Check out the rappers who respectfully didn’t want smoke with Kendrick Lamar
Ever since he stepped on the scene, Kendrick Lamar has been just as ferocious as he is poetic on a microphone. As typically expected in Hip Hop, presenting any form of aggression in music will more than certainly become an invite for challengers (or haters), and that was the case for the Compton emcee on several different occasions.
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One prominent instance of those conflicts came via Drake and J. Cole’s chart-topper “First Person Shooter,” which contained lines about Lamar and the fact that all parties have been labeled “The Big Three.” It didn’t take long for the former Top Dawg Entertainment emcee to send a shock-drop reminder of his position on wax.
Outside of competition and pure lyrical ability, Lamar transcended all genres by proving his worth as a hitmaker and storyteller. Every major label release in his catalog – from good kid, m.A.A.d city to Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers – received both critical and commercial acclaim. Even his independent releases remain in GOAT discussion as more listeners tune into his entire discography. As the saying goes, Lamar can talk s**t and back it up with little issue.
Below, REVOLT compiled all of the times a peer created any kind of issue (intended or not; on wax or off) with Lamar, only to apologize or clarify shortly after. While a few have maintained their stance toward K. Dot (Papoose being a prime example), others simply didn’t want the smoke.
1. Macklemore
Macklemore found himself in a bit of a pickle with Hip Hop purists after his and Ryan Lewis’ The Heist won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, besting the highly favored good kid, m.A.A.d. city in the process. The real problem came when the Seattle rapper decided to publicly share his apology text to Lamar on Instagram, prompting even more negative reactions on social media.
https://www.instagram.com/p/jqXYYAwK_y/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
"You got robbed. I wanted you to win. You should have,” Macklemore wrote in the screenshotted exchange before claiming that he meant to acknowledge his Cali peer on stage. “Then the music started playing during my acceptance speech and I froze.” Eventually, Lamar spoke to Billboard and addressed the debacle with love while giving his fellow XXL Freshman his flowers. Macklemore also revisited the cringe moment during a sit-down with Talib Kweli.
2. Big Sean
Big Sean and Kendrick Lamar’s relationship proved interesting as their careers evolved. No one really knows when the rift between the two began, but it’s become pretty clear that “Control,” Sean’s collaboration with Lamar and Jay Electronica, didn’t help matters at all.
On the track, Lamar famously challenged all of his peers in a fiery, spotlight-stealing verse – including the Detroit star. As a result, many of Hip Hop’s finest wrote verses in response, which kept the fans more than entertained. As for Sean, subsequent drops like “Me, Myself, and I (Freestyle)” and “No More Interviews” were seen as subliminal disses, which led to what many felt was a scathing response from Lamar on “The Heart Part 4”:
“My fans can't wait for me to son your punk a** and crush your whole lil’ s**t, I'll Big Pun your punk a**, you’re a scared lil’ b**ch/ Tip-toeing around my name, n**ga you lame, and when I get at you, homie, don't you just tell me you was just playin’...”
As he explained on the track “Deep Reverence,” Sean was able to connect with and patch things up with his past collaborator – a move that was spurred on by Nipsey Hussle’s tragic death. “I reached out to Kendrick, it wasn't even no real issues there to begin with/ Lack of communication and wrong information from people fueled by their ego, it's like mixin' flames with diesel,” he rapped.
3. Jay Electronica
After all of the hoopla from Lamar’s verse on Big Sean’s “Control,” Jay Electronica – also featured on the song – let it be known that he didn’t take too kindly to the discourse over the collaboration. Speaking to a fan, he tweeted that Lamar “really didn't say anything." In a subsequent livestream, he added that he liked Lamar’s “Cartoon & Cereal,” but "other than that, we don't know what that n**ga talking about." "Kendrick would tell you himself he couldn't body me. Kendrick is my son. Kendrick is my baby. Kendrick wishes he could be me,” Electronica added.
Not long after the comments, the “Exhibit B” talent returned to Twitter to ask for forgiveness. “[Minister Louis Farrakhan] told me to unite our people, not divide them,” he wrote. “Peace to K. Dot and TDE because regardless [of] whom or what, we are brothers fighting the same enemy. Forgive my past transgressions.”
4. French Montana
French Montana has been critical of Lamar on more than one occasion. In an interview with “The Breakfast Club,” the Moroccan-American talent had thoughts about the media’s portrayal of the Pulitzer Prize recipient.
