The Meaning Behind Kendrick Lamar & Dave Free's pgLang Revealed

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When Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free unveiled pgLang in March 2020, the internet flooded with questions about the new company, and clarifying details weren’t provided by either party. After two years of wondering, Dave Free has finally defined what the pgLang title actually stands for.

“pgLang / program language,” Free tweeted out on Wednesday (April 27). “pg is the operating system; bring your files, let’s work co-developers.”

After launching an official website later in 2020, the organization was described as “an at service” company for creative individuals dabbling in various mediums. The company’s mission statement elaborates a bit more on this.

“Lamar and Free’s new purpose at pgLang embodies something deeply personal to them,” it reads in part. “pgLang is at service to creators and projects that selflessly speak with, and for, the shared experiences that connect us all…In this overstimulated time, we are focused on cultivating raw expression from grassroots partnerships.”

The first official signee to the company was Kendrick Lamar’s cousin Baby Keem, and in March they signed their second act: a California rapper named Tanna Leone. Leone dropped off his debut album Sleepy Soldier on Thursday (April 28). In an interview with Complex, Leone elaborated more on why he decided to partner up with pgLang.

“It’s beyond the fact that it’s artists involved,” he said. “It’s really like a family. It’s its own ecosystem and it really supports the creative. It really supports and respects everyone’s mind in the team, because everybody’s there for a reason. So that makes it very special.”

He continued, “It was perfect for me, because outside of music, I’m creative in other spaces and I’m skilled in other spaces. It took me a while to realize I wanted to pursue music, so on that journey, I started getting good at other things. That alone is why being a part of a company like pgLang is so attractive to a multifaceted, multi-hyphenated, creative artist.”

Kendrick Lamar recently relied on pgLang to announce his new album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. He initially tweeted out a link to his website, oklama.com, which contained a Michael Jordan-inspired press release from pgLang that detailed the project. He then announced the name and release date on pgLang’s website.