Tag: Kendrick Lamar

Joyner Lucas names artists who are better than him

Couple of days ago, Joyner Lucas released his much anticipated album titled Not Now I’m Busy with features from Jelly Roll, Twista, NBA YoungBoy, Logic, Conway The Machine, the late legend DMX and more. To promote the album, the Worcester, Massachusetts-born rapper sat down with Sway In The Morning on Shade 45 where he talked about his new album, DMX influence, Big 3 convo and more. At one point of the interview, Joyner listed artists that he feels are better than him and there is no weakness to acknowledge it.

“I never really had a desire to be the king of anything. It’s just not my personality to be self-proclaimed to anything. I just kinda allow people place me where they wanna place me but that does not mean I’m not competitive. I just never really care to be like ‘I’M THE BEST, I’m THE KING. I’M THE BEST RAPPER IN THE WORLD.’ It’s all subjective.” said Joyner Lucas.

Then he continued: “A lot of people say you should want to be the best, you should say you are the best and nobody’s better than you. They think it’s weak to say somebody is better than you. I disagree with that. I don’t feel that at all. I feel like there are lots of artist that are better than me. Eminem is better than me. Drake is better than me. I don’t have a problem saying that. People might look at me as weak for saying that but that’s just how I feel.”

“I feel like certain artists are better than me. Do I feel like Drake is better storyteller record to me? F–k no! There’s no way. He can’t make “I’m Not Racist,” he can’t make “Ross Capicchioni,” he can’t make “Best For Me,” but he can make “God’s Plan,” I can’t make that s–t. He can make “Hotline Bling,” I can’t do that s–t. He can hop into all these different lanes and s–t and do all these “Controller.” He’s a hybrid for real. He can sing and s–t. I can’t sing. But I think he’s overall better than me. All these stats and all the things that he could do that I could not. Kendrick can get lyrically better than me. He get busy and I love that about Kendrick. So to answer your question, I don’t care about being the besI’m just a fan of other artists bro.” Joyner Lucas added.

Kendrick Lamar appears to be inspired by Eminem in a new song with Future & Metro Boomin

Since Metro Boomin and Future unleashed the first of their two joint albums, titled WE DON’T TRUST YOU, social media blew up on Friday (Mar. 22, 2024), courtesy of an explosive verse detonated by the one and only Kendrick Lamar. On the song called “Like That,” K. Dot throws several jabs, suggestively targeting two of the best rappers in the game, J. Cole and Drake.

“Yeah, get up with me, f–k sneak dissing/ ‘First Person Shooter,’ I hope they came with three switches,” Kendrick spits on his guest verse. “First Person Shooter” is the collaborative song Drake and Cole released last year on which the latter boasted: “Love when they argue the hardest MC/ Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me?/We the big three like we started a league.”

Kendrick Lamar didn’t stop there, as he continued firing more shots at Dreezy and Jermaine. “Think I won’t drop the location? I still got PTSD/ Motherf–k the Big 3, n-gga, it’s just big me,” he raps. Lamar then seemingly aimed directly at Drake, saying: “‘Fore all your dogs gettin’ buried, that’s a K with all these nines, he gon’ see Pet Sematary.” For context, Drake’s last album is titled For All The Dogs that came out in 2023.

Kendrick firing shots at his peers overshadowed some interesting lines he had in the middle of his verse, which appears to be inspired by Eminem‘s actions against Melle Mel. “I crash out, like, “F–k rap,” diss Melle Mel if I had to.” raps Kendrick.

Melle Mel was the lead rapper and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, the 1970’s New York hip-hop collective that not only pioneered the art of rapping, but the genre of hip-hop altogether. To diss Melle Mel would be dissing rap and hip-hop itself, which Kendrick is well aware of and willing to do if necessary, meaning no one is safe. Lamar may be drawing parallels to the infamous 2023 beef between Detroit legend Eminem and Melle Mel.

