Big Sean - "Control" [Feat. Kendrick Lamar & Jay Electronica]
Last night, Big Sean let loose a track that did not make his upcoming album, Hall of Fame. It features a malicious verse from Kendrick Lamar, as well as, a masterful verse from Jay Electronica in its own right.
K Dot absolutely spazzes out with probably the most talked about verse of the year; prompting hashtags like #twitpicyourreactionafterhearingkendricksverse and #RappersKendrickDidntMention to blow up on Twitter. Kendrick 'calls out' basically every rapper on top of the game right now. For me it's more of a roll call than a diss. It's definitely respect and homage more than anything..
People are quick to say Kendrick has gone crazy dissing everyone in the game! That's why I hate rap fans sometimes--the ones that don't listen and fcuk with rappers like Kendrick merely off hype. All Kendrick is doing is sparking fire for competition--this is what hip-hop needs to strive. He's challenging all rappers to elevate their bars. Which I am definitely not mad at.
Honestly, this era of hip-hop is surprisingly turning into a great one. 90's mainstream rap was so raw and lyrical man, that's why no one can touch that era. The 2000's were when rappers started seeing pop culture fame and hip-hop in the mainstream reflected that. I hated mainstream hip-hop for that reason. To sell records you have to dumb-down. Those boom-bap artists who kept the art alive had zero shine..
But now? Artists like Kendrick Lamar, Drake, J. Cole, Mac Miller are some of the most lyrical rappers [for the most part] and at the same time they are the most popular. It's a good look to have people that in the mainstream who take time to rap their asses off. At the same time, you can't always expect the mainstream to appreciate the art. Kendrick is a wizard--I don't think I've heard someone that innovative since hearing Jay-Z, Nas, Eminem, Andre 3000, The Notorious B.I.G. etc. for the first time. He has an authenticity to his music and all the right tools to be the next great king of hip-hop. I have all the trust in the world in Kendrick to run away with this torch.
For argument sake my top 3 for as long as I can remember still stand at Jay-Z, Nas and Eminem. I think this will be the case until the day I die, but if any rapper has what it takes to seep through until then, it's definitely Kendrick.
I'm out like malicious K-Dot features from sophomore albums...
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