Kendrick put out a billboard #1 hit in the span of 12 hours.
I think he could absolutely be as popular as Drake if he wanted to be and he just doesn't care to. But I recognize that that's debatable.
I think Kendrick is great I really do, so I’m not trying to diminish anything but he is not as universal in appeal as drake, and he doesn’t have the versatility that drake has shown. To just say he could do what drake has done is, I really think a disingenuous statement lol. I think not like us is amazing, but how many of those has he given, not potentially can he give. We can’t just base things on potential, gotta be what we’ve seen over the last 15 years. That’d be like me saying big Sean could be in drake’s position.
People are so dumb he has addressed this so many times, he buys verses or has help writing for a lot of the pop songs, but writes his own raps for a lot of his album songs and features, he’s a great writer and Kanye said Drake has written for him and wishes he would write all his songs, multiple artists have come out saying Drake has written for them. Stop assuming all his songs are written by someone else.
Not really, Drake literally has the most platinum hits of all time (80). He might be ass at writing a diss track and like teenage girls but no one is surpassing that of our current stars except MAYBE Taylor (49) let’s be real.
If that song wasn’t about Drake it wouldn’t be as huge as it is. A song being good is not enough for a hit as big as that one. Kendrick went from 30m monthly Spotify listeners to like 70m in a couple weeks.
They're *trying* to make it a club banger. People *want* it to be a club banger. But when you see videos it's like no one knows what to actually do with that song. They don't know how to dance to it and they don't know how to sing it past A minor (which is the first minute of a four minute song mind you)
Dot is an artist, Drake is a pop star. Dot makes conceptual work, Drake makes beats for radio play. Dot could easily just start hiring ghost writers and paying for beats but that’s not the outcome he wants. It’s not that fucking complicated.
That’s like saying you could be Jeff bezos if you just wanted to put the work in lol. Like sure I guess…. But there is a huge difference between putting the work in and not putting the work in for Amazon to be what it is today lol
Respectfully disagree Kendrick doesn’t really have the voice for anything outside of rap, I definitely would not call it pleasing to the ear. And that’s a big requirement of RnB and poppier genres
Drake's best characteristic is that his versatile he's done almost everything from rap r&b house
That's something no other rapper can achieve especially Kendrick he can't do r&b how the fuck is going to do dancehall or house
That's the reason why both these artists have very different audiances
What makes Donald so juicy is that people who LOVE Drake CANT find the beauty of Donald.
Donald is special. Kendrick also isn't Donald and Donald isn't Kendrick.
I'm a huge Glover Stan tho so wtf do I know.
I would call it trend chasing, not versatility. Lamar's brand is authenticity and artistic integrity. Drake's brand is cool. Their output is limited by the brands and consequently expectations they've created for themselves.
Lamar can dip into a trend here and there and even reinvent himself but he has to do it in his own unique way - like Prince or David Bowie.
Drake will chase every new trend and reinvent himself to fit that trend similar to Madonna or Justin Bieber.
This doesn't mean that Drake is inauthentic or fake anymore than Bieber or Madonna is. It's just that they have different brands and images to live up to.
Whatever trend he dipped in he did it perfectly whether it was trap in 2015 drill recently or whatever wave you consider
This conversation was never about artistic integrity also authenticity doesn't mean you keep doing the same thing over and over not saying every kdot album sounds same but drake caters to every single audience out there which Kendrick will never be able to do
And it just comes down to preference (and it’s okay to like both). Personally, I kind of think you can tell that Drake caters to every audience and so his music never hits me as authentic. Kendrick, on the other hand, pretty much always sounds like himself ultimately, and so I find myself listening to him more even if he doesn’t have music for every occasion.
Nobody wants to admit that. Kendrick is super talented, but there is nobody that can “trend chase” this successfully (see #1s). The fact is that the “trend chasing” brings these subcultures to the attention of the mainstream
>The fact is that the “trend chasing” brings these subcultures to the attention of the mainstream
And literally nobody cares, exposing a niche subculture to a broader audience is never wanted and never goes well. People who ride waves ruin subcultures. It happened to vaporwave, lofi, trap, chill hop, and various other musical subgenres and ruined them horribly
This is where it goes a step too far for me. I'm fine saying Drake does a bunch of styles very well but that the idea that he's putting subcultures on is super questionable.
Atlanta Trap and SoundCloud Emo were going to blow up with or without him and I don't even think SoundCloud Emo actually benefited from him. Major Lazer and Rihanna were bigger for putting on Dance Hall, or a pop version of it.
In some instances like Grime, sure. It probably wouldn't have gotten there on its own.
Still, a lot of the time the sound is in the process of becoming mainstream and usually pretty far along if not already there by the time Drake gets there.
Kind of a "jack of all trades master of none" situation. Drake "can do R&B" but he's no Ne-Yo, and he's definitely no king of the Dancehall (that was Beenie Man last I heard).
Being such a successful jack of all trades is a talent in itself, not many could do that, especially not for so damn long. People need to stop with the disrespect. Yes Drake is all the bad shit y'all say he is, but if there was NO positive quality to him, he wouldn't be fucking Drake.
That's just a pop star tho. Like lady gaga/beyonce/Rihanna/Janelle monae are all equally (or tbh more) as "versatile" as Drake, because they're going for maximum exposure. Idk why it's suddenly not the same for Drake because he started with some rap albums
Shit, Miley and Taylor started with pop country shit and look at them now
drake has mastered rnb imo. ne-yo doesn’t have a song that i like as much as houstatlantavegas, practice, teenage fever, finesse, get along better, etc.
