Top VMA Nominee Kendrick Lamar to Perform at 2017 VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS

MTV today announced that platinum-selling, Grammy-award winning, Top Dawg Entertainment recording artist Kendrick Lamar, will take the "VMA" stage for the first time as a solo headline performer. The "VMAs" will air live from the "Fabulous" Forum in Inglewood, CA, on Sunday, August 27 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Lamar joins an extensive line-up of A-list performers for the show, including Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Ed SHeeran, The Weeknd and more, promising more music and unpredictable moments than ever before.

Compton native Kendrick Lamar has captivated audiences and fans with his trailblazing talent and prowess as a rapper, artist and storyteller. His rise to superstardom was further cemented by his preeminent, fourth studio album DAMN., which sold 603,300 copies in its first week, shot to number one on the Billboard 200 where it remained for four consecutive weeks, and is the highest selling album of 2017. Additionally, Lamar is this year's top VMA nominee with nods in eight categories including: Artist of the Year, Video of the Year, Best Hip Hop, Best Cinematography, Best Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Visual Effects, and Best Choreography.

Additional performers will be announced at a later date. The full list of nominees for the show is available here.

Kendrick Lamar is one of the rare artists who has achieved critical and commercial success while earning the respect and support of those who inspired him. He first stepped on the scene with The Kendrick Lamar EP (2009) and quickly followed it with Overly Dedicated (2010). Section.80 (2011) was released as a digital download and entered the Billboard 200 at number 113. In 2011, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg dubbed him "The New King of the West Coast," a notion Dre endorsed more significantly by signing Lamar to the Aftermath label. In 2012, Lamar's debut album good kid, m.A.A.d city was released and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. That year for the "56th Annual Grammy Awards," Kendrick was nominated in seven categories including Best New Artist and Album of the Year. In 2015, Kendrick released his third album, To Pimp a Butterfly, which immediately earned rave reviews and topped the Billboard 200 with sales of 325,000 copies within its first week. The album garnered Kendrick seven Grammy nominations, and he took home the award for Best Rap Album.

Fans can vote for their favorites across eight VMA categories, including "Video of the Year," "Artist of the Year," "Best Collaboration" and more by visiting www.vma.mtv.com. Additionally, voting for the "Best New Artist" award, presented by Taco Bell®, will remain live through the 2017 "MTV Video Music Awards" Pre-Show airing at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT. The top two artists will be revealed during the pre-show, kicking off a live Twitter hashtag vote with the winner being announced during the live main telecast. Nominees for the socially voted category, "Best Song of Summer," will be announced at a later date.

Jesse Ignjatovic returns as Executive Producer for the 2017 "MTV Video Music Awards." Bruce Gillmer, Garrett English and Lee Lodge are Executive Producers. Melanie Block serves as Executive in Charge of Production. Amani Duncan is Music Executive in Charge. Wendy Plaut is Celebrity Talent Executive in Charge.

To post a comment, you must register and login.