True Emcee
True Emcee
In terms of subject matter and technical ability, Kendrick Lamar has often been compared to Tupac, Eminem, Nas, and Jay-Z. Kendrick has never been an artist that has not paid homage to his top five rap influences which are 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Nas and Eminem. He is a great lyricist, but he is still able to relate it to the content of the song. For example, a song like “Rigamortis”, his flow is sick. In a song like “Swimming Pools”, he has the ability to give us a catchy hook without sacrificing his lyrical integrity. He uses word play in songs like “Keisha’s Song (Her Pain)”, “Poetic Justice” and “Ignorance Is Bliss”. His personality truly shows in not only individual songs, but in how he crafts his projects. ‘Section .80’ and ‘good kid, mA.A.d city’ really gives us insight to who Kendrick is as a person as ‘Reasonable Doubt’ was to Jay-Z and ‘Ready to Die’ for The Notorious B.I.G. With his personality, catchy hooks, flow and lyricism, he has been able to mold himself into what we can consider a true emcee.