The beef started back in a March 2023  with Art of Dialogue interview where Mel suggested that Slim Shady’s No. 5 placement on Billboard’s top 50 Rappers of All Time list was because of him being white. Em would go on to respond with a diss on “Realest,” a July 2023 track by Shady Records’ recent signee Ez Mil where Em claimed Melle Mel lost his mind to steroid use. Melle Mel replied in a diss of his own which was poorly received to the point Melle Mel had deleted the track and issued public apology for the song and for starting the beef itself.

Busta Rhymes names Top 5 Greatest Rappers Ever, includes Eminem

Last month, Busta Rhymes returned with a new studio album, Blockbusta. The LP arrived as his eleventh project overall and the first full-length collection of music since 2020’s Extinction Level Event 2.

To promote the album, the East Flatbush, New York-born hip-hop legend has done an interview on Amazon Music’s +44 Podcast with Sideman and Zeze Millz where he revealed his list of top five greatest rappers of all time.

“Greatest rapper ever? I don’t think I have one. I could say five. Rakim. Some might disagree with me but Nas. I would say Eminem. I’m starting to feel like there some new guys that are starting to go into that list to me. I’m almost there with J. Cole but I’m still torn between him and Kendrick. I’m talking about only bars! If Kendrick was to get active in the same way that Cole is being active, it would be a way different conversation but again, I’m torn between Cole and Kendrick, but it would be one of them two.” said Busta Rhymes.

Then he continued: “I still didn’t put none of them two in the fourth place. I was just saying that it was gonna be a new guy cause they are really starting to really earn their right to passage and to be in the top 5 greatest of all time to me. I would definitely say JAY-Z. I’m Biggie bias. I’m Biggie bias because I think what he has done between two albums everybody obviously had an opportunity to work way longer than him and they still can’t top what he has done in two albums. I think that’s my list.”

Later, Busta continues speaking about touring with 50 Cent, his new album Blockbusta, working with Little Simz, R.A and Giggs, growing up in the United Kingdom and more. You can watch the interview below:

Kendrick Lamar channels Eminem with Primavera performance in Barcelona

Kendrick Lamar just channeled Eminem with a clone-filled performance at the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona over this weekend.

K. Dot headlined the Spanish festival on Friday night with the help from his cousin Baby Keem and a bunch of Kendrick lookalikes who danced around the stage as the duo performed the song “Savior.”

Of course, fans had plenty to say about the clones closing out the show as footage of the performance went viral.
“The tiktok conspiracy theorists are about to have a field day with this one,” one person commented on Kendrick fan page on Instagram, while another said: If you’re the real KDot please stand up, referencing Eminem’s iconic single The Real Slim Shady.

Kendrick’s performance may have been a nod to Eminem’s iconic performance at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, where he was followed around by dozens of bleach-blond doppelgängers inside New York City’s Radio City Music Hall while performing “The Real Slim Shady,” off The Marshall Mathers LP album.

K. Dot has made no secret of the fact that the Detroit rap icon is one of his biggest influences, speaking with GQ magazine back in 2016, Kendrick said: “I got my clarity just studying Eminem when I was a kid. The day I heard The Marshall Mathers LP, I was just like, How does that work? What is he doing? How is he putting his words together like that? And then I was like Why don’t you go in the studio and see? So I do that. Then it became, How are his words cutting through the beat like that? What is he doing that I’m not doing. His time is impeccable. When he wants to fall off the beat, it’s impeccable. These are things that, through experience and time, I had to learn.”

What do you think, was Kendrick Lamar performance inspired by Eminem? Check out the video below and let us know your thoughts in the comment sections of our social media accounts.

[VIA]

Killer Mike talks getting flowers from Eminem & Kendrick Lamar

Run The Jewel’s Killer Mike hops on the BTM Podcast to talk about his upcoming album, getting his flowers from rappers like Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne and Eminem and what the Atlanta Falcons need for a successful NFL season this year!

“It is a defensive juggernaut saying that he’s amongst us. It means a lot. He’s lyrically, from a pugilist standpoint, he’s one of the greatest fighters that ever lived.” Killer Mike said on getting compliment from Kendrick Lamar.

