Kendrick Lamar on Big Sean's "Control" and Hip Hop Universe Goes Crazy
 

He just stirred **** up a little. I didn't want this to be in the Kendrick Lamar thread because it deserves some **** of his own. He just called everyone out and called himself "King of New York"

Everyone is going crazy. The twitterverse is going crazy, the black community, EVERYONE who is anyone in rap and hip hop needs to watch out.

Need I say more?

http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mb...eqhwo1_500.gif

OMFG, what!? but why!? and ummm :banghead:

I know I said I would cut back on gifs in the music area but good grief this .gif is appropriate and relevant

lol @ kendrick.

goin at cole, krit, mac, etc is one thing but comparing yourself to em, hova, and nas is just absurd. i now like kendrick less than i did before i heard that song

Also, did anyone else notice how much he sounded like DMX at parts?


I think I get why he's doing it. He just wants to stir up stuff and create some fake beef for the fans. I don't think he honestly believes any of the crap that he said.

He's already being called the King of L.A.
He's one of the best new rappers out there, considered to be one of the best lyricists.

I don't doubt that many rappers are actually threatened by this.

But Kendrick is better than everyone he mentioned with possibly the exception of K.R.I.T and Jay Electronica but K.R.I.T would never get himself involved in that sh*t. He's too level headed. And Electronica's been MIA for some time.

As for putting himself in the same category as Nas, Jay-Z, Eminem, Andre 3000 he's already better than Eminem. Andre's needing to drop a solo album to remind everyone why he's rated so highly. He's been making a transition into acting recently.
Jay's last album wasn't that great neither was Nas's so in recent form I don't see why it's so ridiculous for Kendrick to consider himself in that category. If Kendrick drops another album the same quality as his last two (8.0 and GKMC) he WILL be a top 5 MC. If not pushing for GOAT.

so then KRIT is pushing for GOAT too???? dude youre makin absurd statements right now.

first off andre has aways been over rated for me but thats neither here nor there

kendrick isn't on eminems level. not even close, at all. for you or anyone else to compare kendrick to guys like jay, nas, and em is just pure insanity and i cant believe ppl in this world have that thought in their brains. kendrick is relatively new, those guys have all put in 15 yrs in the game with extensive catalogs and classic albums. reasonable doubt, blueprint, SSLP, MMLP, illmatic etc. time will tell if 8.0 or gkmc will be a classic but i think you are really jumpin the gun to put him in the category of those guys. i think those 3 are in elite category.

i didnt even listen to all of jays new album yet but i thought nas's was actually alright even tho the subject matter got boring by the end of the album.

People are just saying that some of the rappers in the game like Jay-Z are getting old. Not my words. Paraphrased from Hot 97.

I think more people are just surprised that he became so intense all of a sudden, I don't really think they think it's "ridiculous."

the guys he mentioned ARE old, andre, jay, nas, em. all at different points of how relevant they still are within todays rap game


so there is and has been a new generation so to speak of rappers the past few years, kendrick being on of the bes of that group, but quite frankly its not only stupid but kinda insulting to those guys whove done work for 15 yrs for some guy with 2 albums under his belt to be comparing themselves to him. kendrick hasnt dropped an illmatic, kendrick didnt have the impact that em did when he burst on the scene, kendrick didnt build an empire like hova.

im tired of these young dudes not tryna earn their stripes. you wanna be the best then put in work instead of just talkin about it. nobody wanna work for anything anymore they just just wanna yell and holler about how good they are til foolish ppl start believing it. like i said, those dudes put in 15 + years with changing styles, classic albums, and huge catalogs. for him to be sayin this is real arrogant of him if he truly believes what he says, which i doubt is the case anways

Eminem's a joke. Always has been, based on skills alone he never would have taken off had he not been white. He got the fanbase and hype he did because he was marketable as an underdog (I.E. the 8 mile)

Andre is not at all overrated, the guy has the most insane flow perhaps of all time the way he effortlessly strings complex lines together and they just float off his tongue is mesmerizing.

I don't think Illmatic or Reasonable Doubt are any better than GKMC, which are considered to be the two best works of Jay and Nas respectively. As for greatness being judged purely on who's been around the longest time, people who are absolutely terrible like DMX would be in the running.

If people are able to put Notorious BIG in their Top 5's after two albums, why not Kendrick?

