His first mixtape, Youngest Head Nigga in Charge (Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year), was released while he was in high school.

He signed a recording contract with Top Dawg Entertainment in 2005, and his subsequent mixtapes were Training Day (2005), No Sleep 'Til NYC (with Jay Rock; 2007), and C4 (2009).

[4][5] To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) marked his first number-one album on the Billboard 200[6] and on charts in Australia,[7] Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

[12] His fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022), marked the conclusion of his tenure with TDE and Aftermath.

[13] In 2024, he surprise-released his sixth studio album, GNX, which succeeded his ongoing beef with Canadian rapper Drake.