Mar 4
Lord QuasDOOM, Black Thought, Andre 3,000, Mos Def, Rakim, Raekwon, Ghostface, GZA, KRS, Biggie, Nas, Jay Z, Jay Electronica, Roc Marci, Mach-Hommy, Rome Streetz, Conway The Machine, Big L, Lupe, Aesop Rock, Pharoahe Monch, Prodigy, Planet Asia, Guru, Scarface, Wayne, Pun, Method Man, Royce da 5'9"
Lmao
Mar 4·1 reply
Aftermathbws_I don’t hate Kendrick, I generally like his music. GKMC and TPAB are classics. I just find the d*** riding annoying. It was the same for Kanye up to Yeezus, he could release a fart on wax and the critics and fans would hail it as prolific. And I do think he’ll be in the conversation for top 10ish of all time when it’s all said and done, but for me the last 25 years haven’t exactly been prime years in rap. There are a lot of 90’s and even some 80’s artists I’d have over him
I don’t hate Taylor Swift, I generally like her music. RED and Folklore are classics. I just find the d*** riding annoying. It was the same for Madonna up to American Life, she could release a fart on wax and the critics and fans would hail it as prolific. And I do think she’ll be in the conversation for top 10ish of all time when it’s all said and done, but for me the last 25 years haven’t exactly been prime years in pop. There are a lot of 90’s and even some 80’s artists I’d have over her
Mar 4·1 replyAftermathbws_I don’t hate Kendrick, I generally like his music. GKMC and TPAB are classics. I just find the d*** riding annoying. It was the same for Kanye up to Yeezus, he could release a fart on wax and the critics and fans would hail it as prolific. And I do think he’ll be in the conversation for top 10ish of all time when it’s all said and done, but for me the last 25 years haven’t exactly been prime years in rap. There are a lot of 90’s and even some 80’s artists I’d have over him
do you mean “prophetic”?
Mar 4·1 replyCRACKASTEPPAVEGANI don’t hate Taylor Swift, I generally like her music. RED and Folklore are classics. I just find the d*** riding annoying. It was the same for Madonna up to American Life, she could release a fart on wax and the critics and fans would hail it as prolific. And I do think she’ll be in the conversation for top 10ish of all time when it’s all said and done, but for me the last 25 years haven’t exactly been prime years in pop. There are a lot of 90’s and even some 80’s artists I’d have over her
Please name a weak Madonna album prior to "Hard Candy."
- Mar 4vingu
do you mean “prophetic”?
I did
Mar 4·2 repliesAftermathbws_I don’t hate Kendrick, I generally like his music. GKMC and TPAB are classics. I just find the d*** riding annoying. It was the same for Kanye up to Yeezus, he could release a fart on wax and the critics and fans would hail it as prolific. And I do think he’ll be in the conversation for top 10ish of all time when it’s all said and done, but for me the last 25 years haven’t exactly been prime years in rap. There are a lot of 90’s and even some 80’s artists I’d have over him
I agree that BROADLY, lyricism in Hip-Hop has been very weak at the for a while now, but the peaks match any era IMO.
What do you look for in a lyricist really? There’s something to be said about Kendrick’s stories being so resonant and well-written that they’re starting to build fandoms unto themselves. I see art of Kendrick and Kendrick moments/characters from his albums constantly and I RARELY see that for other artists, especially rappers.
Kendrick can be “baby’s first lyricist” but he’s elite for sure. His commercial appeal is also a massive point for him. Now I’m thinking about a thread I saw on Twitter the other day
It’s a little cringe bit I can’t help but be impressed at how effective Kendrick’s messaging has been across his entire career to where he has these moments that everyone knows and references like a TV show. It’s awesome
- Mar 4
Kendrick the ultimate Hip-Hop filmmaker fr
- Mar 4·1 replyPazuzu Artist
Please name a weak Madonna album prior to "Hard Candy."
Erotica and Bedtime Stories are okay but not great
- Mar 4·1 replyWiggler
I agree that BROADLY, lyricism in Hip-Hop has been very weak at the for a while now, but the peaks match any era IMO.
What do you look for in a lyricist really? There’s something to be said about Kendrick’s stories being so resonant and well-written that they’re starting to build fandoms unto themselves. I see art of Kendrick and Kendrick moments/characters from his albums constantly and I RARELY see that for other artists, especially rappers.