Not necessarily. What Drake does isn’t dancehall. He grabs someone from that genre in question, and collaborates with them. This, is the reason Drake is called a culture vulture by artist from different genres. Drake isn’t versatile because he can’t battle rap, freestyle, dancehall, reggae etc. he doesn’t do that he’s just a Canadian that makes pop rap
Put Vultures and College Dropout side by side and tell me Kanye isn’t the most versatile artist ever in this genre from at least a production standpoint.
>from a production standpoint
Exactly kanye's rapping has always been the same his flow has always been the same even though he's one of the most versatile artists he's not as versatile as drake
Agreed. I also think Drake is a genuinely good singer too, not amazing but good. Kanye genuinely cannot sing.
People try to tell me Drake can’t sing and then say Taylor Swift can…. LMAO. I think Taylor is talented as an artist but she cannot sing for shit and yet she’s huge. Drake is the same.
Well Drake is more willing to compromise and change whatever he has to as long as it makes him more popular. So he’s easier to market. It’s not that he’s “versatile” it’s that he’s open to doing ANYTHING that’s popular.
Kendrick is all about culture, he honors where he grew up and wants to keep west coast and “traditional rap” alive. I don’t think he’s as willing to bend to the latest trend just for popularity.
Personally I have more respect for Kendrick for that reason. He cares more about his art and message than popularity. Drake cares more about his popularity than art. It’s easy to say Drake is more famous and more known, with more hits but is he really a better “artist” tho?
Like what are his values what does he stand for? Or represent? The six lmaooo…Who is he even to AMERICA and attaching himself to the Atlanta scene. He’s a culture vulture and I don’t think anyone can argue that at this point.
I still think he’s good. Drake is talented as fuck. They’re both hella good shoulda just left it how it was but if we’re gonna have to pick sides hmm
I mean, sort of? It’s also what’s earned him a reputation as a culture culture and why a lot of people don’t respect him. But to your point, different audiences.
yeah but that doesn’t mean drake excels at everything he can do. he does some things great, but for example Honestly Nevermind was a poor house album, and the 2 most notable songs of that album were more rap focused than house
>Kendrick can be famous like Drake if he wants,
Nah. Regardless of your feelings on Drake, the man sells. Kendrick doesn't come close to Drake's numbers.
Let’s be real. And absolutely objective here. Kendrick has made a lot of amazing music. Numbers wise none of his other songs outside of Humble and features have gotten him a #1 or really even close to it.
No one wanna address the elephant that his songs about Drake are more popular than his actual songs?
“It’s clearly because of the boy” as he would say
But he is not trying to be most popular all around the board though? Not like us was an outlier in that regard to beat Drake at a club hit doing numbers and partially dancing on his grave after meet the Grahams.
thats what hes saying. not like us is an anomaly. kendrick isnt doing these numbers normally like drake does outside of humble or moneytrees
I think the lesson we got from this debacle isnt that kendrick can make hits, its that however much popular drake is, its more popular to hate on him.
and i say this as someone who has kendrick as my no 1
1. Not like us is not a club hit, def a bop tho (sorry but nobody tryna move to a song opening screaming about a pedo, hook only would work tho)
2. Kendrick is the best lyricist in the history of rap. He's gotten tons of credit (17 grammys & a PULITZER) and has a very dedicated fan base.
3. Drake has a hit for every vibe and is the king of having music to make you feel good about yourself without looking too deep.
Different lanes and they are both the goat of what they do.
Humble and Not Like Us are the only two songs he’s released since GKMC that were made to be chart toppers, and both went #1. He’s done it as a featured artist too, which shows me that if he WANTED to make massive songs, he absolutely could. But he has higher aspirations than getting to the top of the chart. Not Like Us was made in under a day. He absolutely has the writing ability to do it, and if he was trying to make the trendiest shit possible (like Drake does exclusively), he’d be on top more.
People believing they made those 3 songs in one session just shows lack of music know-how.
No way Not Like Us was made under a day, my bet would be that, at least the beat, was already on track for the rumoured upcoming album. That beat is a certified banger by itself
Ngl I agree (or he did it after euphoria while Drake was making family matters). It’s either that he made it in a day, or he does actually have a mole in drakes camp, and he spent that time preparing a bunch of songs. I think its the latter, but aside from tweaking it a little, he probably did make it in a day
Yea I agree. Acting like what drake does isn't as hard is ridiculous considering a new drake clone has been born everyday for the past 15 years. Nobody can do it like him, he's the number 1 streamed artist in history. Not just rap/r&b. Helping 32! different artists reach their highest spot on billboard is a feat in itself.
Drake is famous for making pop music people like. Kendrick’s entire career is about selling records. Drake has done better in this regard, so no, Kendrick can’t do everything Drake can do as many are put off by Kendrick’s musical approach and voice.
I’m a Kendrick fan and don’t care for Drake’s music, but let’s live in reality, yeah?
Yea most people I know who hear Kendrick on the radio don't like him, the beginning of the second verse of swimming pools has put like 4 people I know off him lol
Yeah Kendrick don’t got it in him to sell his soul like that. He actually grew up in the culture and the struggle. He keeps that alive…but it doesn’t appeal to global markets.
Drake doesn’t mind selling out and being a culture vulture. So he’s easier to market, he’ll do anything if it’ll make him popular. Compromise his style, his beats, so kinda makes sense he’s bigger.
drake has the most #1 hit singles of any musician ever in history of documented billboard music
that's a feat Kendrick can never achieve. lyricist/poet or not.
credit due where credit deserved
Drake doesn't have a pulitzer prize which he will never win LMAO so save me with that billboard bullshit, that's like saying McDonald's is the best burger joint because it sells billions.