Then he continues: “Kendrick has said that. Lil Wayne has said that. Eminem has said that. Outkast have said that. I don’t have nothing to prove to you as much as this is proving to myself. No criticism you give me outweighs Scarface telling me you are one of the greatest. No criticism you give me outweighs Ice Cube saying you are consistent. If I can’t be a GOAT that’s fine because I always prefer being a wolf and I’m coming for every GOAT’s throat. That’s the goal for me.”

You can watch the interview below:

Lil Wayne releases “I’m Music” compilation album, ft. Eminem, Jay-Z, Drake & more

Lil Wayne has released a new compilation album, titled I Am Music, featuring some of the biggest hits from his iconic catalog, including features with Eminem, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, DMX, Bruno Mars and more.

The project was released by surprise on Friday (March 31, 2023) and comes equipped with 18 tracks spanning Wayne’s almost 30-year career. Among them are hits like “A Milli,” “6 Foot 7 Foot,” “Go DJ,” “Fireman” and “Lollipop”

The album also includes Eminem-assisted 5x platinum single “Drop The World” from his 2010 album, Rebirth. Lil Wayne, Eminem and Travis Barker of Blink-182 performed the song together along with Drake’s song “Forever” at the 52nd Grammy Awards in 2010.

You can stream Lil Wayne’s latest compilation album below:

Melle Mel responds backlash over his comments about Eminem

In the recently released 8 minutes clip, Melle Mel addresses backlash over his comments about Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Lil Wayne. The legendary rapper from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five called out Billboard and Vibe magazine for including Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, Drake and Lil Wayne in the list. His statements sparked discussion in social media and few other rappers weighted in, including 50 Cent, Kevin Gates and Fat Joe.

To respond the controversy, Melle Mel recorded a video from the gym where he says: “I said, Eminem is only number five on the list because he was white. I guess that started the uproar. Everybody is just so angry that I would say that. I’ve been branded a racist but that’s impossible, I’ve been playing with all the different kind of people in my life.”

Then he continues: “Eminem made record, I guess it is called “White America,” where he said that he would be less popular if he was not white. So now we basically said the same thing. This is what Eminem says (plays White America where Eminem raps “Let’s do the math, if I was black, I woulda sold half I ain’t have to graduate from Lincoln High School to know that”) He also has another record “Till I Collapse” where he named five or six individuals that he put himself behind these five or six individuals. And I have said that he would not be in the top 5 other than the fact that he was white. He said that.”

“If Eminem basically said what I said and we said very similar things, how could what he say not be racist but the thing what I said was racist? In another words, if he’s right what he said then the only reason that I could be wrong is that I’m black that I said it. Now that the only reason why I said it, and I will take full responsibility for whatever conflict it may cause. I will take full responsibility because I said it and I stand behind what I said. So, for those who don’t believe it, this is what he says (plays Till I Collapse where Eminem raps: “I got a list, here’s the order of my list that it’s in, It goes Reggie, Jay-Z, 2Pac and Biggie, Andre from OutKast, Jada, Kurupt, Nas and then me.”) – Melle Mel added.

You can watch the whole thing below:

R.A. The Rugged Man defends Melle Mel after discrediting comments about Eminem

While 50 Cent, Fat Joe, Kevin Gates, Kxng Crooked and Page Kennedy have all come to Eminem’s defense after Melle Mel claimed Slim Shady’s minted status in hip-hop was merely because of his skin color, the legendary rapper was backed by R.A. The Rugged Man and Public Enemy’s Chuck D.

In his latest post on Facebook, R.A. writes: “Before HipHop was a $100 billion industry MELLE MEL was there creating it and witnessed every great MC and crew on the scene. He lived it in its purest rawest form before capitalism took it over completely. He does not have to agree with where corporations took what he helped create.”

Then Suffolk County, New York-born rapper continues spitting out his thoughts in the comments: “People get mad at Melle Mel for speaking his mind and what he actually believes… But they love it when folks just repeat the same takes over and over just so they can fit in and not burn any bridges… Scared of the industry…”

Chuck D has also come to the defense of Melle Mel after he received backlash for his recent comments about Eminem and Kendrick Lamar: “Understand Melle Mel was so dominant over the rest of the pack in the first 5 years of records its hard to comprehend for born after MC folk. Its why I call him Wilt Chamberlain and Wilt had a crate of critiques for the rappers after him including ME. Just Let Mel be Wilt lol.”

