Lamar is a member of hip hop supergroup Black Hippy, along with fellow West Coast rappers and label mates Jay Rock , Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul. He first gain ed major attention after being mentioned by Dr. Ore resulting in a buzz for the, then upcoming, release of his fourth mixtape, Overly Dedicated (2010). In 2011, his independent album Section.80, released exclusively through iTunes, instantly ranked as one of the top digital hip hop releases of the year.

Early in his career, before releasing his major label debut , Lamar amassed a large internet following, and had al ready worked with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Ore, Wiz Khalifa, Game, Drake, Rick Ross, Meek Mill, Talib Kweli, Lady Gaga, Kid Cudi, Busta Rhymes, E-40, Warren G, Bun B, Tech N9ne and Lil Wayne among other popular artists.