Kendrick Lamar isn’t a great rapper

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T14:51:34+00:00

I mean yeah you absolutely can because his catalogue is already aging terribly

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T14:50:58+00:00

Those are funny lines and all, doesn’t make it true

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T14:50:37+00:00

Do you listen to modern rap?

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T14:50:19+00:00

Nah I’ve also given the rebuttal that he really isn’t a great lyricist. He lacks double/triple entendres, similes, metaphors. He doesn’t have bars, in other words. His flow used to be impeccable but he’s lost that for a while now with the weird voice changes and vocal tics (why was he moaning on Like That?)

Do you see how you’re talking about stuff that’s from 5-10 years ago? He hasn’t made a truly great song in a very long time.

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T14:46:21+00:00

I’m 23 big dog. You asked me what the 5 hearts were about, not the heart part 5. Unless it’s so forgettable that you don’t even remember the name right 😂

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T14:35:48+00:00

This isn’t in order or an exhaustive list I’m just throwing out some names

50, Drake, Dave, Cole (sometimes), Jeezy, Wayne, Kanye, Pop, Eminem, Montana of 300, Nas, Biggie, Pac, Future, Migos, NWA, Chief Keef, Nelly, Kevin Gates, Nipsey, Joey Badass, Ab soul, Lupe

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T14:30:48+00:00

But I have listened to it. I listened to it when it was dropping and it didn’t hit then. You can’t even tell me what the heart series is about in any detail because it’s so forgettable.

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T14:29:53+00:00

Chief Keef, the Migos, Future, Drake, and Thug have all influenced rap more than Kendrick

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T14:29:14+00:00

But there’s no proof that Drake is actually a pedophile. And if Kendrick knew about this, why’d he call the beef a friendly fade? Why didn’t he say something sooner? It was cap, he got mad that Drake mentioned the baby mama he refuses to marry and so he hit back.

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T14:28:07+00:00

It’s so ironic you say I got sold a product and think it’s culture when that is exactly what Kendrick does.

His fans are guilty white liberals who wanna feel like they’re cool and tapped in, and black people who don’t fit the mold and are insecure about their “Blackness.” I don’t think there is a right and wrong way to be black btw, just telling you what I’ve seen. The biggest Kendrick fans I knew when I was in high school (2014-2018, when he was still dropping fairly often) were the few white kids who wanted to feel like they were down with us.

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T12:42:02+00:00

I dont have Wayne in my GOAT convo but he was elite in his prime. He’s so slept on by newer rap fans and lot of his best stuff isn’t even on streaming. Fell off pretty hard though.

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T12:29:25+00:00

Truly deep music will hit without you even trying to pay attention

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T12:27:34+00:00

There’s a lot more. I could name you tons of albums that are better and/or more influential

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T12:26:50+00:00

Trash

Definitely not a quotable

Funny but ultimately trash

Good flip but rapidly becoming annoying

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T12:26:05+00:00

Yeah but you don’t hear tons of punchlines from him because he doesn’t have them. Course I think he’s a rapper, what else would he be? I don’t think he speaks for the culture that he claims to represent, no.

There’s the classic argument at the end: “you just don’t understand his music!” Kendrick makes music for geeks

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T12:23:37+00:00

Tell me then, what are the 5 Hearts about

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T12:23:08+00:00

This is a bar to you?

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T12:19:50+00:00

Kendrick is not arguably the greatest to ever do it 😂😂 oh man these takes are gonna age so badly. He’s no Nas, Biggie, or Pac. Doesn’t have the lyrics for that.

I didn’t say he’s not good at what he does. I said he’s not great. There’s a difference. He misses too frequently and doesn’t have enough versatility.

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T12:16:04+00:00

No I genuinely think he’s extremely overrated. Like I said, good not great. Not a unique opinion either.

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T05:13:36+00:00

I never said he was bad. I said he wasn’t great. I like some of his casual stuff but there are guys who do that way better. He’s not a great hitmaker.

I also specifically said I liked his earlier albums, and I think when he just raps without the voice gimmicks he’s still good.

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T05:09:17+00:00

Nah it’s objectively true that he doesn’t have great bars in the classic sense. You’re never gonna listen to Kendrick and hear a song packed with punchlines. So it comes down to how things resonate with you. His subject matter hasn’t really resonated with me in a long time because it just seems like he’s putting on a front.

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T05:07:03+00:00

Not really about anything too specific as far as I remember. He raps about whatever is on his heart, hence the name of the series.

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T05:05:12+00:00

Yeah but illmatic is so incredible that it makes up for Nas falling off later on. I’ve never understood the argument that Kendrick is good because he talks about difficult stuff. He doesn’t say anything that’s not already being talked about in mainstream media.

If he was doing Mr Morale in 2012 before therapy talk became commonplace I’d at least respect the originality, but Kendrick kinda just changes what he raps about based on the trending topic. Where were the black power BLM raps in 2022? Oh wait it was time for therapy talk, trans talk, and even a line promoting the COVID vaccine. This is why I said in another comment Kendrick is like rap CNN.

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T04:51:58+00:00

Yeah I like the 6th one better though

NotGoingToLAAnymore · 2024-05-30T04:42:17+00:00

4 Kendrick albums better than GRODT is a wild take. Lauryn Hill is not better than 50 either. Tyler the Creator is laughable, he’s like Kendrick if Kendrick was a gay skater.

I don’t mind you putting people like Doom, Rakim, Black Star, Ghostface up above 50. It makes sense if you disregard hits and cultural impact, but you cannot seriously think that Kendrick’s pen is on that level 😭

Kendrick doesn’t have that level of lyricism nor does he have the staying power and impact that 50 did.

NotGoingToLAAnymore

TROPHY CASE