“Because they position him like how they did in the Grammys as the new music. It’s not that it’s not the right thing to do, but I just feel like they, you see, like, the whole thing was, like, Kendrick night,” Montana said. “That album don’t sound like nothing that’s out. The whole Hip Hop game don’t sound like that.”
French then took things even further by responding to catalog comparisons with the Compton star on Twitter. “If [we’re] just talking about anthems, me versus Kendrick, hit for hit, I believe I can go neck to neck! [I’ve] been making hits for a long time! It ain’t my fault I believe in myself,” French noted. He even found himself in a back-and-forth with Young Thug, who strongly disagreed with the Mac & Cheese 5 rapper’s claim.
In a livestream exchange with Fat Joe, French squashed his beef with Thugger and downplayed his comments about Lamar. “I want to do the positive thing here and stay out the way of trouble ‘cause at the end of the day, me, Thug and Kendrick [are] three different artists,” French explained. “I just feel like I want everybody to do their thing... We all know [Kendrick’s] a GOAT. We all know he’s at the top of the food chain.”
5. Lupe Fiasco
In an interview with HOT 97, Lupe Fiasco felt like some people – including host Peter Rosenberg – were guilty of overdoing it with their fandom of the former TDE rapper. He also gave an honest critique of Lamar’s lyrical ability (and his own) when a fan inquired on Twitter.
“I’ll put it to you like this: K. Dot is not a top-tier lyricist to me and my standards when it comes to punchlines and bars,” he wrote. “His overall lyrics are good, his stories [are] phenomenal, but punchline entendre lyrically, I don’t see it... Also, the only issue that the world thinks I have with K. Dot — and I actually do — is that I think his ‘Control’ verse was wack and super overhyped to be a verse claiming you are the best rapper. It was very weird.”
In an Instagram livestream, Lupe expressed regret for his comments, as they appeared to create a lot of drama. “Maybe I should have just left it alone,” he admitted. “Even though my impetus was the ‘Control’ verse. I mean, you put yourself out there like that, so you opened yourself up to critique. I apologize for even engaging and talking about n**gas’ careers. I’ll never do that s**t again.” It should be noted that Lupe has since clarified that the aforementioned apology wasn’t to Lamar at all, adding, “I fear no rapper of any kind.”
6. Meek Mill
Meek Mill was one of many rappers who responded to Lamar’s hard-hitting verse on Big Sean’s “Control,” which mentioned the Philadelphia rhymer. Meek let his feelings be known with “Ooh Kill Em,” a freestyle over Dr. Dre’s “Forgot About Dre.” “Man, you claiming you the king of New York, what the f**k wrong with you, n**ga? Step back,” he rapped.
According to BET, Lamar returned fire while on stage during a New York concert. “[I’ve] been doing this s**t for years. I mastered this s**t. I have no time for irrelevant n**gas [or] new n**gas," he stated before referencing one of Meek’s biggest hits. "There's one n**ga in particular that needs to realize that there's 'levels' to this s**t. I'm motherf**king King Kendrick."
During Power 99’s Powerhouse concert in Philly, Meek downplayed any beef and showed love to Lamar, who was also in attendance. Lamar accepted the peace offering in a subsequent tweet.
https://twitter.com/kendricklamar/status/394241880612827136?lang=en
7. J. Cole
As REVOLT previously reported, Lamar decided to surprise the world with an appearance on Future and Metro Boomin’s WE DON’T TRUST YOU standout “Like That.” On his verse, he sent direct shots to both Drake and J. Cole in response to their chart-topping collaboration “First Person Shooter.” Lamar rapped, "F**k sneak dissin', first-person shooter, I hope they came with three switches... motherf**k the big three, n**ga, it's just big me!"
Cole then responded on his surprise project, Might Delete Later, with the impressive cut “7 Minute Drill.” “Your first s**t was classic, your last s**t was tragic/ Your second s**t put n**gas to sleep, but they gassed it," the North Carolina talent stated before adding, "Four albums in 12 years, n**ga, I can divide/ S**t, if this is what you want, I'm indulgin' in violence."
After some thought, Cole pulled a complete 180 and apologized to Lamar during a performance at Dreamville Festival, effectively stunning peers and fans alike. “That was the lamest, goofiest s**t. I say all that to say it made me feel like 10 years ago when I was moving incorrectly. And I pray that God will line me back up on my purpose and on my path,” he said.
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