As for this whole thing about 'classics' I don't buy into it. You're telling me just because one album is older than another it is better? If so Grandmaster Flash would never be knocked off the hip-hop totem pole. It's a ridiculous criteria to judge anything by. An album doesn't get any better after its release, it doesn't suddenly take on a life of its own and become something different so the age of it is irrelevant when discussing which is simply better.

As for Big K.R.I.T as an actual rapper he's as skilled as K.Dot, that's what I'm saying. K.R.I.T just hasn't had the breakout record yet to truly elevate him. But riddle me this, how is it that people with less extensive discographies like Biggie manage to skip your "more equals better" logic.

If we're talking who's the better rapper for example Big L was better than Jay-Z, but because Jay-Z has been alive longer and put out more records that makes Jay better in your eyes?

because biggies album had TIME to become classic. you gain and lose different perspectives when you have the luxury of time. plus the whole west coast/east coast feud at the time which became more of a pop culture thing than just a hip hop thing made him larger than life. kendrick isnt anybody in the large scheme of things in pop culture.

you are so off base with the stuff you say about classics. sure the material doesnt change but you are telling me that you have never viewed something differently 10 yrs after the fact?? ppl do all the time with many different things, like i said you get a broader perspective and aren't stuck in the moment anymore.


i know this site just had that big improvement topic about bein polite but i dunno what to even say about that bolded part. im just flabbergasted completely that those words would ever be typed or said by anybody ever. em's rhyme schemes and flow are only rivaled by nas imo. jesus just look at the tons and tons of huge eminem songs. if you cant see the incredible talent in a song like lose yourself then i just dont think you have any credibility talkin about rapping.

longevity IS impressive. it is impressive in any profession, to be able to remain good at something that is so hard to do for such a long period of time. even if there are flops, which is the case with almost anyone with a lot of time in any genre, its impressive. SSLP, MMLP, Encore, Relapse, Recovery, etc. i dont even like all of those albums, especially encore and relapse but dont hate on longevity if thats what you are doin

plus i hate how you are twisting my words and want you to stop. saying things like:

and

so what are you tryin to do, fabricate my argument in this discussion so yuo have something to argue agaisnt?? of course i didnt say greatness was only defined as who has been around the longest. of course i didnt say that because one album is older its better. so why make it up?? its like u wanna sensationalize what im sayin to make your viewpoint seem more legit

Can we try to refrain from personal attacks so that you don't get my thread closed? Thanks.

ummm sure lol i dont think there really were any but ok

I'm making sure things don't escalate from here. I really want to see what people have to say about this.

See everyone on this forum harps on and on about "classics"
What makes an album a "classic", media telling you so? Time doesn't change anything. It just gives people an abhorrent illusion of nostalgia and a longing for the past. What you're in effect saying is an album can't reach "classic" status until it has aged to a certain point. But that is the weakest criteria I've ever heard for an upgrading in ones opinion of a subjective matter.
Biggie's albums are classics and GKMC, MBTDF, etc aren't because they're newer. That's just ridiculous.
As for Biggie and Pac's beef increasing their stature in pop culture, obviously that's true but it shouldn't affect the way we view their music. Madonna is a bigger icon in pop culture than Jay Reatard doesn't make her music better than his.

Are you honestly telling me Eminem would have had the same success if he weren't a gimmick rapper? His gimmick was that he was the white underdog in the black man's yard and if that weren't enough he had to run with the whole 'Slim Shady' shtick when the novelty of his colour started wearing off. After that came the worst of all Eminem stages in the self righteous 'my daughter this, my daughter that' stage. I just find Eminem repulsive and it insults me that people think he's one of the best.

i do get what you are saying about the criteria for classics. and though i dont think anyone can objectively define it, a big reason to consider something a classic would be something received incredibly well in mainstream circles and music critics as well as more underground circles. BUT a big part of a classic is....does it stand the test of TIME which i am saying kendrick doesnt have, at least not YET!

and like it or not, an artists place in pop culture is a pretty big deal. why is biggie so revered and he only put out two albums? 1) very talented, original voice. 2) near the top of the pop culture pyramid. 3) died young and tragically, never got a chance to go downhill. it isnt the fact he was a huge pop culture name, its the byproduct of that which is exposure to a broader audience.

