People tend to believe that hip-hop stops at being just a genre of music, when in actuality, hip-hop is a culture looked upon as a sport. When Mc’s such as Big L, Biggie, Tupac, and members Wu Tang Clan were alive, filters on what you said or who you came at didn’t even exist.
There was no such thing as rewriting your bars because everyone came their hardest with every 16, knowing that they had the best one. With all that being said, I’m not understanding the negativity seen in Kendrick’s verse on the No I.D. produced record, “Control.” There was a great number of MC’s, bloggers, and other hip hop heads who believed Kendrick went over board saying he was the king of New York and that he was starting a “beef” by name dropping rappers in his verse.
One thing that must be clear is that when you look at who has the biggest fan base as of right now in New York City, it is “King” Kendrick. In a recent Hot97 radio airing the show’s most known hip-hop personality, Peter Rosenburg, states that when it comes to most sold out shows this year in New York, Kendrick holds the title.
Therefore, nobody can get mad at his statement because he was merely stating the facts. Right? Of course we can’t forget the huge collection of legendary artists who have come out of New York, but this is a new generation coming up. In my opinion, Jay Z is the actual king of New York, but even he said MagnaCartaHolyGrail was his last album. Is it wrong for the crown to be passed? Or is it the fact that K. Dot is from California?
Despite whatever the reason may be, Kendrick is killing right now and I feel that the statement was fitting. Another thing I’m not quite understanding, is why people call his name dropping a “beef”. I say that beef can only exist if personal information is used. In the verse, Kendrick even states that those are his friends, he’s just trying to convert their fans. Those are the ones he looks at as competition. I would only be worried if he didn’t say your name, that means he doesn’t even consider you a lyrical threat. I feel like this whole thing was needed. Hip hop was getting too friendly & TDE as a whole brings that whole competitive spirit back where it’s needed, along with Pro Era and various others. The whole black hippy movement is dope. I applaud Kendrick Lamar’s move and I wish him many more blessings in the future. Congrats King Kendrick.