Lupe Fiasco “kendrick is not a top tier lyricist to me”

[NoHalfWay]

Deflect, brehs.

Does K-Dot understand musicality better from production to using ones own voice as an instrument?

Yep.

Does Kendrick align himself with real musicians?

Yep

Is Kendrick not a better songwriter?

Not even close.

Does Kendrick not know how to evoke emotion out of listeners better than Lupe, and don’t say he doesn’t because Lupe will tell you that shyt himself.

Kendrick is superior in that aspect.

Who is the better live performer?

Never seen either live cuz I don’t go to shows. I’ve seen videos of both and they both gave phenomenal performances

 

[Waterproof]

When Kendrick drop that track on Lupe

 

[bourgeoisie tall freak]

Not sure what that would prove. Im almost sure there quotables wont be as "lyrical". Which ruins Lupes entire argument that hes not top tier.

to be fair to lu, (i may be wrong cuz i only saw the tweets once) i dont think he said kendrick doesnt have quotables (in fact i think he specifically said he knew adhd word for word which implies he can quote some memorable lines like "8 doobies to the face, fukk THAT"..."we crack babies cuz we born in the 80s, that adhd crazy")...i think it was the forum just started regurgitating the same quotable argument that they use everytime kendrick artistry comes up.

 

[Left.A1]

I see what you're saying but when I say metaphorical I mean more similes and wordplay. He's more descriptive, imaginative rapper, with great story telling and amazing ability to use compound syllables and all of that.

Nas isn't gonna give you metaphors in the way a Lupe or old Jay will.

Cmon bruh ... a simile is NOT a metaphor Nas is a 100% metaphorical rapper ...probably one of the best ever in the mainstream actually


“I GAVE YOU POWER” = metaphorical supremacy


“RRRRROAW RRRROAW like a dungeon dragon” = simile


This is why we have problems when discussing rapping and “bars” and what is quantifiable in regards to good lyricism.... everyone is using their own definition of terms and words and people aren’t working from the same understanding of the English language

 

[a1pacino]

I agree that Kendrick is not a top tier MC but neither is Lupe imo, they are both lyrical and can write better than most of their peers but that’s not saying much in the trash that passes for hip hop these days, to me they are both above average rappers but not stars/top tier.

i have heard their music and none of it has caught on and stayed with me like the real top tier rappers music has.

Neither of them have resonated with me like a Biggie, Jay, Nas, etc have, hopefully that changes in future but I am not holding my hopes up.

 

[NoHalfWay]

Whoever put TPAB up there with Thriller is delusional also. fukking great album tho.

I don’t think you understand how Kendrick stans are the new Lupe stans to the 10th power. But that’s probably cuz you like Kendrick so you block that out

But I’ll address that some other time

 

[No1]

He turned down machine generated hits until he turned into a raging cynic near the end
of his major label time. Lasers literally has a "Generated by a major label think tank" single on it.

Lupe's experience on a major is clearly vastly different from Kendrick Lamar's
and their musical output is indicative of it.

One artist's label had little to no faith in them recouping their investment in his project
so they slowly wrestled creative control from him, the other has proven himself three times
over and the label gradually backs off and lets him really do some shyt that isn't really happening
in either arena (Mainstream or Indie).

Different eras. J. Cole and them are blessed. Kendrick Lamar had Swimming Pools, Poetic Justice, etc., and was handled masterfully by TDE. His second album did not do what the label wanted. THey thought "i" would be huge. It is no surprise that DAMN had Mike Will beats, etc. I do wonder what would have happened if Roc Nation managed Lupe after they were formed.

 

[Billy Ocean]

I don’t think you understand how Kendrick stans are the new Lupe stans to the 10th power. But that’s probably cuz you like Kendrick so you block that out

But I’ll address that some other time

That can never be the case. Kendrick almost deserves any accolades he gets cause he's consistently great. Hasn't dropped a wack, or even just ok, project yet. Lupe stans big him up and dude puts out mostly garbage nerd rap. Big difference.

 

[#1 pick]

Kendrick was on his first LP. After that, he's been mainstream. Lyrics is deeper than most in the mainstream but that's not of a high caliber.

 

[No1]

metaphors, punchlines and all the bullshyt

When did bars become bullshyt? Where am I at?

 

[#1 pick]

I can see that. It's takes skill to be a good lyrical rapper and be mainstream. Jay did it. So did Bigs but yeah, elite lyicalists are never mainstream outside of a wave like Lupe was on for a min since the 80s

 

[Cadillac]

Deflect, brehs.

Does K-Dot understand musicality better from production to using ones own voice as an instrument? Does Kendrick align himself with real musicians? Is Kendrick not a better songwriter? Does Kendrick not know how to evoke emotion out of listeners better than Lupe, and don’t say he doesn’t because Lupe will tell you that shyt himself. Who is the better live performer?

production and working with "real musicians" is more attributed cause he has a better budget, location and connection etc than artistry

Lupe is just as good of a songwriter when he wants to. The nikka chooses not to put a focus so much on it tho and committed to complex lyricism concept music

Only thing u got was instrument of the voice

 

[spliz]

Im mad he glazed over that Roc Marciano question. My nikka Marci def need more love as one of the only VERY FEW nikkas to drop a classic in the 2010’s imo.

 

[NoHalfWay]

Lupe doesn't have to study Kendrick Lamar. Lupe knows how the machine works. It's funny how you're talking about his failures when a lot of the shyt you're holding against Lupe are things he didn't want because he didn't believe in it.

-He walked away from deals with McDonald's
-Turned down machine generated hits from Atlantic
-Refused to sign a 360 deal and exposed what that was about to the masses

At his peak, he wasn't down with what Atlantic had planned for him.

So while Kendrick is hot and popular, you don't know what compromises he's had to make to keep Interscope happy behind the scenes

Dudes in here are just commenting on stuff they don’t really know in depth about. It’s more complex than “Lupe fukked up, Kendrick did better with his career”

They assume Lupe and Kendrick were/are the same person, and were afforded the same situation as far as management and etc.

Lu’s right hand man and co-CEO founder of 1st & 15th Chilly went to prison. Chilly went to prison and FNF fell apart, that means all the artist (Matthew Santos, Gemini, Sarah Green, etc) got thrown to the wind along with Lupe to an extent. Around the same time his pops passed along with his homie Stack Bundles.

His whole label was basically dissolved, and with Chilly not on the streets handling business it left Lupe in a difficult place in having to juggle his company while not being able focus solely on the music. He had to take on assignments he wasn’t ready for by himself. After 2007 when The Cool came out and Chilly was gone, that’s when Atlantic tried their hand with the 360 shyt.

It’s like Top Dawg getting locked up at the start of Kendrick’s run (let’s say, by the time finch comes out) and all the TDE artists/producers gotta lean on Kendrick’s power to uphold the house.

Plus the other stuff you mentioned, Lupe was never gonna be a superstar cuz it wasn’t even his intention to be one.

What the fukk do people think his hit single “Superstar” is about? Lupe ain’t built for it

 

[Roland Coltrane]

Not about to ever act like Kendrick is wack in any regard, but he ain’t even coming close to lupe. A better question is who the fug could actually beat lu with the bars. Not many if any

I think Pharoahe Monch and Elzhi for sure would give him a run for his money.

I prefer Elzhi to be honest
he raised the bar with Lead Poison