I waited a day and several listens to even consider tossing my somewhat inconsequential, though studied, response to rapper Kendrick Lamar's earthshatteringly great verse on Big Sean's unreleased track "Control." The song landed like a bus-sized meteorite on the hip-hop landscape yesterday via Big Sean's Twitter. I only offer my opinion on the matter because A. I've been listening to hip hop for about 20 years now and momentous occasions in the genre excite me perhaps more than a neophyte and B. because I think perhaps the aggregate of the Internet's response to the verse has been a little off the mark.
Compton's Kendrick Lamar was indeed the most vital and pure rapper on the planet even before this verse dropped. Kanye might be more important but he's no longer a "rapper" in the sense that Kendrick is. Jay-Z might be more popular but his greatest achievements are well behind him at this stage in his career. Kendrick's contemporaries and rivals for the Greatest Rapper Alive spot are primarily those he named in his "Control" verse:
"I'm usually homeboys with the same n----s I'm rhymin with/ But this is hip-hop and them n----s should know what time it is/ And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Wale/ Pusha T, Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, Drake/ Big Sean, Jay Electron', Tyler, Mac Miller/ I got love for you all but I'm tryna murder you n----s/ Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you n----s/ They don't wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you n----s."
A lot of fans and rappers reacted as though Kendrick was trying to diss every other rapper with his verse, that by saying he is "King of New York" and "juggling" both coasts, he's trying to denigrate his contemporaries, but a few got it right, most notably Houston legend Bun-B, who said "Every rapper is supposed to feel like Kendrick feels as far as wanting to murder n----s on the mic. That's why I wrote my 'Murder' verse."
Kendrick isn't calling out rappers he thinks sucks, he's calling out rappers he views as the exemplary talents in the genre to say that when he sits down to write his raps, that's who he's gunning for. He doesn't keep lesser talents in mind when he's in the booth; he's trying to elevate himself to the level of those he considers the best and then push beyond. He says in the verse that this is his mindset when he raps: He wants to be SO good that when people listen to him, they literally forget every other rapper while he's on the mic. He wants nothing less than complete domination when he's rapping and as Bun-B says, if that's not your goal when you rap, then what are you rapping for?
Those who feel that Kendrick disrespected anyone in his verse should listen a few more times: By saying he wants to set the standard for rap every time he steps on stage or into the studio, by saying he wants to "murder" his contemporaries and peers by being the best rapper he possibly can be, he's actually showing an immense amount of respect for the genre and its stars. Would anyone say Kobe Bryant disrespects Michael Jordan by modeling his game after him and trying to win more championships than he did? Admittedly Kobe never said he wanted to "murder" Jordan, but the rap game is a little different than basketball or, indeed, the rest of life in that way.
Rappers often brag, rappers often reference the history of the genre and rappers often call out other rappers, but rarely is one verse so amazingly written, so inspirational and so momentous as to light a fire under just about everyone else who calls themselves a rapper. Opinions on Kendrick may vary, but there's no question he's staking a claim as one of the genre's gatekeepers.
As a side note, whoever decided that Kendrick's verse should fall second in the song's lineup made a serious miscalculation. I love Jay Electronica, but he was not well served by having to follow up what may be the most memorable rap verse in the last five years.
