5 Things You Need To Know About Kendrick Lamar 1. He attended the same high school as Dr. Dre. The two hip-hop icons are both alumni of Compton’s Centennial High School. 2. His parents named him after The Temptations’ Eddie Kendricks. Soul music was always playing around the house as a child and clearly rubbed off on Lamar. 3. He is related to Nick Young. Lamar found out “Swaggy P” of the Golden State Warriors was his cousin in 2012. 4. DMX inspired him to rap. Lamar’s life changed after he heard DMX’s debut album, ‘It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot,' and inspired him to write his first rhyme at 13 years old. 5. He thinks ‘Damn’ is his best album. Lamar ranked his albums to radio host Big Boy, putting ‘Damn’ at the number 1, good kid, m.A.A.d. City at number 2, followed by To Pimp a Butterfly and Section.80.