PGLang, LLC

Company type	Private
Industry	Entertainment
Founded	March 5, 2020; 5 years ago (2020-03-05)
Founders	Kendrick Lamar Dave Free
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Music films television art books podcasts clothing
Services	Artist management music production film production advertising publishing
Owners	Kendrick Lamar Dave Free
Website	pg-lang.com

PGLang (stylized aspgLang, anabbreviation for "program language") is an American independent multidisciplinary creative communications company headquartered inLos Angeles. Founded and owned byKendrick Lamar andDave Free, it specializes in music and visual media production. The company has won sixCannes Lions Awards, including the Special Award for Independent Agency of the Year – Craft in 2023.

American rapperKendrick Lamar and American filmmakerDave Free are creative partners who met while they were in high school.^[1] They signed toindependent record labelTop Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in the early 2000s; Free later assumed the role as the label's co-president, while Lamar became aminority shareholder.^[2] Through TDE, they formed the filmmaking duo the Little Homies and directedmusic videos.^[3] On October 4, 2019,Rolling Stone reported that Free had departed TDE and was working independently with rapperBaby Keem.^[4] Lamar later announced that he would also end his tenure with TDE through the release of his fifth studio album.^[5]

Lamar and Free formally launched PGLang on March 5, 2020, which was described as a "multilingual, artist-friendly, at service company."^[6] The company's mission statement reads:

PGLang is multilingual. 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. That is why our writers, singers, directors, musicians, and producers break formats when we build ideas and make them real for the curious. Putting round pegs through square holes is not a process, but we embrace the idea of anarchy and challenges that make us stronger. PGLang is focused on using our experiences, and nurturing our many collaborators, to build stories that are equally accessible and engaging then fitting them within the best media.^[7]

In a separatepress release, Free clarified that PGLang "is not arecord label, amovie studio, or apublishing house. This is something new. In this overstimulated time, we are focused on cultivating raw expression from grassroots partnerships."^[8] He considers PGLang to be a communications company, explaining: "we tell stories; we communicate between artists and establishments; we communicate that taste is interchangeable between fields."^[9] Free stressed the importance of branding PGLang correctly to allow the company to beambiguous, which gives him and Lamar "more room to grow and experiment. Creative companies haven't really worked like this before because they usually have a specific story and aesthetic, but we are taking a different approach."^[9]

On January 13, 2021, PGLang launched anadvertising campaign for fashion houseCalvin Klein, with a series of sevenshort films written and directed by Free.^[10] The short films starred Baby Keem,Brent Faiyaz, andTravis Bennett, among others.^[11][12] Through his joint contract withColumbia Records, Baby Keem released his debut album,The Melodic Blue, on September 10, 2021.^[13][14] The album received generally positive reviews from music critics and debuted at number five on theBillboard 200.^[15] Its single, "Family Ties" with Lamar, won theGrammy Award for Best Rap Performance.^[16]

On January 13, 2022,Deadline Hollywood reported that Lamar and Free were producing a comedyfeature film through PGLang, in a partnership withSouth Park creatorsMatt Stone andTrey Parker, forParamount Pictures.^[17] The untitled film is scheduled to be released in theaters on July 4, 2025, in a nod toAmerican Independence Day.^[18]The company announced the signing of rapperTanna Leone on March 9, under the aegis ofDef Jam Recordings.^[19] He released his debut album,Sleepy Soldier, on April 27, 2022.^[20] PGLang launched a footwear collaboration and advertising campaign for lifestyle brandConverse on May 2, 2022, which starred Leone andSelah Marley.^[21]

Lamar released his fifth album,Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, on May 13, 2022.^[22][23] Receiving critical acclaim, the album debuted atop theBillboard 200 and was later awarded theGrammy Award for Best Rap Album.^[24][25] PGLang presented its accompanying tour,the Big Steppers Tour, through a partnership withCash App andAmazon Music.^[26] The tour premiered an advertising campaign co-starring Lamar andRay Dalio for Cash App, which won aWebby Award for Top Scripted (Branded) Video,^[27] and the shortfilm adaptation of "We Cry Together", a song by Lamar andTaylour Paige.^[28] Aconcert film documenting the tour,Kendrick Lamar Live: The Big Steppers Tour, was released throughAmazon Prime Video on November 23, 2022.^[29] PGLang partnered withSpotify andnon-governmental organization Surf Ghana to open Vibrate Space, a community recording studio and music business program inAccra.^[30]

