From the period of music I’ve been listening to. Three significant hip-hop artists have been carrying their own musically, eventually becoming “made” in hip-hop. The big three are J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake.
Throughout the 2010s, the three rappers created banger after banger. Each has held their own musically for years to come. Drake created magic with “Thank Me Later” and “Take Care,” two albums that, in my opinion, displayed Drake’s actual rapping ability and range while also featuring several great songs. J Cole’s successful albums include “Sideline Story,” “Born Sinner,” and “2014 Forest Hill Drive,” whereas Kendrick Lamar’s classics include “Section. 80,” “Good Kid, Mad City,” “To Pimp a Butterfly,” and “DAMN.” The honors are there. But what is the history between the three?
Metro Boomin’s new album “We Don’t Trust You” includes the hit song “Like That” featuring Future and Kendrick Lamar—a great tune with highly contentious lyrics. The music starts well until Kendrick Lamar begins his verse. With lyrics that directly targeted Drake and J-Cole, as those three have long been regarded as the “big three.” Similar to the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics’ big three. “Mother**** the big three, n**** it’s just big me” was one of Kendrick’s lines that had the rap community on edge because the artist is letting it be known that even though Kendrick is always in the shadows when it counts the most, he’ll return and put the rap game on notice.
This is not the first time Kendrick has done this. Kendrick Lamar returned to the 2013 Bet Awards Cypher and began freestyling when his chance came—rapping over Mobb Deep’s “Shook Ones Pt. 2” track. As the freestyles progressed, shots were hurled at 2 Chainz, who was on fire in 2013, and Drake. But nerveless, that was the best verse on a bet cipher. However, the most famous one appeared in Big Sean’s song “Control.” It’s a song with a story behind it.
The song’s artists are Jay Rock, Big Sean, Jay Electronica, and Kendrick Lamar. All of them are on Top Dawg Records, and the artists worked together on the project. You listen to Kendrick’s verse, and the rest is history.
Besides Drake and J-Cole, hip-hop had numerous artists who had made a name for themselves around that time, and Kendrick was not allowing that to happen. The verse shows pure aggression, dissing several rappers such as Meek Mill, Mac Miller, Pusha T, A$AP Rocky, Drake, Big K.R.I.T., Wale, Tyler The Creator, J- – Cole, and Drake. The crazy part is he dissed Big Sean, Jay Rock, and Electronica, who were on the same song as him. The song changed hip-hop for many reasons, but the biggest was making rappers defend themselves. Anyone being an artist does what they can to protect their crown. Making sure they’re on top. Kendrick has been pushing the buttons of artists to create controversy. He did not need to do any of this, but he did so to put the rap game on notice.
The crazy aspect about all of this is that many people have their own sources of ideas, but in my opinion, Cole is the only one who can come close to snatching Kendrick’s crown. Both are excellent M.C.s who were scheduled to collaborate on a duo record. Yet that never materialized, and all they did was concentrate on one song, “Under The Sun,” singing the chorus.
Yet even through all the shots being thrown at one another, every artist Kendrick threw a shot at, he’s cool with pretty much all of them.
Kendrick Drake and A$AP Rocky collaborated on a song in 2013, “F***in Problems,” which was a hit. Drake and Kendrick worked on a song together for Kendrick’s “Good Kid M.A.AD City” album. Before his death, he was friends with Miller and Tyler, The Creator. The list goes on; at the end of the day, in the “Control” verse, he says, “I’m usually homeboys with the name n***** I’m rhyming with, but this is hip hop, you know what time it is.” Before dissing every rapper in the book and letting it be known, he is excellent with them but, in the process, trying to take them out of the game.
Kendrick dissed both J-Cole and Drake in Metro Boomin’s song, prompting J-Cole to record a 7-minute diss track about Kendrick and eventually apologize. His apologies elicited numerous comments. Why apologize for being dissed? The song was fantastic and exciting because, even with the big three identified, there is always a duo, and J. Cole and Kendrick were a duet. Cole’s apology was unneeded, giving Kendrick the upper hand. Drake doesn’t seem concerned by it.
Kendrick Lamar pulled a chess move. Everything about rap has been controversial. No matter what you say or do in the rap business, the people will know and have a say. Numerous moments in rap have happened before. When artists are blowing up or trying to, they always find a way to have people talking about them, or even when choosing not to, people end up talking about them regardless; at the end of the day, it all focuses on controversy. The fact is that Kendrick Lamar is one of the best artists in the rap industry who knows how to push the buttons of other artists when you least expect it. When it’s set and done, who can go against the artists? Time will tell, but from then to now, Lamar seems increasingly untouchable, which will stay that way.
