(ThyBlackMan.com) Last Monday night, the rap world was taken by storm thanks to Kendrick Lamar’s outlandish but time-stopping verse on Big Sean’s “Control.” He called out various rappers, such as Big K.R.I.T, A$AP Rocky and Drake amid others and expressed to them his tactics of “murdering” them. Of course, he means by conquering them on the microphone. But, goodness gracious, the rappers who didn’t get called out should have the determination to step up their game. But did K.dots verse really wake up the simple minded rapper?
There are a few factors that made his verse very notable. First, the delivery and bars Lamar executed made it a near-flawless verse, without a doubt.
Second, his twist-and-turn songwriting lasted well over 30 bars, making the epic verse filled with metaphors worth listening to. But of course, third, the scene stealer was Lamar putting the hip hop world on notice that he will not only murder a song, murder whoever is on the song and also, murder his competition.
Fourth, the California rapper said he was the “King of New York.” For an industry that’s filled with cheesy and fast food type music, it was a serious but also important call to those who not only chose to sign on the dotted line that they will rap on calculated records, but to the fans that support those artists. Also a shot to the mecca of Hip Hop, K. Dot has implied New York rappers have lost their way. In other words, Kendrick is letting us know this is real rap. Rappers shouldn’t just worry about the demands of their label head. He is inferring that rap was originated on competitiveness, enthusiasm and fun.
To the Future’s, Tyga’s and whomever decides to dumb down their raps
defense, if it wasn’t for those guys, we wouldn’t have songs of an era, summer or whatever the case maybe. Yes, people will remember when “Same Damn Time” and “Rack City” were popular when they get older. 2 Chainz has his fair share of street hits and he also contributed to a lot of radio and club hits, as well. But, that’s it. I’m sure no one can name a time when 2 Chainz, Future or Tyga has ever excelled on a track lyrically. Well, can anyone? Nobody? Oh, okay.
So sure, the rappers who did get called out may feel some type of way or not. A few rappers mentioned, commented since the track release that it is good for hip hop or that they “Hear them loud and clear,” I.E. Pusha-T. But if you didn’t get called out, I personally would feel like I’ve accomplished nothing if I can’t get respect from my peers for my “talent.” It’s like if you won a bunch of awards and your parents told you, “You weren’t good enough.” Now, let’s look at the exact quote from Kendrick Lamar’s verse:
Wait, before we do that, let’s look at who he excluded, as in he wasn’t addressing them first.
“Who’s the best MC? Kendrick, Jigga and Nas
Eminem, Andre 3000, the rest of yall
New n****s just new n****s, don’t get involved”
Good thing Kendrick had the decorum to mention the already crowned greats.
Note: Notorious B.I.G. was omitted as a play on Jay-Z’s “Where I’m From” and Nas “Ether.” Jay-Z stated “Who’s the best MC, Biggie, Jay-Z or Nas,“ where Nas states “Who’s the best: Pac, Nas and BIG” “
Andre 3000, hmm, he could be considered but depends on who you ask. NOW let’s look at those he called out.
“I’m usually homeboys with the same niggas I’m rhymin wit
But this is hip hop and them n****s should know what time it is
And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big KRIT, Wale
Pusha T, Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, Drake
Big Sean, Jay electron’, Tyler, Mac Miller
I got love for you all but I’m tryna murder you n****s
Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you n****s
They don’t wanna hear not one more noun or verb from u n****s
What is competition? I’m tryna raise the bar high”
Wait, so no Lil Wayne? No Kanye West, either? For Mr. West’s sake, he hasn’t produced a lyrical album since Late Registration, so he probably hasn’t lost any sleep over being disregarded. But for those who weren’t mentioned, I believe it’s time to ditch the sappy strip club anthems, leave the calculated weed and molly songs alone and work on not being the butt of jokes. That means you, Wiz Khalifa (although I am a fan.) I can tell you from listening to older hip hop heads, that your first impression goes a long way with them. I’m sure that those rappers who felt snubbed actually have some lyrical talent, why not show the world?
I saw Lupe Fiasco tweet from an interesting perspective following the release of the song. It goes as follows:
Lupe Fiasco @LupeFiasco 13 Aug
It’s now basically a Fiat Currency in a system that has embrace perpetual inflation as the norm…but it’s still n****z with gold bouillon!
Lupe Fiasco @LupeFiasco 13 Aug
The “Best Rapper” has went away from actually who raps the best to who MTV’s non-rapping panel says who they think raps the best.
Lupe Fiasco @LupeFiasco 13 Aug
And the bar for quality of work gets lower and lower in terms of actual skill exhibited vs reputation of the artist…
Lupe Fiasco @LupeFiasco 13 Aug
Couple that with the downside of social media and blog culture ie immediate and often subpar and improper critique of work…
Lupe Fiasco @LupeFiasco 13 Aug
Every “new” rapper in the past 5 years because of Wayne & Kanye mostly have merely combined pre-existing styles w/ radio ready patterns
Lupe Fiasco @LupeFiasco 13 Aug
My mind is like a museum when it comes to rap (not beat-picking) & the ONLY place that has shown true innovation of the craft is Battle Rap.
Great point, Lupe. Just about every rapper has a duplicate or a sub duplicate of the duplicate. If not the same rapper, it’s the same subject matter and tone i.e. Meek Mill, Chief Keef and Ace Hood. But to conclude, I think Hip Hop lost its way and meaning. Maybe it’s an understatement, or maybe Kendrick and the rappers mentioned brought it back and we didn’t even know it. At the end of the day, Kendrick Lamar got us talking again and excited for battle. I mean, when was the last time THAT happened?