“Gotta have tougher skin and be GREAT not just popular. Few got it harder than what MEL tossed At myself and KRS . Just MAN up and keep it moving.” he added.

Melle Mel says nobody wants to rap like Kendrick Lamar & Eminem

One of the hip-hop pioneers, Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, has recently done an interview with The Art Of Dialogue where the legendary rapper shared his thoughts on Eminem and Kendrick Lamar being in the list of top 5 greatest rappers of all time by Billboard/Vibe magazines.

“Kendrick Lamar being number two? I don’t know. Obviously, he made some good songs but these songs don’t translate to the street part of hip-hop. I don’t know what records that he made like that, I just know one or two of them but I don’t think you can hear Kendrick in the club like that. It does not translate him to being number two greatest rapper of all time. It should not because he’s fairly a new rapper.” said Melle Mel.

Then he continues: “When we did ‘The Message’ that was the beginning of conscience rap. People started talking more conscience. After Kendrick Lamar does these songs, nobody wants to rap like Kendrick Lamar, nobody wants to rap like Eminem. A lot of people want to rap like Pac and Biggie. That’s my take on it. If after Eminem make his songs and he makes big splash in the game, if you don’t have thousand white rappers, then nothing changed. He’s a good rapper. He’s capable but to say that he has changed the game like Pac changed the game? No.”

In the previously shared clip, Melle Mel also questioned Eminem’s place in top 5 greatest rappers list: “Obviously, he’s a capable rapper. If we talk about sales and he sold more than everybody, okay, if we talk about rhyme style, okay, he got a rhyme style. But he is white! He is white! If Eminem was just another ni–a like the rest of us, would he be top 5 on that list when a ni–a can rhyme just as good as him is 35?! They had records and all that.”

You can watch the interview below:

Kendrick Lamar surpasses Eminem to become 3rd rapper with most Grammy wins

Last night, Kendrick Lamar won Best Rap Album category for Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers at the 2023 Grammy Awards.

Kendrick Lamar attended the show and accepted the award on the stage. His album was up against albums that offered incredibly stiff competition including DJ Khaled’s God Did, Pusha T’s It’s Almost Dry, Future’s I Never Liked You and Jack Harlow’s Come Home the Kids Miss You.

K. Dot also won Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for “The Heart Part 5,” beating the likes of Jack Harlow, DJ Khaled, Future and Doja Cat.

The Compton’s finest took three awards in total, which means he’s now 3rd most winning rapper in history, behind Jay-Z and Kanye West, surpassing Eminem. You can check the list of most Grammy winners below:

1. Jay-Z – 25 Grammys (1 Best Rap Album);

2. Kanye West – 24 Grammys (4 Best Rap Album);

3. Kendrick Lamar – 17 Grammys (3 Best Rap Album);

4. Eminem – 15 Grammys (6 Best Rap Album);

5. Lauryn Hill – 8 Grammys (1 Best Rap Album);

6. Dr. Dre – 8 Grammys (0 Best Rap Album);

7. Outkast – 6 Grammys (2 Best Rap Album);

8. Lil Wayne – 5 Grammys (1 Best Rap Album);

9. Drake – 5 Grammys (1 Best Rap Album);

10. Childish Gambino – 5 Grammys (0 Best Rap Album);

11. Macklemore – 4 Grammys (1 Best Rap Album);

12. Will Smith – 4 Grammys (0 Best Rap Album);

13. Chance The Rapper – 3 Grammys (1 Best Rap Album);

14. Diddy – 3 Grammys (1 Best Rap Album);

15. T.I. – 3 Grammys (0 Best Rap Album);

16. Ludacris – 3 Grammys (1 Best Rap Album);

17. Nelly – 3 Grammys (0 Best Rap Album);

18. Tyler, The Creator – 2 Grammys (2 Best Rap Album).

Eminem still remains the rapper with the most wins in Best Rap Album category which is the most prestigious award for rappers. For the full list of 2023 winners, check here.