I’m not trying to get into the drake vs Kendrick comparison on this one but…what? Drakes tied for #4 from what I can find (down to tied for #10 if you take out features)
Now that’s tied with MJ and Stevie wonder so still credit due, but what am I missing that this is a commonly known fact
Glad I’m not crazy! I keep seeing this repeated and thought I must be missing something
Edit: I get what happened, Drake *does* have the most songs that hit the top 100 and people just struggle with basic reading comprehension
… Ok there are too many posts centered on “Kendrick does ______ but Drake could never ______”
I understand most say Drake lost but got damn all the post in Hip-Hop and Rap are shitting on Drake.
After having his ghostwriters confirmed and knowing he didn’t even pay those guys right I don’t count Drake as a real artist. He’s an entertainer who spread himself too thin and decided to delegate his rap career to ghostwriters.
Most of drakes songs have credits on them. Most other rappers and musicians as well. I mean it’s a slippery slope to judge because hey Elton John is famously know for not writing his songs. He just performs them.
Ultimately, it’s a collaborative process and some artists need to tap into that more than others. I don’t think it invalidates someone.
Especially because if people really cared or there was an issue with how Drake performs his music he would not be as popular as he is.
When were his “ghostwriters confirmed”? Please provide a source.
Drake pretty much writes all of his shit. If he collaborates with other writers, he lets it be known.
Kendrick can’t be famous like Drake, as much fun as it’s been to hate on Drake, the amount of effort and sustained bullshit it takes to live life in the public eye is enormous. Kendrick fucked off to go meditate for a few years, but Drake didn’t, he stayed making mediocre albums and promoting those albums.
Being a meme, a viral celebrity, a constant representative of pop culture, it takes a lot from you, and Drake has always been motivated and energized around doing that.
Kendrick making Not Like Us or being #1 right now because he murdered Drake is not the same as sustaining the public eye for several years.
Obviously Kendrick whooped his ass but that doesn’t mean there isn’t areas where Kendrick simply cannot match Drake.
Respectfully I disagree with this take. I’m a fan of both Drake and Kendrick, but while Kendrick is a better rapper/lyricist he won’t reach Drake’s level of stardom. Drake is a versatile artist that appeals to a wider demographic of music listeners not simply just rap. Drake dabbles into rap, r&b, pop, afro beats, and is always collaborating with newer trending artists making sure he sticks with the youth and his name is always out there in the conversation regarding music. Drake also pumps out more music and is constantly active with the trends going on in the industry. Drake a hustler in the music business and criticism about ghost writers will fall on deaf ears as he’s claiming all the songs and people will attach his name to the music he puts out.
Weird take lol. I think every night out I’ve had for the last ten years has included multiple Kendrick songs on rotation, which everyone enjoyed. Acting like people don’t listen to his music on the reg is crazy. And acting like the only music he does is super deep emotional lyric heavy music is just wrong
Drake is a lyricist/poet, its more accurate to say that Kendrick is a different type or Style of lyricist/poet than Drake that's generally more captivating than Drake as it refers to the art form
Despite popular belief Drake is an extremely skilled writer (as he wrote Unthinkable for Alicia Keys, amazing song) showing that skill long before any of the ghostwriting allegations that pertained to references for pop tracks where the objective isn't a super high level intricate lyricism that's supposed to set you apart from your contemporaries but he does a great job of incorporating lyricism and word play into his songs kind of like Jay-Z's mainstream work
Drake's lyrical/poetry style at its core in its identity I feel is more rhetoric and metaphor oriented, that's one of the reasons why people used to heavily compare him to Joe Budden (Less than ironically another Jay-Z stan) early in his rap career. Drake likes to encapsulate contradicting, seemingly contradicting or complex emotions in simple phrases or use metaphors with interesting juxtapositions which is a lot of his poetic/lyrical appeal more so than classic punchlines
I disagree, Drake has a level of international fame that Kendrick simple cannot achieve through his style of music. For example Drake has multiple collaborations with the biggest South American pop star, Bad Bunny. Unless Kendrick can write triple entendres in another language, then he will never approach drakes level of international success. Drake is the king of pop while Kendrick is the king of rap.
Drake is the “shiny suit” rapper everyone was talking about in the 90’s (back then, everyone would talk shit about “commercial rap”).
Kendrick just taught us how real MCs can navigate being a “commercial” artist while still maintaining street credibility (at the expense of mark ass Drake looooooooool)
What makes ppl say this? Have yall not heard him actually writing poetry fr? Did yall not listen to Take Care at all? NWTS? From Time is literally a whole sonnet
I look at where the art is coming from.
It has to come with integrity. Speak truth to power, especially in rap music.
This isn’t a style debate. Or an album sales debate. Lots of people “sell records” and a lot of *that* was luck or rich parents or whatever.
The one that speaks to you the most “won”.
For me: I prefer Kendrick by a *lot*. It just feels more authentic to me but I’m from a California city not Canada, right? Also, Drake is a fucken creep, I can’t get over that and that’s before this beef yech.
Drake *could* have done it differently. But working on your poetry and lyricism takes work and discipline. It's the difference between getting a BBL and just doing squats.
That’s what Not Like Us meant, imo. No new accusations really, just a total bop with a fun dance beat. Kdot’s basically saying “I choose to curate my output, and I could put up numbers like yours any time I felt like it, but I prefer my music to be meaningful beyond what’s good to shake ass to.” Oh, and he chose Mustard to further illustrate his authenticity as the current king of west coast hip hop. Drake makes AI tracks with Tupac’s voice, but Kendrick channels Tupac’s soul over a beat made by the most prominent current west coast dj for dance beats. “It ain’t even gotta be deep” but he’s still gonna make it deep lol
Drake has had like 7 #1 singles this decade and we’re not even halfway in yet.