Kendrick can be “baby’s first lyricist” but he’s elite for sure. His commercial appeal is also a massive point for him. Now I’m thinking about a thread I saw on Twitter the other day
https://twitter.com/alchemistdoodle/status/1893155116674380165It’s a little cringe bit I can’t help but be impressed at how effective Kendrick’s messaging has been across his entire career to where he has these moments that everyone knows and references like a TV show. It’s awesome
I'm not mad at the take of him being an "entry point" to more lyrical rappers. I mean obviously, his pen game is nothing to scoff at, goes without saying
- Mar 4·1 replyCRACKASTEPPAVEGAN
Erotica and Bedtime Stories are okay but not great
'Erotica' is my fav Madge album.
Ugh.
- Mar 4·1 replyPazuzu Artist
'Erotica' is my fav Madge album.
Ugh.
Idk, I'll give it another spin. I wasn't impressed when I heard it but I was younger then.
- Mar 4CRACKASTEPPAVEGAN
Idk, I'll give it another spin. I wasn't impressed when I heard it but I was younger then.
Yes, please do!
- Mar 4·1 replyCRACKASTEPPAVEGAN
I'm not mad at the take of him being an "entry point" to more lyrical rappers. I mean obviously, his pen game is nothing to scoff at, goes without saying
Kendrick’s being an entry point to other lyrical rappers is just another huge point to him being the GOAT. To be able to do what Kendrick does without dumbing it down for accessibility’s sake is just completely unheard of.
We used to have to worry about lyricism being dead in the mainstream and now Kendrick is over here writing new blueprints on how to have a successful career that’s true to the spirit of Hip-Hop. He’s undeniable man - Mar 4·3 repliesWiggler
I agree that BROADLY, lyricism in Hip-Hop has been very weak at the for a while now, but the peaks match any era IMO.
What do you look for in a lyricist really? There’s something to be said about Kendrick’s stories being so resonant and well-written that they’re starting to build fandoms unto themselves. I see art of Kendrick and Kendrick moments/characters from his albums constantly and I RARELY see that for other artists, especially rappers.
Kendrick can be “baby’s first lyricist” but he’s elite for sure. His commercial appeal is also a massive point for him. Now I’m thinking about a thread I saw on Twitter the other day
https://twitter.com/alchemistdoodle/status/1893155116674380165It’s a little cringe bit I can’t help but be impressed at how effective Kendrick’s messaging has been across his entire career to where he has these moments that everyone knows and references like a TV show. It’s awesome
The main thing I have against Kendrick’s story telling (for the most part) is that it doesn’t feel cinematic, I don’t feel like I can close my eyes and picture the scenes he’s talking about, I find there’s a lot of redundant non interesting detail and a lot of things I just don’t care about. Take for instance one of his last ones over that pac beat. The first time or two it’s good, then it’s very meh and not really a story (s) I wanna hear over and over again. There always seems to be some random corny pay off gimmick to make it sound more cleaver than it is… like it’s top dogg and Kendrick father 🤯 or the homeless guy is Jesus and you’re going to hell 🤯 I kinda like my story telling to be like a movie scene broadly speaking. I feel like the payoffs Kendrick goes for are made to be “deep” and WTF moments, that on first listen work but (for me) lack replay value. Kinda like how the whole pac poem/interview stop TPAB being an otherwise pretty flawless album.