dude for you to call eminem a gimmick rapper is just crazy. im an open minded person and understand ppls difference in taste but i CAN NOT and WILL NOT EVER be able to understand how a hip hop fan can truly believe eminem is as terrible as you are saying. its one thing to say a dude has a gimmick, but calling them a 'gimmick rapper' just has a more negative vibe to it. cause mostly everyone has some kind of gimmick but youre saying that is all eminem is, even though he has made drastically different albums.

ive never understood the argument that eminem being white was a huge advantage for him. a poor white guy trying to make it in basically an all black profession... do you think he was just some random guy that some marketing team scooped up and marketed to the masses?? his TALENT got him to where he is at

First of all that Verse was crazy, more so toward the end. no doubt Kendrick is talented, but these shots are sketchy. if he somehow loses his longevity this will be embarrassing in the future lol. I wanna see other rappers response to this.

And for the two argueing, i agree with the both of you in certain aspects. I do specially agree with the fact that Biggie never had the chance to see if he would fall offf and the media teaches us that he is one of the greatest if not the greatest. But other than that imma stay out of the arguement. my name is jess and im not in this mess lol

They're putting a lot of emphasis on this verse. Like Rosenberg was talking about how people should be offended if they weren't called out on the verse and everything. That was crazy. Does this mean everyone should feel honored to be called out by Kendrick Lamar?

I loved the verse, though.

I loved how he called out even his friends and basically said this is competition, and I'm going to beat all of you. It shows who he respects, but it also shows that he wants to be higher than the top rappers in the game right now. It also shows who he doesn't think is competition.

It seems stupid but being called out by one of the best out right now, out of the blue is almost an honor because like you said he respects them as his competition. those are the people he feels who could threaten him. If you put it in a sports like context, when the players are off the court or field they all can be buddy buddy but when it comes to the game, they are enemies, and friendship is tossed aside. for Kendrick this is the game ya know?

I agree. I also think it was super weird that he did it on someone else's song lmao.

Did he even mention Big Sean in the lyrics? I have to check. But he just went odee. Maybe it's just me.

i think he did mention Big Sean cus he was in the song lol. ALSO one thing people gotta realize is that Kendrick is pretty much at his prime position or reaching it. Dude has been rapping at least since he was 16 and he blew up when he was like 24 and he is 26 now. He has been rapping probably before the age of 16 but either way he has about ten years of practice verses most of the new people he mentioned who are either still youngins or have been rapping for a shorter time(including the time they blew up). I think the natrual talent kendrick has plus the years of practice is a huge factor for his undeniable skill in my opinion. just a thought. and if you think about it it's the same situation with Kritt, he just hasnt had a breakout album yet, he is pretty much at the overly dedicated stage kendrick was in

oh and same with electronica dude is like 36 lol

I find it quite interesting the names that Kendrick decided to omit. If we're talking those who rose to prominence around the same time then Danny Brown is a glaring omission. Could it be that Kendrick considers D Brown to be a threat to the metaphorical crown he's placed on his head.

He also neglected to call out any of his Black Hippy crew which I find interesting, he was obviously trying to stir the pot but instead of taking rappers he's obviously more talented than I.E. Ab-Soul, Jack Rock, Schoolboy Q he just didn't mention them because of their friendship, which in the basis of the song is somewhat hypocritical as K.Dot's obviously calling out the guys he believes he's above.

I tell you though, just wait for Big K.R.I.T to drop a massive album. The guy's humble and self sufficient, he writes and produces everything he does. If he gets on board with some bigger names and converts his potential to a record I have no doubt he'll be the next big breakout guy. Even if he retains his humility he could go onto have a career similar to Mos Def or Black Thought.

He mentioned a lot of his friends. He probably didn't mention the others because they aren't a threat.

you got a good point. I could see D brown being a threat to him to be honest. even tho danny talks about a lot of stuff mainstream rappers do. u cant sleep on his lyricism. and it is interetsing he didnt call out black hippy, if he did that would be something!

Why do rappers have to call out other people? lol

I think its so arrogant. If you are the best why would you feel the need to do this? I think rappers that have the same talent as Kendrick are really insecure when they do this. Its one thing if someone called you out but if your just trying to be an arrogant a hole for attention it appears low especially when you have the talent where you dont have to do things like this.

