Oakland..

The first round of the NBA playoffs continues today with Game 2 in the Miami-Philadelphia and San Antonio-Golden State series. Follow along here for the latest analysis and commentary from The Post’s NBA reporter Tim Bontemps, and ask him questions in the comments section.

Schedule and results | Pregame reading | Comments section Q&A

• The first half of the Warriors-Spurs game was U-G-L-Y.

• What year is it? Dwyane Wade played 26 minutes and scored 28 points in Monday night’s win. Miami and Philadephia are tied, 1-1.

• Markelle Fultz has struggled as a shooter so far in the playoffs. Will opponents start daring him to shoot more?

Flagrant watch: Green picks up first point

OAKLAND, Calif. — Two years ago, all anyone remembers is Draymond Green punching LeBron James in the privates in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, earning a flagrant foul point that cost him Game 5. That suspension allowed the Cleveland Cavaliers to begin their comeback, culminating in a dramatic, seven-game championship victory.

But the play that caused Green to be suspended wasn’t directly the James play. It was actually a needless body slam of Michael Beasley at the end of Game 3 of Golden State’s first round win over the Houston Rockets.

A similar thing could happen down the road this year thanks to Green elbowing San Antonio’s Davis Bertans late in the fourth quarter of Monday’s 116-101 win.

Sure, Golden State is up 2-0 in the series after Monday’s come-from-behind, 116-101 win. But the game was already in hand when Green got tangled up with Bertans and dropped him with the elbow, picking up a flagrant foul in the process. That’s one point. Four of them earn a suspension.

In other news, Klay Thompson — who has been the best player in this series through two games — had 31 points on 12-for-20 shooting, and is now 23-for-33 through two games. Kevin Durant, meanwhile, had 32 points, six rebounds and six assists.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 34 points and 12 rebounds for San Antonio.

Hobbled West could spell trouble for Warriors

On a team full of star players in their primes, not much is said about David West, the sage, 37-year-old veteran big man. But those who watch the Golden State Warriors on a consistent basis know just how valuable West has been over the past two seasons.That’s why it could be a significant development that West hobbled off the court with a left foot/ankle injury early in the fourth quarter of Game 2. West looked like he was going to try to stay in the game after limping to the bench, but after attempting to walk his injury off under the watchful eye of trainer Chelsea Lane, she eventually escorted West back to the locker room.

West later returned to the bench in a warmup jacket, and it was unclear whether he’d be available to return. The Warriors needs to hope he won’t be down long-term, as he’s a crucial component in their fluctuating center rotation.

Ginobili putting forth another timeless effort

Let’s just stop for a second and admire the brilliance that is Manu Ginobili.

At 40 years old, Ginobili not only is still playing in the NBA, he’s still effective. As the Golden State Warriors threaten to pull away in Game 2 of their first round series with Ginobili’s San Antonio Spurs, the Argentine legend is keeping his team in the game.

Ginobili sliced through Golden State’s defense as the pick-and-roll ball handler for a layup, got LaMarcus Aldridge a point-blank look that was stopped by excellent Warriors defense and then hit Pau Gasol for an easy move in the post to help San Antonio stop the bleeding and go into the fourth trailing only 80-75, when things easily could’ve been much worse.The Spurs might not win this game, and almost certainly won’t win this series. But hopefully Ginobili is back next year. The NBA would be a far lesser place without him.

LaMarcus Aldridge keeping Spurs afloat

LaMarcus Aldridge has been awesome tonight.

Just when it looked like the Golden State Warriors had a chance to put some real daylight between themselves and the San Antonio Spurs, Aldridge (26 points and nine rebounds) has made his dud in Game 1 a distant memory, and has San Antonio up by one with 4:40 remaining in the third.

It’s still going to take a lot for San Antonio to get a win here in Oakland — which would be a real feat, considering the Spurs haven’t won a road game since beating Cleveland back in February. But Aldridge is doing everything he can to keep the undermanned Spurs in this one.

Spurs lead at half after ugly performance by Warriors

The Warriors are giving the Spurs every chance they can to make this series competitive — literally.

Golden State has turned the ball over 11 times in the first half — resulting in 12 Spurs points. San Antonio, meanwhile, has two turnovers that have become two points for the Warriors.

That 10-point difference more than covers the 53-47 halftime advantage for the Spurs. If Golden State can take care of the ball in the second half, it should be fine.

Other than LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay (a combined 11 for 17 for 27 points), the Spurs are 8 for 30 — including 3 for 16 from three-point range — further proof that the Spurs are going to have an awfully tough time scoring against Golden State in this series.

At least, that will be the case if the Warriors take care of the ball. They didn’t in the first half, and because of it we have a ball game.

Golden State keeping game close early — by giving the ball away

A basketball game was scheduled for Monday night at 7:30 p.m. local time here at Oracle Arena.

A rock fight broke out instead.

Halfway through the second quarter, the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs are tied at 35 in what has been a truly terrible game to watch. LaMarcus Aldridge has 13 points for San Antonio — having remembered how to score again after a tough Game 1 — while Kevin Durant has 12 after hitting a midrange jumper to tie the game moments ago.

So how is San Antonio tied in a game it is shooting 36.1 percent overall in, and 15.4 percent (2 for 13) from three-point range? Because Golden State has committed eight turnovers that have led to eight Spurs points.

If the Warriors are locked in defensively, the Spurs can’t score. So for this game to remain this close, it’s going to require Golden State to continue to get in its own way on offense, too.