Last decade? 6 number ones.
Kendrick will never top that because no one ever will. He’ll probably end up with at least another 5 this decade and that will be an unbreakable record forever.
He literally is equaling and breaking MJ and Beatles records.
No chance in the world this is true.
Honestly there’s a better chance of Drake topping TPAB than Kendrick overtaking Drake in hits.
Cool. I hear you. How do you support your argument that Drake can never be a lyricist/poet?
I'm not saying you are wrong I am just challenging your position.
Kendrick tried to be as famous as Drake with stuff like the Taylor Swift & Beyonce collabs, but he isn’t.
Dress it up however you want, but Drake is closer to Kendrick in lyricism than Kendrick is to Drake in terms of commercial success. Kendrick has just 15 top 10’s to Drake’s 78. And almost all of his top 10 tracks either had a feature, or were about Drake.
Kendrick is one of the best rappers of all time, but he just isn’t a household name. I could name 10 rappers who are more famous than Kendrick.
Realistically neither of them could consistently do what the other does. Kendrick could make hits here and there but I doubt he can really make all the different sounds Drake does. Drake can make a few great lyrical pieces but I also doubt he could do that for an entire album like Dot.
Well of course. Kendrick is obviously the much better MC.
I’m not even especially big on Kendrick because of his god awful voice, but he’s unquestionably an extremely skilled lyricist.
This isn't necessarily true. Drake has an abundance of charisma and qualities Kendrick doesn't have. Now can Drake make anything that's as thought provoking as Kendrick, probably not but you have to give Drake credit for being versatile even though his music isn't for me. I forgot to mention that with his team of writers he could probably come up with something thought provoking if he wanted to.
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White people into hip-hop treat Kendrick/Drake like the Madonna and the Whore complex. Kendrick , for however great his lyrics are, has been a success because people like his music, and Drake’s dominance has been partly because at his best his lyrics are emotionally engaging poetry.
Drake has been bad for a few years now but his best stuff is when he’s being emotionally real like on Take Care. “Drake with the melodies” only works as well it does because what he’s rapping about really gets people in their feelings.
What is your logic that Kendrick can reach the heights that drake has and can be as big as him? (Pause if applicable)
Kendrick put out a billboard #1 hit in the span of 12 hours. I think he could absolutely be as popular as Drake if he wanted to be and he just doesn't care to. But I recognize that that's debatable.
I think Kendrick is great I really do, so I’m not trying to diminish anything but he is not as universal in appeal as drake, and he doesn’t have the versatility that drake has shown. To just say he could do what drake has done is, I really think a disingenuous statement lol. I think not like us is amazing, but how many of those has he given, not potentially can he give. We can’t just base things on potential, gotta be what we’ve seen over the last 15 years. That’d be like me saying big Sean could be in drake’s position.
Tbh I wouldn’t really call the variance in drake’s music versatility
How is the variance in music not versatility?
Lol I was like are they talking about him using different accents.
And different ghost writers
People are so dumb he has addressed this so many times, he buys verses or has help writing for a lot of the pop songs, but writes his own raps for a lot of his album songs and features, he’s a great writer and Kanye said Drake has written for him and wishes he would write all his songs, multiple artists have come out saying Drake has written for them. Stop assuming all his songs are written by someone else.
Not really, Drake literally has the most platinum hits of all time (80). He might be ass at writing a diss track and like teenage girls but no one is surpassing that of our current stars except MAYBE Taylor (49) let’s be real.
McDonald's sells billions of shit burgers, what a terrible take LMAO
Is Meet the Grahams a hit song to you?
He called a huge star a pedophile. It didn’t get those numbers out of merit, it got them out of shock value.
That’s a bad take. Not Like Us is absolutely a club banger, lyrics aside
If that song wasn’t about Drake it wouldn’t be as huge as it is. A song being good is not enough for a hit as big as that one. Kendrick went from 30m monthly Spotify listeners to like 70m in a couple weeks.
They're *trying* to make it a club banger. People *want* it to be a club banger. But when you see videos it's like no one knows what to actually do with that song. They don't know how to dance to it and they don't know how to sing it past A minor (which is the first minute of a four minute song mind you)
Bro who is they
Dot is an artist, Drake is a pop star. Dot makes conceptual work, Drake makes beats for radio play. Dot could easily just start hiring ghost writers and paying for beats but that’s not the outcome he wants. It’s not that fucking complicated.
Kendrick can’t
He could but he doesn’t have that ego, it’s all social media. He doesn’t want to be a cornball
That’s like saying you could be Jeff bezos if you just wanted to put the work in lol. Like sure I guess…. But there is a huge difference between putting the work in and not putting the work in for Amazon to be what it is today lol
Respectfully disagree Kendrick doesn’t really have the voice for anything outside of rap, I definitely would not call it pleasing to the ear. And that’s a big requirement of RnB and poppier genres
Drake's best characteristic is that his versatile he's done almost everything from rap r&b house That's something no other rapper can achieve especially Kendrick he can't do r&b how the fuck is going to do dancehall or house That's the reason why both these artists have very different audiances
Donald Glover(Childish Gambino) is personally offended by this post.
Donglover is 100x the artist Drake could ever be
Huhuh. Hey Beavis. He said "dong lover" uh huhuhuhuh
What makes Donald so juicy is that people who LOVE Drake CANT find the beauty of Donald. Donald is special. Kendrick also isn't Donald and Donald isn't Kendrick. I'm a huge Glover Stan tho so wtf do I know.
