Kendrick Lamar took the rap industry to task in August with his guest verse on Big Sean’s “Control.” A month later, he’s still waiting for a proper response.
“They gotta try harder,” he told a TMZ cameraman when asked about the many rappers who’ve tried to respond to his three-minute-long virtuoso performance.
On the now legendary verse Lamar, a Los Angeles native, declared himself the “king of New York,” groups himself among rap’s most storied names like Jay Z and Nas, and criticizes the medium’s reliance on flashiness over substance.
As controversial as all that proved to be, what really made people take note, was his calling out of a number of his peers including Drake, A$AP Rocky and J. Cole:
“I got love for you all but I’m tryna murder you n—-s
Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you n—-s
They don’t wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you n—-s!”
The verse immediately got the entirety of the rap world talking, with equal love and hate being espoused for Lamar’s daring move. And in a tradition that dates back to rap’s beginning, many MCs recorded their own competing verses over the beat.
But according to Lamar, none of those rappers – including Meek Mill, the only named rhymesmith to take up the challenge – can compete.