long thread with but idgaf

Kendrick was able to articulately and creatively dissect Drake as an entity. He beat him in every metric, from sales to public perception to industry alliances. No one has publicly spoken out against Kendrick. Kanye thought he could do it with "Lift Yourself," or "Donda" vs. "CLB," or the Hoover concert, but those were really just chips at the armor and never true victories.

I like Drake with the melodies.
I don’t like Drake when he acts tough.

Kanye has struggled trying to articulate/accept Drake's success, and it’s honestly messed him up and his output. Kanye has often accepted Drake as the “GOAT,” not purely because of his skills as a musician but because he admires how Drake can make music that’s truly digestible in every setting (car, club, headphones, mall). It’s back to the Apple vs. Android debate, and his obsession with Apple. Androids could be the better technical product, but the general social stigma of your text bubble being green is enough for the masses to accept that the iPhone is better.

He also often talks about the internal conflict between chasing numbers/reach and just creating for the sake of pushing creative boundaries. "Vultures," "Donda," "Pablo" – all really are Kanye trying to compete with Drake when it comes to relevancy, particularly with contemporary features on the projects, while trying to outmatch him creatively. A lot of the colonization claims Kendrick made towards Drake can be argued against Kanye because of that.

Kanye was never going to win the numbers game. I’m not here to claim Drake’s numbers are insanely inflated, as I do believe his music is consumed a lot, but I am confident UMG has prioritized his numbers as it’s a huge part of his image. That’s through a combination of Drake making radio-friendly music with regional contemporaries along with massive push on radio + DS​Ps. Drake’s alignment with UMG is so powerful that every contemporary rapper MUST align with him to be successful. There are only a handful of rap artists this past decade who have been able to tour and do substantial album sales WITHOUT Drake's cosign. What stans don’t realize is it’s not a flex to say “everyone needs Drake.” Why? Because Drake literally is UMG. What they are really saying is “every musician needs a label to control their music in order to survive off their work.” Drake is what’s propping the major label up and diminishing the prospect of going independent (Apple vs. Android).

Kendrick is truly the last remaining traditional hip-hop artist who doesn’t need to remain contemporary with features and the “culture” and still drop platinum projects with impact. This is why he is truly the only one who could have pulled off what he did; he doesn’t need anything from Atlanta, New York, Memphis, or Houston. He doesn’t need to be aligned with anyone in the game to be in the position that he is in, and that’s why both Drake and Kanye envy him.

Kendrick had to sacrifice being in the limelight consistently and work out his label situation properly in order to build up the cultural cache to pull off what he did this past month. If you listen to his discography, he literally was creating in anticipation of this exact moment; where he could call out the lack of depth and exploitation in the mainstream music industry that the Drake machine continues to benefit from and be in a PERFECT position to reap the full benefits from it financially, culturally, and creatively. His next project is now his most anticipated EVER, and he is almost two decades in the game.

Kendrick anticipated the listener being fed up with being controlled. The Israel-Palestine conflict is a perfect example of “the people waking up,” with protests happening globally and people truly understanding how controlled mainstream news and social media have been for a while. Kanye may have made these critiques about the industry or global conflicts, but his approach was always harsh, often uncontrolled, and didn’t align with the musical output (Jesus is King being the outlier here).

In conclusion, Kendrick has provided a light at the end of the tunnel for independent artistry. I think Kanye may benefit tremendously from this because there is no more pressure to compete with Drake in sales. "Carnival" number 1 doesn’t mean the same to us as the moment we heard the sample on "On Sight." Kendrick provided a cultural reset, and those in the mainstream who make impactful/quality music will have the ear of the listener.

F*** Kendrick for being part of the black antisemitic cult aka Black Hebrew Israelite and f*** Kanye for being a Nazi

BASED

i think people like you should die

Damn, you dont even know me to even suggest it to me

F*** Israel and everybody who love em Zionist pigs

Eh...I disagree only because there's TONS of ways Kanye could've boosted his sales and dominate the charts that he never took advantage of.

He could've finished Donda 2, dropped it, and get sales from it but he didn't.

He could've dropped Donda on a Friday instead of a Sunday but he didn't.

He could've dropped Vultures on a Friday instead of a Saturday but he didn't.

He couldn't dropped Carnival before the album even dropped but he didn't.

He could've dropped Vultures 2 and got sales off the initial hype but he didn't.

He could've completely apologized on a full scale level for the anti-Semitic s*** but he didn't.

He also chose to go Independent and have no major label support for the album.

That doesn't sound like someone trying to compete with the biggest rap star in the world to me.

I do think Kanye has a level of insecurity towards Drake for sure but I don't really agree with this post.

Also, Vultures and FATD sound so disparate from each other that I don't see how anyone can view that as competition in any way lol. The only similarity they share is being average at best albums.

The post discusses how Kendrick Lamar has surpassed Drake in various aspects of the music industry, including sales, public perception, and maintaining independence from major industry trends and alliances. It highlights Kanye West's struggle to balance creative innovation with commercial success, often falling short in competing with Drake's widespread appeal. Kendrick's ability to stay relevant and impactful without relying on contemporary features or industry backing sets him apart, allowing him to critique the mainstream music scene effectively. This positions Kendrick as a beacon for independent artistry, demonstrating that meaningful, high-quality music can thrive outside conventional industry pressures.

honestly a good read

carnival going #1 doesnt hurt drake at all because theres always been other hit songs by other artists during drakes run

I am PROUD ZIONIST

Kanye doesn't have anything to do with this

”Drake’s alignment with UMG is so powerful that every contemporary rapper MUST align with him to be successful. There are only a handful of rap artists this past decade who have been able to tour and do substantial album sales WITHOUT Drake's cosign. What stans don’t realize is it’s not a flex to say “everyone needs Drake.” Why? Because Drake literally is UMG.”

very good point, never put this together

This is because he can't fully commit to either approach and gets upset by the outcome either way, and honestly lacks the mental stability to stick the landing on anything anymore

Super great a***ysis, the israel-palestine thing seems shoehorned in but either way good read

I hate you mfs

I don't like the Israel-Palestine point you just jammed in but this was an interesting read. When you think about the $400 mil sunk into Drake's deal, it kinda makes sense that the UMG machine is very hands on with his career moves now. Interested to see where he goes from here, but it looks like he might be gearing up for a summer release.

They not like us

General social stigma bout androids only in us cause filled w dumbasses

Can you actually prove this or is this a coorelation causation thing

@op