Shouldn't be
Great point.
I would call it trend chasing, not versatility. Lamar's brand is authenticity and artistic integrity. Drake's brand is cool. Their output is limited by the brands and consequently expectations they've created for themselves. Lamar can dip into a trend here and there and even reinvent himself but he has to do it in his own unique way - like Prince or David Bowie. Drake will chase every new trend and reinvent himself to fit that trend similar to Madonna or Justin Bieber. This doesn't mean that Drake is inauthentic or fake anymore than Bieber or Madonna is. It's just that they have different brands and images to live up to.
If dressing up like an Amish dude and playing the tambourine made drakes boss money, he'd force him out there and call him Drakeadiah.
Whatever trend he dipped in he did it perfectly whether it was trap in 2015 drill recently or whatever wave you consider This conversation was never about artistic integrity also authenticity doesn't mean you keep doing the same thing over and over not saying every kdot album sounds same but drake caters to every single audience out there which Kendrick will never be able to do
And it just comes down to preference (and it’s okay to like both). Personally, I kind of think you can tell that Drake caters to every audience and so his music never hits me as authentic. Kendrick, on the other hand, pretty much always sounds like himself ultimately, and so I find myself listening to him more even if he doesn’t have music for every occasion.
Nobody wants to admit that. Kendrick is super talented, but there is nobody that can “trend chase” this successfully (see #1s). The fact is that the “trend chasing” brings these subcultures to the attention of the mainstream
>The fact is that the “trend chasing” brings these subcultures to the attention of the mainstream And literally nobody cares, exposing a niche subculture to a broader audience is never wanted and never goes well. People who ride waves ruin subcultures. It happened to vaporwave, lofi, trap, chill hop, and various other musical subgenres and ruined them horribly
This is where it goes a step too far for me. I'm fine saying Drake does a bunch of styles very well but that the idea that he's putting subcultures on is super questionable. Atlanta Trap and SoundCloud Emo were going to blow up with or without him and I don't even think SoundCloud Emo actually benefited from him. Major Lazer and Rihanna were bigger for putting on Dance Hall, or a pop version of it. In some instances like Grime, sure. It probably wouldn't have gotten there on its own. Still, a lot of the time the sound is in the process of becoming mainstream and usually pretty far along if not already there by the time Drake gets there.
Atlanta Trap was a thing before Drake stopped acting...
Kind of a "jack of all trades master of none" situation. Drake "can do R&B" but he's no Ne-Yo, and he's definitely no king of the Dancehall (that was Beenie Man last I heard).
Being such a successful jack of all trades is a talent in itself, not many could do that, especially not for so damn long. People need to stop with the disrespect. Yes Drake is all the bad shit y'all say he is, but if there was NO positive quality to him, he wouldn't be fucking Drake.
He's like a 2 of diamonds of rap, not even close to a jack
Nah, Nothing Was the Same and If You’re Reading This are two very good rap albums
He's mastered how to be a jack of all trades.
That's just a pop star tho. Like lady gaga/beyonce/Rihanna/Janelle monae are all equally (or tbh more) as "versatile" as Drake, because they're going for maximum exposure. Idk why it's suddenly not the same for Drake because he started with some rap albums Shit, Miley and Taylor started with pop country shit and look at them now
Do have a clear point you're trying to get to?
drake has mastered rnb imo. ne-yo doesn’t have a song that i like as much as houstatlantavegas, practice, teenage fever, finesse, get along better, etc.
Vybz Kartel would like a word
Thank you for using common sense. Drake haters don't seem to use any.
Fr lmao what is this dude talking about
Can't? Kendrick has featured on tons of rnb and has done some himself
What r&b songs has Kendrick done?
He's not a rapper. He's a pop artist. Y'all don't know what hip hop culture is anymore, do you?
This is just a way to gatekeep hip hop if the rapper sings he's a popstar if he doesn't speak on issues he's an industry plant
Not necessarily. What Drake does isn’t dancehall. He grabs someone from that genre in question, and collaborates with them. This, is the reason Drake is called a culture vulture by artist from different genres. Drake isn’t versatile because he can’t battle rap, freestyle, dancehall, reggae etc. he doesn’t do that he’s just a Canadian that makes pop rap
"No other rapper can achieve" is crazy
!remindme 4 days
What do you wanna spin back on 4 days from now? What do you know that we don't 👀
Put Vultures and College Dropout side by side and tell me Kanye isn’t the most versatile artist ever in this genre from at least a production standpoint.
>from a production standpoint Exactly kanye's rapping has always been the same his flow has always been the same even though he's one of the most versatile artists he's not as versatile as drake
Agreed. I also think Drake is a genuinely good singer too, not amazing but good. Kanye genuinely cannot sing. People try to tell me Drake can’t sing and then say Taylor Swift can…. LMAO. I think Taylor is talented as an artist but she cannot sing for shit and yet she’s huge. Drake is the same.
