7 Things to Know About Kendrick Lamar's Family Life: His Private Relationship With Whitney Alford, His 2 Kids and More

Born on June 17, 1987, to Kenny Duckworth and Paula Oliver, rapper Kendrick Lamar is one of the most successful and influential artists in the music industry since his debut in the early 2000s.

While the 37-year-old keeps his personal life relatively private, he has famous family members, including former Los Angeles Lakers player Nick Young and rapper Baby Keem.

In an interview, Lamar opened up about his parents and how they shaped his life and music career.

"I grew up in Compton, the west side of Compton…[and] my moms and my pops were influential," he said. "They played everything for me – gangsta rap to oldies. You'd hear Snoop [Dogg], [Dr.] Dre, and then you'd hear Marvin Gaye on the next track. I'd stay in my corner, and eventually, they'd say, ‘What you've got to do in life is find something positive. You know what reality really is.'"

Lamar continued, "Nothing is never sugar coated around here; [you] wake up every morning and pray to God that you see another. They really support me the most because they know at the end of the day, it's a turn-around I'm trying to put on with the music and this mad city. That's why I'll be able to walk through Compton…and people will give me that respect and th[ey] salute."

In a 2015 interview on Power 105.1, Lamar confirmed he popped the question to his high school sweetheart.

Although he keeps their relationship out of the spotlight, the "Like That" singer said he would not call his fiancée his "girl."

"That's my best friend. I don't even like the term that society has put in the world as far as being a companion — she's somebody I can tell my fears to," he told Billboard before the release of his third album, To Pimp a Butterfly.

Drake extended his feud with Lamar when he released his diss track "Family Matters," in which he dropped infidelity claims.

"You the Black messiah wifing up a mixed queen/ And hit vanilla cream to help out with your self-esteem/ On some Bobby s---, I wanna know what Whitney need," Drake rapped in the song.

The 38-year-old artist also mentioned Alford and the alleged cheating issue in his 2024 song "Push Ups."

Lamar and Alford became first-time parents when they welcomed their first child, Uzi, in July 2019. The public did not learn the daughter's name until the hip-hop artist mentioned her in his song "Mr. Morale" from his fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, in May 2022.

"Uzi, your father's in deep meditation," the lyric read.

In the same studio album, Lamar hinted at the birth of their second child — a son — by singing his name in "Mr. Morale."

He delivered the line, "Enoch, your father's just detoxed."

Reflecting on his fatherhood journey, Lamar candidly shared his kiddos inspired him to release his fifth studio album.

"[Then] I thought about my children. I thought about when they turn 21, or they're older in life and when I got grandchildren, or if I'm long gone — this can be a prerequisite of how to cope. That's the beauty of it for me," he told W Magazine.