Having said that he’s artistically doing what more people in his/this generation should be doing and concentrating on the art and at least he switches things up with his albums and doesn’t just stick to a single formula
Mar 4·1 replyKendrick a great story teller but not even top 5 in that lane, lets relax
Mar 4·editedLord QuasDOOM, Black Thought, Andre 3,000, Mos Def, Rakim, Raekwon, Ghostface, GZA, KRS, Biggie, Nas, Jay Z, Jay Electronica, Roc Marci, Mach-Hommy, Rome Streetz, Conway The Machine, Big L, Lupe, Aesop Rock, Pharoahe Monch, Prodigy, Planet Asia, Guru, Scarface, Wayne, Pun, Method Man, Royce da 5'9"
royce, planet asia, conway, and rome would get Johnny P’s Caddy levels of spun if they did a song w/ kendrick
not mad at the rest of the list tho, they’re def on the same tier as far as lyricism goes. i would kill for a kendrick x mach collab
Mar 4·1 replyGodzillaMinusOneKendrick a great story teller but not even top 5 in that lane, lets relax
I think Cole is a better storyteller
- Mar 4·1 replyAftermathbws_
The main thing I have against Kendrick’s story telling (for the most part) is that it doesn’t feel cinematic, I don’t feel like I can close my eyes and picture the scenes he’s talking about, I find there’s a lot of redundant non interesting detail and a lot of things I just don’t care about. Take for instance one of his last ones over that pac beat. The first time or two it’s good, then it’s very meh and not really a story (s) I wanna hear over and over again. There always seems to be some random corny pay off gimmick to make it sound more cleaver than it is… like it’s top dogg and Kendrick father 🤯 or the homeless guy is Jesus and you’re going to hell 🤯 I kinda like my story telling to be like a movie scene broadly speaking. I feel like the payoffs Kendrick goes for are made to be “deep” and WTF moments, that on first listen work but (for me) lack replay value. Kinda like how the whole pac poem/interview stop TPAB being an otherwise pretty flawless album.
Having said that he’s artistically doing what more people in his/this generation should be doing and concentrating on the art and at least he switches things up with his albums and doesn’t just stick to a single formula
That’s actually a really understandable thing to have a problem with but I disagree with the idea that it’s a crutch for him. He does like his big dramatic twists but those are extremely human to me and usually pretty well done. IMO, his approach is much appreciated especially in this “purpose-is-corny” era we’re in.
Like, the end of Auntie Diaries? That’s beautiful music and it was genuinely shocking for me at the time. His payoffs are pretty well-earned enough for me to not consider it gimmicky when he goes there.
Did you like heart pt 6 off GNX?
- Mar 4
kendrick’s prose is what sets him apart for me. i’ve never heard a lyricist talk the way he does:
Maybe if I could live hundred years, that’d be real
Pay me if I'ma be rhymin' these homonyms
Crazy, my other show went to my mama 'nem
My daddy said a Mercedes had haunted himit’s just a fly, unique way to say “life isn’t short and my talent isn’t free, run my cash so i can share my blessings to my family.” its an effective bar about want.
out of all the words he could’ve used there, he settled on “haunted”. casual indictment of consumerism imo
sure. there’s no clear end/payoff to kendrick’s setups, and he’d never do something like, slow down the delivery to make his bars more obvious to the listener idk. but his songs are flooded w/ meaning man. quotables aren’t everything
i just like the way he marries the gutter, more “ignorant” aspects of his pen w/ the flowery/abstract. im kinda yapping tho
- Mar 4Wiggler That’s actually a really understandable thing to have a problem with but I disagree with the idea that it’s a crutch for him.
He does like his big dramatic twists but those are extremely human to me and usually pretty well done. IMO, his approach is much appreciated especially in this “purpose-is-corny” era we’re in.
Like, the end of Auntie Diaries? That’s beautiful music and it was genuinely shocking for me at the time. His payoffs are pretty well-earned enough for me to not consider it gimmicky when he goes there.
Did you like heart pt 6 off GNX?
Yeah I did, I did like the song, but for me what I’d like to hear more of from Kendrick is songs like wacced out murals and less songs like dodger blue or Luther… I get that’s an unpopular take and it’s necessary for sales but those type of tracks just don’t do it for me. I like the pissed off kemdrick because he can really spit when he chooses to. I’m in the minority though and I’m aware of that, that’s why he’s just not an artist I can bump on a regular bases even though I consider him far better than the majority of modern day rappers
Mar 4·1 replyAftermathbws_Nas is also a better story teller and has better content
Nas is not a better story teller, he couldnt even make a good concept album since 94
Mar 4·1 reply"I know some rappers using big words to make they similes curve, my simplest s*** be more pivotal" -KL
- Mar 4Wiggler
Kendrick’s being an entry point to other lyrical rappers is just another huge point to him being the GOAT. To be able to do what Kendrick does without dumbing it down for accessibility’s sake is just completely unheard of.
We used to have to worry about lyricism being dead in the mainstream and now Kendrick is over here writing new blueprints on how to have a successful career that’s true to the spirit of Hip-Hop. He’s undeniable man - Mar 4LaSean
"I know some rappers using big words to make they similes curve, my simplest s*** be more pivotal" -KL
