Now the timeline could be argued. You can say that Lil Wayne’s run was longer or shorter. You could say that those artists I named are no longer at the top. We can not ignore that another crop of artists has emerged over the last five years. Lil Baby, Da Baby, Lil Durk, and 21 Savage are now in the conversation.
I’m not here to argue that point, that’s something you can do on your own time. I’m here for the smoke, lyrics, music, battles, and culture. This brings me to the back-and-forth between Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole.
I’m not sure where it started, because it could be stated and pointed out that these artists, including Drake and Future, have been subliminally dissing each other for years. I think publically it started when J. Cole was featured on a Drake song called “First Person Shooter.”
In his verse, J. Cole says
“Love when they argue the hardest MC / Is it K. Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me? / We the big three, like we started a league.”
Well, it seems that not only did K. Dot disagree with this assessment but had a problem with it. In a feature on Metro Boomin and Future’s song called “Like That” Kendrick let it be known he is not in this “Big Three” that J. Cole is including him in.
“Yeah get up with me, fuck sneak dissing / ‘First Person Shooter,’ I hope they came with three switches,” he raps. “Motherfuck the big three, n—a, it’s just big me,” Kendrick said.
He continued by comparing himself to Prince while comparing Drake and J. Cole to Michael Jackson.
“Your best work is a light pack / N—a, Prince outlived Mike Jack / N—a, bum, ‘fore all your dogs get buried / That’s a K with all these nines, he gon’ see ‘Pet Sematary.’”
To say this first set the internet on fire would be an understatement. That’s until the last 24 hours, when J. Cole dropped a diss track against Kendrick Lamar called “7 Minute Drill.”
I learned that most people have their favorite artist which sways their opinion on who is better. This leads to debate and usually unresolved answers on who’s the best because their perspective is biased.
Nonetheless, it is fun to talk about and exciting when the artists give us ammunition to boast our argument. It’s probably not a coincidence that J. Cole and Kendrick dropped their initial verses on Drake and Future songs respectively. I wouldn’t surprised if those two latter artists jump in the melee and drop some diss songs.
All I want to say is I’m here for it! I expect Kendrick Lamar to respond to J. Cole and for another rebuttal from Cole. This could go on and on until someone waves the proverbial white flag. Until then, this is what Hip Hop needs and wants.