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PGLang

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PGLang
Company typePrivate
IndustryMusic
Entertainment
FoundedSeptember 2019; 5 years ago (2019-09)[1]
FounderKendrick Lamar
Dave Free
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Websitepg-lang.com

PGLang (stylized as pgLang, an acronym for Program Language) is an American multi-disciplinary creative collective founded by Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free. Launched on March 5, 2020, the collective houses a record label, a production company, and music publishing services.[2]

History

Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free met when the two were in high school, and also co-directed music videos together under the collective name The Little Homies.[3] In 2019, Free announced his departure from Top Dawg Entertainment after being the co-president of the label, saying "None of the tactics we used back in the day to break Kendrick, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, or Schoolboy would work now. It's a whole new game. Blogs were very influential back then and I'd have to build a lot of relationships with blogs and now it's just more about streaming. You have to have the relationships with the streaming sites and it can't just be a fake relationship."[4]

On March 5, 2020, Lamar and Free announced the launching of PGLang, which was described as a multilingual, artist-friendly service company.[5][6] The company is multilingual for creators, with its official mission statement saying "Our community speaks music, film, television, art, books, and podcasts – because sometimes we have to use different languages to get the point of our stories across. Stories that speak to many nations, many races, and many ages."[7] In a press release, Free said that the company "is not a record label, a movie studio, or a publishing house. This is something new. In this overstimulated time, we are focused on cultivating raw expression from grassroots partnerships."[8] The announcement also featured a "visual mission statement", a four-minute short film starring Lamar, Baby Keem, Jorja Smith, and Yara Shahidi.[9] Lamar simply stated in the press release, "Selfless. Reset."[10][11]

On January 13, 2021, PGLang announced an advertising campaign with Calvin Klein, with a series of seven short films written and directed by Free.[12] The short films included appearances from Baby Keem, Brent Faiyaz, Mecca Allah, Travis Bennett, and Amber Wagner, among others.[13][14] In 2022, an untitled comedy film to be produced by Free, Lamar, Matt Stone, and Trey Parker was announced, with Vernon Chatman set to write.[15]

On March 9, 2022, PGLang announced the signing of Los Angeles artist Tanna Leone.[16] Leone would go on to release his debut album, Sleepy Soldier, on April 27.[17] On May 2, the company collaborated with Converse on a sneaker collection called "pgLang for Converse" featuring two silhouettes: the Chuck 70 and the Pro Leather.[18] On May 13, Lamar released his fifth studio album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers as a double album and his final project with Top Dawg Entertainment.[19]

Roster

Act Year
signed 		Releases
under pgLang 		Notes
Kendrick Lamar Founder 1 Jointly with Aftermath and Interscope
Baby Keem 2020 1 Jointly with Columbia
Tanna Leone 2022 1 Jointly with Def Jam

Discography

Studio albums

Artist Album Details
Baby Keem The Melodic Blue
Tanna Leone Sleepy Soldier
  • Released: April 27, 2022
  • Label: pgLang, Def Jam
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Kendrick Lamar Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
Baby Keem The Melodic Blue (Deluxe)
  • Released: October 28, 2022
  • Label: pgLang, Columbia
  • Format: Digital download, streaming

Filmography

Films

Year Film Directed by Artist Distributor
2022 "We Cry Together" Kendrick Lamar, Dave Free, Jake Schreier Short film YouTube
2022 The Big Steppers Tour: Live from Paris Mike Carson, Dave Free, Mark Ritchie Concert film Amazon Studios
TBA Untitled film produced by Matt Stone and Trey Parker TBA Film Paramount Pictures

Music Videos

Year Song Artist Album Directed by
2020 Hooligan Baby Keem The Melodic Blue Jake Schreier
2021 No Sense Savannah Setten
Durag Activity Baby Keem, Travis Scott Eliel Ford
Family Ties Baby Keem, Kendrick Lamar Dave Free
The Melodic Blue (Album Trailer) Baby Keem
Issues Jake Schreier
First Order Of Business Dave Free
2022 16 Jonas Lindstroem
With The Villains Tanna Leone Sleepy Soldier Neal Farmer
Death 'N Taxes
The Heart Part 5 Kendrick Lamar Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers Dave Free, Kendrick Lamar
N95
Picasso Tanna Leone Sleepy Solider Medet
Rich Spirit Kendrick Lamar Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers Calmatic

Other

Title Release date Notes
pgLang for Calvin Klein January 14, 2021 Advertising campaign
pgLang for Converse May 2, 2022 Advertising campaign
pgLang for Cash App August 14, 2022 Advertising campaign


References

  1. ^ "Dave Free - Founder - pgLang". LinkedIn. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  2. ^ Mamo, Heran. "Kendrick Lamar Announces Mysterious 'pgLang' Project: What Does It All Mean?". Billboard.
  3. ^ Yoo, Noah. "Dave Free No Longer Co-President of Top Dawg Entertainment: Report". Pitchfork.
  4. ^ "Dave Free Leaves Top Dawg Entertainment". Rolling Stone.
  5. ^ Mamo, Heran. "Kendrick Lamar Announces Mysterious 'pgLang' Project: What Does It All Mean?". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 5, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  6. ^ Holmes, Charles (March 5, 2020). "Kendrick Lamar Launches... Something (And Says It's Not a Record Label)". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  7. ^ McKinney, Jessica. "What Is pgLang? Kendrick Lamar's Mysterious New Company, Explained". Complex.
  8. ^ "Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free Launch New Company pgLang". Complex. Archived from the original on March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  9. ^ DeVille, Chris. "Kendrick Lamar & Dave Free Launch "At Service Company" pgLang". StereoGum. Archived from the original on March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  10. ^ Strauss, Matthew. "Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free Launch New Company pgLang". Pitchfork.
  11. ^ "What Is PgLang? Decoding Kendrick Lamar's Mysterious Company". GQ.
  12. ^ Dunn, Frankie. "Kendrick Lamar's pgLang has collaborated with Calvin Klein". Vice.
  13. ^ Triscari, Caleb. "Kendrick Lamar's pgLang announces creative project featuring Baby Keem, Brent Faiyaz and more". NME.
  14. ^ Darville, Jordan. "Kendrick Lamar's pgLang is launching a Calvin Klein campaign". The Fader.
  15. ^ Grobar, Matt. "Kendrick Lamar, Dave Free & 'South Park' Duo Matt Stone And Trey Parker To Produce Comedy Penned By Vernon Chatman For Paramount". Deadline.
  16. ^ "Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free's pgLang Announces Partnership With Los Angeles Artist Tanna Leone". Complex.
  17. ^ "PgLang Rapper Tanna Leone Drops His Debut Album 'Sleepy Soldier'". Uproxx.
  18. ^ "A Closer Look At The "pgLang For Converse" Collaboration". Vibe.
  19. ^ Blistein, Jon (April 18, 2022). "Kendrick Lamar Finally Announces New Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
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