Im actually pretty shocked and would not have expected something like this from him. I like Kendrick and he is probably the best rapper out right now.

However, he must be smoking PCP if he thinks he is lyrically on Nas' level.

Classics are timeless and are either albums or songs that you can play at any time/era and it would still sound "fresh". It would be very difficult to call an album that recently came out a "classic" when it hasnt proven the test of time. How do we know people will still be listening to the album a year from now? How do we know it will still have the same impact 10 years from now? I dont think it gives people an illusion or a longing for the past. It all boils down to how memorable the song or album is and the impact it has made. There are alot of albums and songs that the media call "classics" that I think really arent and then you have some albums that will never be held in the same regard that are classics.

Big K.R.I.T. is way better than Kendrick.

Exactly. It's not ONLY the aging that makes it a classic, but the popularity of the album over the years, even after other albums have fizzled out.

Well in kendricks case it is different. its not like he dissed them. He pretty much said that he loves thoes guys but it's comipetion so he is trying to best them all.

Its interesting he didnt mention Danny Brown, Joey Badass, Earl Sweatshirt and Action Bronson. I mean thoes are currently talked about as top new lyricist right now weather you agree or disagree with it or not, its a fact they are talked about as on top. The only one on top he mentioe was Krit, maybe because he isnt making as much noise as there guys

Is he a commercial rapper? Ive never heard of him. Can you recommend some songs to check out?

You're right, there are better rappers..... but Kendrick is a breath of fresh air for the hiphop/rap stations that have been plagued with cookie cutter generic rappers and rap songs.

The Kendrick Lamar hype blows my mind. I just straight up don't get it. I just find him irritating to listen to.

Do you? Like you don't like him at all?

I thought Section.80 was decent, with some standout tracks like **** Your Ethnicity, but still thought it was overhyped a bit. I consider GKMC the most overrated album in any genre in a very long time. I wasn't feeling any of it but it seems like it's universally loved by everyone from dickriders to acclaimed critics.

His voice and flow is just annoying to me. I can't listen to him for an extended period of time. I'm not seeing the lyrical genius that everyone else seems to see either. He's undeniably huge right now though; I just don't understand why.

even though i loved section 80 i do agree its overrated but i did love GKMC a lot tho.

and realtalk is right, he is just a breath of fresh air


Kurrupt did a similar thing 14 years ago, and kendrick mentions korrupt earlier in his verse

Really? I thought Watch The Throne was.... I rather hear a song like Poetic Justic saturating the air waves than a song like Ni***r in Paris

don't understand the kenderick hype myself either. Him being the greatest just seemed to be how he was marketed from the get-go. I thought the jay verse was a lot more creative and interesting.

That whole black hippy label is overrated. Stellar production team though.

check out his King Remembered in Time mixtape or his Return of 4Eva, both stellar records.

4Eva N a Day was also great.

Well the dictionary definition of classic actually mentions time:

Why's it so ridiculous that we can't judge it over a period of time? It could sound good now & dated in 10 years, or it could be ahead of it's time. A classic should be able to last the ages. This is why I don't think MMLP is a classic for example, most of the production sounds dated and very 'of the time' in a bad way, that doesn't mean I don't like it. I hammered it for a solid year when it came out and because it was when I started secondary school I feel nostalgic listening to it, doesn't mean I can't be objective about it though. I actually don't think Eminem has any classics to be honest.

I think as a general rule of thumb a classic album should tread some new ground or expand on something that's already been done and take it to a new level. You can't just make an album full of catchy tunes that isn't innovative at all and call it a classic. I don't care how many people listen to it in 20 years time or whatever. The whole thing is pretty subjective though imo.

I can't count the amount of times I've heard a new release, been giddy over it then a couple weeks later it's been gathering dust. I look back a few years after it came out and I realise it wasn't all that. Take Dizzee's Boy In Da Corner for example, nobody can deny that's a classic album. It is ten years old this week and still sounds fresh today, nobody has managed to recreate that sound and he was definitely ahead of his time and definitely trod new ground, there was no filler and fans of all genres can appreciate how good that was and entirely self produced at 17 years old. I'd say it's a classic album.

There were white rappers before him. Fact is if he wasn't skilled he'd have been found out quickly and he wasn't. '98-'02 he was up there.