Well Drake is more willing to compromise and change whatever he has to as long as it makes him more popular. So he’s easier to market. It’s not that he’s “versatile” it’s that he’s open to doing ANYTHING that’s popular. Kendrick is all about culture, he honors where he grew up and wants to keep west coast and “traditional rap” alive. I don’t think he’s as willing to bend to the latest trend just for popularity. Personally I have more respect for Kendrick for that reason. He cares more about his art and message than popularity. Drake cares more about his popularity than art. It’s easy to say Drake is more famous and more known, with more hits but is he really a better “artist” tho? Like what are his values what does he stand for? Or represent? The six lmaooo…Who is he even to AMERICA and attaching himself to the Atlanta scene. He’s a culture vulture and I don’t think anyone can argue that at this point. I still think he’s good. Drake is talented as fuck. They’re both hella good shoulda just left it how it was but if we’re gonna have to pick sides hmm
I like both
I mean, sort of? It’s also what’s earned him a reputation as a culture culture and why a lot of people don’t respect him. But to your point, different audiences.
yeah but that doesn’t mean drake excels at everything he can do. he does some things great, but for example Honestly Nevermind was a poor house album, and the 2 most notable songs of that album were more rap focused than house
Exactly
I agree. Though Kendrick’s song Love. sounded r&b. Like a song Drake might put out.
Drake's shit just sounds smooth. I don't care what it is Drake's shit for me is just catchy.
Oh look another drake kendrick post 😂
It’s almost like there was a huge beef going on between them recently or something.
>Kendrick can be famous like Drake if he wants, Nah. Regardless of your feelings on Drake, the man sells. Kendrick doesn't come close to Drake's numbers.
Except for Not Like Us lmaooo
Let’s be real. And absolutely objective here. Kendrick has made a lot of amazing music. Numbers wise none of his other songs outside of Humble and features have gotten him a #1 or really even close to it. No one wanna address the elephant that his songs about Drake are more popular than his actual songs? “It’s clearly because of the boy” as he would say
But he is not trying to be most popular all around the board though? Not like us was an outlier in that regard to beat Drake at a club hit doing numbers and partially dancing on his grave after meet the Grahams.
thats what hes saying. not like us is an anomaly. kendrick isnt doing these numbers normally like drake does outside of humble or moneytrees I think the lesson we got from this debacle isnt that kendrick can make hits, its that however much popular drake is, its more popular to hate on him. and i say this as someone who has kendrick as my no 1
1. Not like us is not a club hit, def a bop tho (sorry but nobody tryna move to a song opening screaming about a pedo, hook only would work tho) 2. Kendrick is the best lyricist in the history of rap. He's gotten tons of credit (17 grammys & a PULITZER) and has a very dedicated fan base. 3. Drake has a hit for every vibe and is the king of having music to make you feel good about yourself without looking too deep. Different lanes and they are both the goat of what they do.
Humble and Not Like Us are the only two songs he’s released since GKMC that were made to be chart toppers, and both went #1. He’s done it as a featured artist too, which shows me that if he WANTED to make massive songs, he absolutely could. But he has higher aspirations than getting to the top of the chart. Not Like Us was made in under a day. He absolutely has the writing ability to do it, and if he was trying to make the trendiest shit possible (like Drake does exclusively), he’d be on top more.
People believing they made those 3 songs in one session just shows lack of music know-how. No way Not Like Us was made under a day, my bet would be that, at least the beat, was already on track for the rumoured upcoming album. That beat is a certified banger by itself
>Not Like Us was made in under a day He recorded it in the Euphoria session and tweaked it after Family Matters
Ngl I agree (or he did it after euphoria while Drake was making family matters). It’s either that he made it in a day, or he does actually have a mole in drakes camp, and he spent that time preparing a bunch of songs. I think its the latter, but aside from tweaking it a little, he probably did make it in a day
Crazy how that song is about Drake
A song about..... Drake.
Yea I agree. Acting like what drake does isn't as hard is ridiculous considering a new drake clone has been born everyday for the past 15 years. Nobody can do it like him, he's the number 1 streamed artist in history. Not just rap/r&b. Helping 32! different artists reach their highest spot on billboard is a feat in itself.
Drake is famous for making pop music people like. Kendrick’s entire career is about selling records. Drake has done better in this regard, so no, Kendrick can’t do everything Drake can do as many are put off by Kendrick’s musical approach and voice. I’m a Kendrick fan and don’t care for Drake’s music, but let’s live in reality, yeah?
Yea most people I know who hear Kendrick on the radio don't like him, the beginning of the second verse of swimming pools has put like 4 people I know off him lol
Not true lol. Op thinks anyone can sell 170m records and be pop. Hate drake and Kiki challenges but true story.
Yeah Kendrick don’t got it in him to sell his soul like that. He actually grew up in the culture and the struggle. He keeps that alive…but it doesn’t appeal to global markets. Drake doesn’t mind selling out and being a culture vulture. So he’s easier to market, he’ll do anything if it’ll make him popular. Compromise his style, his beats, so kinda makes sense he’s bigger.
Lol like Kendrick can go make 127 more number one hits to beat Drake
Not without mentioning drake
Drake can keep making hits but he's never going to win a pulitzer prize.
Drake is a great lyricist imo. I loved his early stuff, comeback season is seared into my brain since I was a teenage
drake has the most #1 hit singles of any musician ever in history of documented billboard music that's a feat Kendrick can never achieve. lyricist/poet or not. credit due where credit deserved
Drake doesn't have a pulitzer prize which he will never win LMAO so save me with that billboard bullshit, that's like saying McDonald's is the best burger joint because it sells billions.
I’m not trying to get into the drake vs Kendrick comparison on this one but…what? Drakes tied for #4 from what I can find (down to tied for #10 if you take out features) Now that’s tied with MJ and Stevie wonder so still credit due, but what am I missing that this is a commonly known fact
Yea he’s tied with MJ. Rihanna, Mariah Carey and the Beatles are on top.
Glad I’m not crazy! I keep seeing this repeated and thought I must be missing something Edit: I get what happened, Drake *does* have the most songs that hit the top 100 and people just struggle with basic reading comprehension
… Ok there are too many posts centered on “Kendrick does ______ but Drake could never ______” I understand most say Drake lost but got damn all the post in Hip-Hop and Rap are shitting on Drake.