PGLang won six awards during the 2023Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, including the Film Craft Grand Prix for Direction and the Special Award for Independent Agency of the Year – Craft.^[31][32] In November 2023, the company released their second footwear collaboration with Converse and their first mobile phone collaboration withLight Phone.^[33][34]Dominic Fike and Baby Keem starred in the advertising campaign for Converse.^[35] PGLang announced a five-year partnership withGlobal Citizen to establish and curate Move Afrika: A Global Citizen Experience, the first major touring circuit across theAfrican continent.^[36]

Lamar unexpectedly announcedThe Pop Out: Ken & Friends two weeks prior to the event. It was a one-offconcert held at theKia Forum inInglewood, California, on June 19, 2024. TheJuneteenth andBlack Music Month celebration marked Lamar's first major performance following hishighly publicized feud with Canadian rapperDrake. Its set list consisted of about 60 songs predominantly conceived by musicians based in theGreater Los Angeles area. Spanning over three hours, over 25West Coast artists were featured during the event, includingopening acts DJ Hed andMustard,Ty Dolla Sign,Dom Kennedy,Steve Lacy,Tyler, the Creator,Roddy Ricch,YG,Schoolboy Q,Jay Rock,Ab-Soul, andDr. Dre. Lamar performed four of his five Drake-aimeddiss tracks, "Like That", "Euphoria", "6:16 in LA" and "Not Like Us", for the first time during his headlining set; the latter track was performed five consecutive times. After witnessing an exceedingly high demand in tickets,Amazon Musiclive-streamed the Pop Out throughPrime Video andTwitch. A total of 16,000 fans were in attendance for the event. The impromptu concert received widespread acclaim from critics, who hailed it as a cultural landmark forWest Coast hip hop and Lamar's legacy. It currently holds the record for the most minutes watched of any video production distributed by Amazon Music.

On November 22nd, 2024, Kendrick Lamar releasedGNX, his sixth album and second under PGLang.^[37] Titled after theBuick Regal model and following his feud with Drake,GNX is Lamar's first album to be released after his departure from longtime labelsTop Dawg Entertainment andAftermath Entertainment.^[38][39]

On September 8, 2024, theNFL,Apple Music andRoc Nation announced Lamar as the headlining act for theSuper Bowl LIX halftime show.^[40] He is the first rapper to lead the festivities multiple times.^[41] Lamar shared the news by posting a promotional trailer onYouTube, which was directed by his long-time creative partner Dave Free.^[42] Theone-shot trailer shows him on a football field in front of a large American flag throwing footballs through a passing machine at off-screen players.^[42] As he shoutsmotivational remarks to them, he introduces himself as the headliner.^[42] In the video announcing his selection, Lamar said "You know it's only one opportunity to win a championship. No round twos", which was interpreted as a shot against Drake, who posted a few weeks before that "we will win Game 2".^[43][44][45] Speculation arose as to whether he would incorporate "Not Like Us" into his performance.^[46][47] On January 23, 2025, it was announced thatSZA would be joining as a special guest.^[48] TheSuper Bowl LIX halftime show, officially known as theApple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show for sponsorship reasons, was thehalftime entertainment ofSuper Bowl LIX, which took place on February 9, 2025, at theCaesars Superdome inNew Orleans, Louisiana. It featured guest appearances from singer-songwriter SZA, actorSamuel L. Jackson, tennis playerSerena Williams, and DJ and record producerMustard. The show was televised nationally in the U.S. byFox andFox Deportes, withstreaming available viaTubi andNFL+. The performance was seen by a combined 133.5 million viewers domestically across all platforms, surpassingMichael Jackson'sperformance at Super Bowl XXVII in 1993 as the most viewed halftime show in the United States.

On 18 March 2025, Americanbusiness magazineFast Company released their "annual ranking of the world's most innovative companies over 58 industries and sectors, from advertising to video", with PGLang ranked as the 15th overall.^[49]

• 2020 establishments in California
• Advertising agencies of the United States
• American companies established in 2020
• American hip-hop record labels
• Clothing companies of the United States
• Companies based in Los Angeles
• Entertainment companies based in California
• Film production companies of the United States
• Kendrick Lamar
• Mass media companies established in 2020
• Music production companies
• Music publishing companies of the United States
• Privately held companies based in California
• Record labels based in California
• Record labels established in 2020
• Television production companies of the United States

• CS1 French-language sources (fr)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use American English from October 2023
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Use mdy dates from January 2023