“The Heart Part 5” almost featured Kendrick Lamar transforming into Eminem

Grammy-nominated music video “The Heart Part 5,” by Kendrick Lamar, that was released alongside the song on May 8, 2022, almost featured an Eminem deep-fake.

In the video, K. Dot performs the song against a red wall, while using deep-fake technology to transform himself into 6 modern Black American figures: in order, they are former football player and convicted felon O. J. Simpson, rapper Kanye West, actors Jussie Smollett and Will Smith, former basketball player Kobe Bryant, and late rapper Nipsey Hussle.

In a recent interview with The New York Times magazine, it was revealed that Dave Free and Kendrick Lamar collaborated with South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who both own a company specializing in the deep fake technology. The famous TV duo lent the technology to the pgLang pair, who were the first artists to use the technology in their music video.

“You see Kendrick turned into Tupac, Kendrick turned into Kanye, and I think we had Eminem and we were like ‘What if we did the Jussie Smollett!” Eminem didn’t make the final cut, and K. Dot ended up on deep fakes of Kanye West, Nipsey Hussle, Will Smith, Kobe Bryant, OJ Simpson and Jussie Smollett.

New Jersey rapper who goes by the name of AK took to social media shortly after the video dropped to accuse Kendrick of stealing his idea. Austin Kassabian claimed Kendrick copied the deepfake concept from his “Family Tree” video, which was released back in September 2020.  The black-and-white clip shows AK rapping into the camera in front of a blank backdrop as his face transforms into some of the biggest names in hip-hop: Lil Wayne, Missy Elliot, Eminem, MC Lyte, Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Nate Dogg, T-Pain, J. Cole, Nas, Rakim, Andre 3000, 50 Cent, Jay-Z and Drake.

In the song, AK raps: “I am AK, I am not the next Em / But everybody telling me that I’m the next him / But understand there will never be a next Em / You’ll probably twist my words and say I don’t respect him / I always preach to keep it real so I’m about to now / Em did not influence me ’cause I was not allowed / To listen to him, my parents said I was just a child / I wondered why and I look back and I got it now / My young mind back then probably wasn’t ready / To hear the shit that he talked about, they said he was too edgy / I couldn’t listen to anything, younger me, he was begging / I couldn’t wait to hear the song about his momma’s spaghetti / His influence on me was indirect / ‘Cause I was listening to Hopsin, I was obsessed / I come to find he was the same way when it came to Em.” (via Genius)

You can watch it below:

THE SHOW: California Love (ft. Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg & more)

Couple of days ago National Football League and SHOWTIME television network announced that the documentary sequel “The Show: California Love,” Behind the Scenes of the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show 2022, a unique look into the making of the historic show, would premiere on SHOWTIME on December 23rd at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

The 90-minute documentary feature offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of one of the most iconic musical performances in the history of Super Bowl and hip-hop culture.

The performance featured music legends like Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar with special guests including 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak. It marked a historic moment that placed the hip-hop music genre on the iconic stage like never before.

Behind the scenes was an all-star team of creatives working tirelessly to pull together a performance for the ages. The 2022 Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show was executive produced by Emmy winner Jesse Collins, Emmy winning preeminent entertainment company Roc Nation, produced by DPS, led by Emmy winner Dave Meyers and directed by acclaimed multi-award nominee Hamish Hamilton (who has directed the Halftime Show since 2010). The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show made history, garnering five Creative Arts Emmy nominations, winning three including Outstanding Variety Special (Live), a first ever for the show.

The iconic halftime show has consistently been the most viewed performance of the year, praised around the globe. “The Show” follows the people behind the scenes who power the halftime show and chronicles the impressive Emmy winning production that redefined the halftime show on the world’s biggest stage.

“The Show: California Love” is produced by Boardwalk Pictures and directed by Erik Parker. You can watch the documentary below:

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