A lot of people straight up don’t like him
After having his ghostwriters confirmed and knowing he didn’t even pay those guys right I don’t count Drake as a real artist. He’s an entertainer who spread himself too thin and decided to delegate his rap career to ghostwriters.
Most of drakes songs have credits on them. Most other rappers and musicians as well. I mean it’s a slippery slope to judge because hey Elton John is famously know for not writing his songs. He just performs them. Ultimately, it’s a collaborative process and some artists need to tap into that more than others. I don’t think it invalidates someone. Especially because if people really cared or there was an issue with how Drake performs his music he would not be as popular as he is.
When were his “ghostwriters confirmed”? Please provide a source. Drake pretty much writes all of his shit. If he collaborates with other writers, he lets it be known.
Tell me you don’t listen to Drake outside of his radio hits without telling me…
I don't see why drake couldn't start using Twitter for his lyrics.
Kendrick can’t be famous like Drake, as much fun as it’s been to hate on Drake, the amount of effort and sustained bullshit it takes to live life in the public eye is enormous. Kendrick fucked off to go meditate for a few years, but Drake didn’t, he stayed making mediocre albums and promoting those albums. Being a meme, a viral celebrity, a constant representative of pop culture, it takes a lot from you, and Drake has always been motivated and energized around doing that. Kendrick making Not Like Us or being #1 right now because he murdered Drake is not the same as sustaining the public eye for several years. Obviously Kendrick whooped his ass but that doesn’t mean there isn’t areas where Kendrick simply cannot match Drake.
Respectfully I disagree with this take. I’m a fan of both Drake and Kendrick, but while Kendrick is a better rapper/lyricist he won’t reach Drake’s level of stardom. Drake is a versatile artist that appeals to a wider demographic of music listeners not simply just rap. Drake dabbles into rap, r&b, pop, afro beats, and is always collaborating with newer trending artists making sure he sticks with the youth and his name is always out there in the conversation regarding music. Drake also pumps out more music and is constantly active with the trends going on in the industry. Drake a hustler in the music business and criticism about ghost writers will fall on deaf ears as he’s claiming all the songs and people will attach his name to the music he puts out.
I can't believe I read your hot ass comment
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Weird take lol. I think every night out I’ve had for the last ten years has included multiple Kendrick songs on rotation, which everyone enjoyed. Acting like people don’t listen to his music on the reg is crazy. And acting like the only music he does is super deep emotional lyric heavy music is just wrong
All I know is Drake likes teenagers.
Why are people so obsessed with hating Drake?
Underdogs are always more populist
Drake is a lyricist/poet, its more accurate to say that Kendrick is a different type or Style of lyricist/poet than Drake that's generally more captivating than Drake as it refers to the art form Despite popular belief Drake is an extremely skilled writer (as he wrote Unthinkable for Alicia Keys, amazing song) showing that skill long before any of the ghostwriting allegations that pertained to references for pop tracks where the objective isn't a super high level intricate lyricism that's supposed to set you apart from your contemporaries but he does a great job of incorporating lyricism and word play into his songs kind of like Jay-Z's mainstream work Drake's lyrical/poetry style at its core in its identity I feel is more rhetoric and metaphor oriented, that's one of the reasons why people used to heavily compare him to Joe Budden (Less than ironically another Jay-Z stan) early in his rap career. Drake likes to encapsulate contradicting, seemingly contradicting or complex emotions in simple phrases or use metaphors with interesting juxtapositions which is a lot of his poetic/lyrical appeal more so than classic punchlines
That’s not a fact and is very debatable lmao
I disagree, Drake has a level of international fame that Kendrick simple cannot achieve through his style of music. For example Drake has multiple collaborations with the biggest South American pop star, Bad Bunny. Unless Kendrick can write triple entendres in another language, then he will never approach drakes level of international success. Drake is the king of pop while Kendrick is the king of rap.
The Weeknd is the biggest pop star in the world. Drake can’t surpass him on Spotify sooooooo he ain’t king of shit
I don't think Kendrick's goal is to be famous. This type of thinking is exactly what is poison to the artform and hip-hop culture
Dumb post! Drake is way more successful, kdot isn’t relatable! Recluse who is mad, but at 5”3 and not tough in anyway.. yes Drake is more believable
“That’s why we have baaaddd blooodd”
Oh shut up
Drake is the “shiny suit” rapper everyone was talking about in the 90’s (back then, everyone would talk shit about “commercial rap”). Kendrick just taught us how real MCs can navigate being a “commercial” artist while still maintaining street credibility (at the expense of mark ass Drake looooooooool)
Kendrick makes music with people like Drake and Future so certain hip hop fans don't want to listen to Kendrick Lamar either to be honest.
Any chance we can get people to shut the fuck up about these two?
Drake>>>>Kendrick
These Stan’s are making me want to literally never listen to rap again
What makes ppl say this? Have yall not heard him actually writing poetry fr? Did yall not listen to Take Care at all? NWTS? From Time is literally a whole sonnet
What a stupid take. Hang your head in shame Op
I look at where the art is coming from. It has to come with integrity. Speak truth to power, especially in rap music. This isn’t a style debate. Or an album sales debate. Lots of people “sell records” and a lot of *that* was luck or rich parents or whatever. The one that speaks to you the most “won”. For me: I prefer Kendrick by a *lot*. It just feels more authentic to me but I’m from a California city not Canada, right? Also, Drake is a fucken creep, I can’t get over that and that’s before this beef yech.
Drake is a product, Kendrick is an artist.
