This what I was saying awhile ago. Jay Rock was in perfect position to ride the wave we see of gangsta shyt mixed with "motivation" music. You a Mozzy fan so you know exactly what I'm talking about. A lot of Detroit shyt is like that, plus various Atlanta artists, Meek etc. Nothing wrong with chasing hits here or there but his bread and butter is gonna be bangers and emotional tracks that get some traction on youtube but aren't hits. Instead they got him out here chasing radio and cutting his beard off lol. What the fukk are they doing man.
Theres no reason Jay Rock can't be where Mozzy is. In fact, I've always said Jay Rock was a better rapper from a pure "well rounded" nature than Kendrick was. Just more confident in who he was and arguably more free in his ability to make popular music. And he had the better presence on tracks. Jay Rock could be the fukkin LA version of Moneybagg Yo. It's SO easy. YG can't be the only one capable out there.
TDE was always late to adapt to shyt. They were late on trap, they were late on streaming, etc. Now they're out here over compensating, releasing 2 minute tracks and chasing Tiktok challenges. The only "against the grain" thing they've been right about IMO is crafting albums VS focusing entirely on playlists. SZA now has two bodies of work that people are going to cherish and play over the next decade. We already see Kendrick has multiple of those as well. But the rest of the lineup hasn't had enough shots at making that type of record. And the longer they wait, the more their careers die out. Which tells me you can't use the same strategy on every artist. Some artists have to drop every two years.
One more project and Sza will be on Mariah and Monica status. She's that close. I dont want anyone to ask me to explain his either, but she's a generational R&B staple....
I thought Ella Mai would be up there considering she's got quality songs with radio staying power too and her last album wasn't bad either.
H.E.R. seems to be in pseudo-hiatus too cause she doesn't know if she wants to make music for United Nations presentations or get the love she sees her actual peers are getting from the streets. She's a science project lowkey that worked TOO well.
Ari Lennox is making that pivot to having a core older fan base and I think she'll be long term successful. Summer Walker has the voice and appeal but has gotta mature FAST if she wants to last. Victoria Monet is finally getting her respect but she doesn't have enough music out. It's high quality but it's just not enough literal songs. She needs another EP next year.
I think Kendrick is veering into that Eminem lane of being so disconnected from reality and music that he's making insular decisions that don't sound right. Maybe I'm wrong and this upcoming collab album with Keem will be dope but I got a bad feeling it'll be more of the weird, trivial raps with meh hooks. The funny thing is that Family Ties is the most popular thing they did together, it was a smash hit, everyone fukks with it...yet their other collabs are just weird troll shyt. Nobody is looking for "post-rap" shyt. Get some dope beats, rap over them, and come up with some dope hooks. Also...why the fukk won't they let Keem win on his own. You had a successful album, got a hit, and were on the biggest rap tour of 2022. It should be time for Keem to fly on his own...
When I saw GKMC being praised I knew the era of fake love was going to boost him because I always knew he was overrated. See, the thing about drake always was, people could say what they wanted but the guy always only did music and he was the only one trying to push the sound forward. Some argue that others with smaller platforms actually did it, but at his level, drake was the only one truly innovating with sounds and cultures. They tried to bring drama into it about personal lives and to get him to be more outspoken on social media but if people forget...the guy stopped tweeting and went straight to solely making music. None of his peers did that.
In fact, I lowkey feel bad for Wale because he was pre-afrobeats and unless he really wants to pivot, never got to benefit from the obvious background he could have brought to the mainstream. Kendrick did everything to avoid being West coast and now his career is in this weird non-rooted place. Drake always kept Toronto. Big Sean even though he's kinda dimmed and Detroit is back up, always kept Detroit at the forefront, etc. Kendrick ran from LA and can't really claim anywhere now.
So with kendrick...after BLM and the police killings of Trayon, Garner, Mike Brown, and Tamir rice between 2013 and 2014...he became the archetype of that Neo-Pac shyt. Did we forget this? The media LOVED this guy. He was THE lyricist...doesn't matter if you can't quote his rhymes or remember a single verse or entendre or punchline...but don't you know hes the best rapper in the world? Don't you know?!
You had all this Be All Right stuff mixed with Obama and people were in a trance that kendrick was gonna save the world.
Only for him to come out as some weird Killer Mike type reactionary who lowkey admits he didn't ever want to become that. You saw them try it with Lil Baby but theres always that point where artists have to pick the mainstream lane or the gutter lane. ...and kendrick seems to regret the mainstream lane.
I mean what the fukk was this? People PRAISED this.
THIS was c00ning at an all time high and I hated him for this shyt. Just disgusting to embrace that on stage. I dont give a fukk what the message was.
Now he's trying to age backwards by trying to be on some Uzi vert alt-rap shyt with Keem...it's not gonna work bro. You're not Tyler the Creator or even ASAP. If anything he should link back up with Dom Kennedy and fix the West Coast but he's just on some weirdo ninja shyt.
I always said people should note how Lupe is actually a Drake fan and what that says about Kendrick...