Vintage Wade lifts Heat on the road

What had been a vintage Dwyane Wade performance through three quarters became one over four as the Miami Heat evened their first-round series at a game apiece.

The Philadelphia 76ers had moved all the way to within two points late in the fourth quarter before Wade, who finished with 28 points in 26 minutes, stole the ball from Dario Saric and raced ahead of the field for a breakaway dunk to double Miami’s lead to four. That was the catalyst for a 10-2 run – including a Wade jumper with 47.9 seconds left that sealed the game – and pushed Miami to a 113-103 victory.

With the series now tied, the question hanging over the series is the availability of Joel Embiid — and whether he can return in time for Game 3 Thursday in Miami.

Embiid, who has been out since suffering a facial fracture on March 28, has cleared the NBA’s concussion protocol but missed the opening two games of the series. With two days off between games, Philadelphia will be hoping it can get its all-star center back in time for the series to shift to the shores of Biscayne Bay.

Sixers go on a run

A 17-5 Sixers run has pulled Philadelphia within four with 5:47 remaining in front of a raucous crowd inside Wells Fargo Center, as the Heat try to hang on and get themselves back into this series — and Philadelphia tries to put a hammer lock on it.

The Heat have gotten some decent looks, but Philadelphia has finally made some threes and gotten out in transition to get itself back in the game and wind things up.

This should be a fun final few minutes.

Vintage Dwyane Wade has Sixers ahead

The Philadelphia 76ers were unsustainably hot from three-point range (18 for 28) in Game 1. Dwyane Wade is unsustainably hot from everywhere in Game 2.

The future Hall of Famer is having a vintage performance through three quarters, scoring 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting in just 16 minutes so far as the Heat head into the fourth quarter with an 11-point lead.

It hasn’t helped the Sixers that they are shooting 4 for 24 from three in this one, either. Regression to the mean, anyone?

Touchdown Sixers!

How do you beat a full-court press out of a timeout? Throw a touchdown pass.

Dario Saric to Ben Simmons for six! Carson Wentz — or Nick Foles — to Zach Ertz wouldn’t have looked prettier to Philadelphia fans.

Steve Kerr isn’t won’t answer strategy questions. That’s nonsense.

The final question of Steve Kerr’s news conference was a simple one: Will Andre Iguodala remain in the starting lineup for a second straight game?

Here was Kerr’s response:

“I’m no longer going to be magnanimous in our information sharing. … You can ask me, [but] I’m not going to answer.”

The thing about this is, Kerr hardly ever answers strategy questions. This is a thing among coaches; Sixers Coach Brett Brown did it earlier Monday. The thinking goes that, with opponents paying attention to these news conferences, the coaches would rather keep their information close to the vest as long as possible.

Personally, I think this is nonsense. There isn’t an adjustment that these teams haven’t spent hours considering ahead of time. No extra half-hour of thinking is going to fix it. This is one of the few ways that the NBA is like the NFL.

But now, at least from Kerr’s perspective, he’s made it official.

Will opponents start daring Markelle Fultz to shoot?

It’s really been remarkable that Markelle Fultz has been able to return after missing most of the season and immediately make an impact for Philadelphia.

But it will be interesting to see — either in this series or as the playoffs progress — whether teams begin to try to dare him into being more involved as a shooter.

Fultz’s latest attempt — a step-back fadeaway in the baseline corner —resulted in an airball, and his shot still looks shaky. Could a team choose to employ the “Hack-A” strategy with him? Could they decide not to be within 10 feet of him when he has the ball?

Fultz isn’t going to play many minutes, but moves like that could make it difficult for Sixers Coach Brett Brown to play him at all.

An uneven start for Goran Dragic in Game 2

One thing that had to happen in Game 2 for Miami: getting Goran Dragic more involved. The Heat’s all-star point guard was all but invisible in Game 1, playing 31 ineffectual minutes that saw him score 15 points on 14 shots.

So it was a great sign for the Heat that Dragic came out aggressive in the opening minutes of Game 2, scoring six quick points. What was not so great of a sign? Him also picking up two fouls within the first five minutes of Monday night’s game and heading straight to the bench.

As one of the few Miami players who can consistently break down a defense, that could prove to be a key moment in the game.

What will the Heat do with Hassan Whiteside?

There are two things to watch in the opening game of tonight’s NBA playoff doubleheader between the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers: how much Hassan Whiteside plays, and how effective he is when he does.

Whiteside was dreadful in Game 1 on Saturday night, scoring two points on 1-for-4 shooting with two turnovers in 12 minutes. Most importantly, Whiteside was minus-16, with much of that coming in Philadelphia’s game-changing run to start the third quarter that put the Sixers ahead for good.

[How seven teams can even their NBA playoff series. (Sorry, Spurs.)]

After the game, Whiteside said he had faith in the coaching staff, but there have been trust issues between him and Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra for some time now. The blame for those issues lies with Whiteside, who has proven to be as unreliable as everyone thought he might be when Miami signed him to a four-year max contract two years ago.

Now, the goal for the Heat has to be to limit Whiteside’s minutes until Joel Embiid comes back in this series — because that is when Whiteside can have an impact. Embiid has already been ruled out of Game 2, however, so Whiteside’s role should be limited Monday night. How limited, and what happens if Spoelstra makes it really limited bears watching — not just for this series, but also as a prelude to a potential move away from Whiteside this summer (if Miami can find a taker for him).

Monday’s results