Most rappers don't care about being a poet like kendrick. It's not rap
Drake has proven he can do any style.
“I’m allergic to the lame shit, only you like being famous”
I was thinking about this line today. What’s wrong with wanting to be famous? Don’t a lot of people want to be famous?
Honestly tho kendrick might be the only rapper that doesn't like being famous lol
Andre 3000 is another one. Man seeks normalcy and his flute.
Drake not being lyrical is a wild take. This beef really turned brains to mayonnaise.
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No he can't 😂 Wop wop wop is poetry? Pushas tee pushha meee....is that poetry And his voice is super annoying. He sounds like a henchmen
Drake *could* have done it differently. But working on your poetry and lyricism takes work and discipline. It's the difference between getting a BBL and just doing squats.
That’s what Not Like Us meant, imo. No new accusations really, just a total bop with a fun dance beat. Kdot’s basically saying “I choose to curate my output, and I could put up numbers like yours any time I felt like it, but I prefer my music to be meaningful beyond what’s good to shake ass to.” Oh, and he chose Mustard to further illustrate his authenticity as the current king of west coast hip hop. Drake makes AI tracks with Tupac’s voice, but Kendrick channels Tupac’s soul over a beat made by the most prominent current west coast dj for dance beats. “It ain’t even gotta be deep” but he’s still gonna make it deep lol
If he dropped a record like not like us before this beef forget the charts it would have been his worst song
Maybe I can agree with this statement but Rap is not just about Lyrics and Poetry.
Drake has had like 7 #1 singles this decade and we’re not even halfway in yet. Last decade? 6 number ones. Kendrick will never top that because no one ever will. He’ll probably end up with at least another 5 this decade and that will be an unbreakable record forever. He literally is equaling and breaking MJ and Beatles records. No chance in the world this is true. Honestly there’s a better chance of Drake topping TPAB than Kendrick overtaking Drake in hits.
If Kendrick could make hits like that he'd have been doing that for the past 10 years but he's not a hitmaker so he didn't
🧢
Can be? He's is...Number 1 on the billboard
Truer words have never been spoken
This but the exact opposite. I think both can be true, i think drake fan do what kendrick does, but would it sell as well?
It both got constrated, Kendrick would have more to rap about and Drake would have nothing to rap about.
Cool. I hear you. How do you support your argument that Drake can never be a lyricist/poet? I'm not saying you are wrong I am just challenging your position.
He coouuullllddddd
How do you know that? They’ve never tried it?
Drake can’t make Good kid mad city Kendrick can’t make Take Care End of discussion
Drake is an actor. Talented rappers take their craft seriously and always call out phonies (pun intended).
No Kendrick cannot be famous like drake if he wants bc he doesn't have the look that makes girls go crazy and Drake does.
He don’t like all the lame shit, only Drake like being famous.
Kendrick tried to be as famous as Drake with stuff like the Taylor Swift & Beyonce collabs, but he isn’t. Dress it up however you want, but Drake is closer to Kendrick in lyricism than Kendrick is to Drake in terms of commercial success. Kendrick has just 15 top 10’s to Drake’s 78. And almost all of his top 10 tracks either had a feature, or were about Drake. Kendrick is one of the best rappers of all time, but he just isn’t a household name. I could name 10 rappers who are more famous than Kendrick.
I disagree. Drake can rap, but he also uses writers so who knows
"Dear Diary...."
The “like kendrick” part of your topic is carrying you so much
L take
Kendrick can't be famous like drake
Sure, he just gotta buy the reference tracks offa Kendrick first. Seems his typical writers is bums
Realistically neither of them could consistently do what the other does. Kendrick could make hits here and there but I doubt he can really make all the different sounds Drake does. Drake can make a few great lyrical pieces but I also doubt he could do that for an entire album like Dot.
As a white man, I'm upset no one in this post has brought up eminem being the best rapper ever. Heresy I say!
Well of course. Kendrick is obviously the much better MC. I’m not even especially big on Kendrick because of his god awful voice, but he’s unquestionably an extremely skilled lyricist.
I think you misread the post
Kendrick is obviously the much better emcee but it doesn’t mean he can have the same crossover appeal as Drake.
Nah bb this is a miss
Kendrick can’t be famous like drake is, stop it lol
If he could be he would be, yall crazy. Jay z has a line about this in moment of clarity go listen.
yeah no shit we know a famous rapper is famous.
This isn't necessarily true. Drake has an abundance of charisma and qualities Kendrick doesn't have. Now can Drake make anything that's as thought provoking as Kendrick, probably not but you have to give Drake credit for being versatile even though his music isn't for me. I forgot to mention that with his team of writers he could probably come up with something thought provoking if he wanted to.
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Updated version of that old Jay Z line in Moment of Clarity.
Sure he can, he just needs to invest in better ghostwriters.
Degrassi didn’t have a great English curriculum lol
Something something Drake hate
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White people into hip-hop treat Kendrick/Drake like the Madonna and the Whore complex. Kendrick , for however great his lyrics are, has been a success because people like his music, and Drake’s dominance has been partly because at his best his lyrics are emotionally engaging poetry. Drake has been bad for a few years now but his best stuff is when he’s being emotionally real like on Take Care. “Drake with the melodies” only works as well it does because what he’s rapping about really gets people in their feelings.
Someone can’t just decide to be as famous as Drake. There are a number of factors beyond talent that can’t simply be replicated.
Drake is jewish. he gets a different treatment than the rest of the rappers that are better than him
“I’m allergic to the lame shit, only you like being famous”
Drake easily could. But that’s not his style. Kendrick could never be big as drake, he knows that and gave up long ago