No posts about THAT Kendrick verse?

LokoOne said:I thought this would have had its own post by now....










So did I. Back in the day it would've. Ah well... Bassie mentioned it in the Rap You're Feeling thread.





b/w





"This couldn't go in the rap ur feeling thread?"
 
I contemplated starting one.





I thought too about posting the track in the "Rap You're Liking" thread, but I figured it'd end up becoming a lightning rod for the standard-issue State Of The Art debate, as it has been on Twitter. I have no objection to those debates, but I dunno whether we still have a broad enough range of opinions on here to make it worth the trouble starting, much less reading.
 
i really dont get who thought it was a good idea to put K dot in the middle of this song? LET THAT BISH BREATHE





heard that jay elec recorded the verse almost a year ago, and kendricks was recorded saturday. not that that changes anything... this is typical KL imo, nothing to see here
 
didn't think the verse was particularly good tbh, he sounded a bit weak sauce





also thought the idea that it was inflammatory / a diss was completely blown out of proportion - sounded very considered and well meaning.
 
DocMcCoy said:bassie said:The headline is that he names names, that's really all.




I've seen some people acting all "meh" because he's invoking rappers "that 13 yr olds who don't know no better think are 'lyrical'" (actual quote from Twitter), and that this somehow lessens him as a rapper. Apart from this second point being utter bullshit, it ought to be obvious by now that this is the territory he's after - that occupied by lightweight pop-rappers coasting through their career on little more than charisma and the patronage of a handful of kingmakers, self-appointed or otherwise. It's not like he isn't demonstrably better than all the rappers he named.




(imported from the Rap You're Liking thread)








This is the type of Lamar gusto I like, but I feel pretty meh about the roll call. Without it, what are we left with? Probably not half the hype or a mention in Business Insider lol?





It would have been a nicer verse (not charitable, but better) and much more elegant had he left it at calling himself the king of New York.
 
I thought the song was kinda boring but his rap was very cool. The most incendiary part IMO was when he called himself the King Of NY. That was a big throwback to east vs west kinda beef.





I liked Jay's rap more than Kendricks as a whole but Kendricks had the ultimately, most memorable lines.
 
With out the name drops, we wouldn't be talking about this. For those listening, THAT part of his verse made total sense and isn't sensational at all...it's how every braggadocio-stle MC is supposed to feel.





People come off as so eager for any potential





tumblr_mg5y15KyPb1qa3bzoo1_400.gif






type of moment that they aren't willing to actually listen to what he's saying. Just..."YO HE CALLED THESE DUDES OUT AND EVEN ON DUDE'S OWN TRACK?!?!?!?!"





EDIT: Only shit Big Sean needs to be embarrassed about is how forgettable his verse was.





b/w Nice to hear that Funk Master Flex is still utilizing the most annoying and distracting name drops ever. Brings me back to the "CLUE! NEW SHIT!" days.
 
JectWon said:


EDIT: Only shit Big Sean needs to be embarrassed about is how forgettable his verse was.







Big Sean needs to be embarrassed about himself, period. That dude is straight-up garbage.
 
DJ_Enki said:JectWon said:


EDIT: Only shit Big Sean needs to be embarrassed about is how forgettable his verse was.







Big Sean needs to be embarrassed about himself, period. That dude is straight-up garbage.




Yes.
 
JectWon said:





People come off as so eager for any potential










I think this is a fair point, but really, the only people who still think Kendrick is just a rapper with "potential" are either those "rap game Grandpa Simpson" YouTube comments types who are all "back in my day it was like this every week.." (no, it wasn't), and those people who've taken Drake's "Started From The Middle" narrative at face value, swallowed it whole and took it as a reliable metric for what constitutes a great rapper in the present day. Kendrick been doing this. He's not "good by current standards" - he's good, full stop. If anything about Kendrick is in any way a surprise, then you haven't been paying enough attention.





As for the people who ask, "yeah, but is he as good as Kane/G Rap/Rakim/Prince Whipper Whip/[insert name of Golden Age touchstone here]?"...well, personally, I don't need nor expect someone to reinvent the wheel every time they step in front of a mic. "Being a good rapper" and/or "making good rap music" will do to begin with. I mean, maybe the food doesn't taste the same as it did before they started pumping it full of chemicals or additives or whatever. But you can still get something good to eat when you need it. Feel me?
 
Not for nothing, but as far as the west is concerned and LA in particular, kdot did reinvent the wheel and deserves every ounce of respect and praise he gets. And he's a better mc than 98% of the old crusties stinky dudes like to fetishize.
 
DocMcCoy said:JectWon said:





People come off as so eager for any potential










I think this is a fair point, but really, the only people who still think Kendrick is just a rapper with "potential" are either those "rap game Grandpa Simpson" YouTube comments types...




Totally accurate points. I think my quote is written poorly on my part. I meant that people are so eager for anything that can be seen as a 'oh shit did you hear that epic DISS' type moment now. I write like an idiot. I wasn't trying to say K is a potentially good MC...he's good at this very moment by any standard, in my opinion.
 
Clearly, Kendrick sits at the top of the heap right now. And for him to challenge other dudes to step up their games in a competition with him is just downright good for the music. Unfortunately though, I've already seen too many stans praising that Joell Ortiz response track when to me it's utterly remedial and lacking in style. Also, I kinda wish Kendrick woulda left Big KRIT outta the mix as he's already in his own lane that properly competes with Kendrick. As for the rest of them rappers mentioned, consider yourselves crushed.
 
don't think it will change hip-hop's new directions much, I feel Kendrick is exploiting his popular position and style a bit here, he's rather on the conservative side of what constitutes good rapping, but it's been a real while rap is moving away from rigorous technical flow (kanye, lil wayne etc). I'm not talking about big sean here (he doesn't seem good for what he's going for), but it's not new that there are massive differences, they're really due to approaches. I don't know, listen to something like Leaf/Take 1, according to the old wheel the difference in skill is ridiculous, yet I generally prefer Main Attrakionz to AsapRocky. /rant
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

RAJ
Soul Strut 25. This is the End.
Replies
81
Views
8K
Strut Central
ketan
ketan
A
Web Hosting Services for Music website
Replies
10
Views
669
Off Topic (NRR)
klezmer electro-thug beats
klezmer electro-thug beats
V
Betty Davis Documentary on Prime Video
Replies
2
Views
527
Strut Central
volumen
V
dizzybull
What is the most WTF awful song ever made?
Replies
7
Views
908
Music Talk
para11ax
para11ax
dizzybull
2021 Predictions
Replies
8
Views
603
Off Topic (NRR)
ketan
ketan
Top Bottom