Los Angeles, April 17: American rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar has won a Pulitzer Prize for his album "DAMN".

Lamar's "DAMN" was announced as the recipient of the prestigious award on Monday, a history-making first for a rap artiste, as the music award is typically given to classical or jazz works, reported cnn.com.

It is the first non-classical or jazz work to win the award. 

"DAMN" is Lamar's fourth studio album and was released in April 2017. The 30-year-old musician won five Grammy awards in January for the album.

Lamar's politically charged performance at the Grammy Awards in January won him wide praise. "DAMN" picked up best rap album at the award show, and his song "Humble" also picked up Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Music Video.

The New York Times and The New Yorker were also awarded Pulitzer prizes for their reporting on Harvey Weinstein that put the #MeToo movement in the national spotlight.

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New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday night spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian over the phone and discussed the "serious situation" in West Asia.

Modi expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions in the region and the loss of civilian lives as well as damage to civilian infrastructure.

The prime minister told the Iranian President that the safety and security of Indian nationals, along with the need for unhindered transit of goods and energy, remain India's top priorities.

“Had a conversation with Iranian President, Dr Masoud Pezeshkian, to discuss the serious situation in the region. Expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions and the loss of civilian lives as well as damage to civilian infrastructure,” Modi said in a post on X.

The prime minister also reiterated India's commitment to peace and stability and urged dialogue and diplomacy to end the crisis.

The prime minister had spoken to leaders of several West Asian countries in the last 10 days in the wake of the coordinated offensive launched against Iran by the United States and Israel, in which the Islamic country's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed last month.

In retaliation, Iran has fired drones and missiles at Israel and US military installations around the Gulf region, including the global business and aviation hubs of Dubai and Doha.

Modi earlier spoke to the leaders of Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Israel and Qatar, and expressed concern over the attacks on their countries, and condemned the violation of some nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He also discussed the welfare and security of the Indian community residing in those countries.

Around 1 crore Indians live in the Gulf and West Asia. While about 10,000 Indian citizens live, study and work in Iran, more than 40,000 live in Israel.