Furthermore, I don't think a problem arises until the media and the public start throwing around assertions that Rapper X is the greatest of all time or has dropped a classic.
What's happening with Kendrick is the same as what's happened with Kanye. They become popular with knowledgeable music fans when they first come out, then they get popular with casual fans. At first the former group of fans are happy about this but then when people say 'wait maybe Kanye is actually really good" so much so that they begin calling him the GOAT or saying MBTDF is a classic. This causes polarization because if it's one thing knowledgeable music fans hate it's going with the consensus.
So half the people turned on Kanye whilst half remained and he divided opinion. The exact same thing is happening with Kendrick. As soon as he starts earning the GOAT and classic plaudits, people turn their back on him.
It's not considered ridiculous for Carly Rae Jepson to feature on every one's AOTY list but if people have To Pimp a Butterfly, oh lordy, they're walking memes.
The only difference is nobody is calling Carly a GOAT, nobody has used the word classic. Despite Kendrick having an objectively much better album, more people will claim to like Carly's more because they feel uneasy about conforming with the 'classic' chatter that the other half of the internet is throwing around.
It's funny coz in a world of post-hipsterism it's the done thing to say you like a really popular popstar, because that's showing you're clearly not an elitist, right? But in this world liking an album that is being praised as a classic perhaps prematurely is preposterous. I can like Taylor Swift but if you like Kendrick Lamar you don't know what you're talking about.
Am I doing this right?
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