Waterproof
Warrior Lifestyle
The Best Rapper Alive, Every Year Since 1979
Kendrick Lamar
CREDENTIALS: No. 1 album debut, first solo single to hit No. 1, four Grammys
"To be the man, you got to beat the man." — Ric Flair
Depending on how you viewed it, To Pimp a Butterfly was one of two things. To most, Kendrick's third full-length was the moment in which he bucked the mainstream and decided follow his vision to create an abrasive, yet important, piece of art that spoke viscerally about the issues he believed to be afflicting the group of people with which he most closely identified.
To others, it was a tacit admission that, up until that point, when it came to creating popular rap music, he just wasn't up the task. As much as TPAB was discussed and debated—much to the delight, we're sure, of Kendrick, who said the album would wind up on university syllabi—it didn’t make much of a dent in the marketplace. It went platinum, but it sold less than Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, and only one single managed to crack the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
For comparison’s sake, that same year Drake dropped two albums, each debuting at number one, each pregnant with hits that would dominate the charts, radio, playlists, and commercials for the entire year.
To Pimp a Butterfly and the album of outtakes that followed it were such aberrations from the center of rap that many wondered if Kendrick would ever return. Would he even continue to rap? Would he strike out as a jazz fusion artist? Would he take up spoken word full time? Would he ever answer the shots taken at him by Big Sean and Drake? Would he focus his time on more pressing issues and, by default, cede the crown to one of the aforementioned competitors? Did he even give a fukk about being the best rapper alive?
After a varied series of guest appearances, on March 23, 2017 we finally got our answer via “The Heart Part IV,” on which Kendrick addressed his doubtful, slick-talking peers, comforted his worried fans, and staked his claim as the king.
I put my foot on the gas, head on the floor
Hoppin' out before the vehicle crash, I'm on a roll
Yellin', "One, two, three, four, five
I am the greatest rapper alive"
Not only that, he announced that he was coming right back with another album that would further solidify his place in the game. And DAMN. did just that. This isn’t another experimental project meant to be debated and discussed in barbershops and on rap forums. DAMN., with production from Mike-Will Made, Sounwave, DJ Dhahi, 9th Wonder, and the Alchemist, and MCing from the legendary DJ Kid Capri, is meant to be bumped everywhere you listened to hot shyt. It literally has something for everyone.
To run rap, you have to create music that applies to a multitude of scenarios and situations. You can’t be the best rapper alive if all you make is music that’s meant to be bumped in headphones. Or that only sounds good at ear-piercing decibels. Or lyrics that are better read on computer screens than recited back to you by rabid fans. Kendrick had all of that, and more. “HUMBLE.,” the first single from the album, and Kendrick’s first solo number one song, was a bop-inducing ditty that was immensely rappable thanks to its simple earworm of a chorus. It was like a photonegative of “The Blacker the Berry.”
Even more remarkable was that Kendrick seemingly conceded very little—if anything—creatively to make this album (which also debuted at number one) work. Yes, Rihanna and U2 are on the album, but it still features the same heady computation of the world and its inhabitants and institutions as heard on TPAB. Only this time the beats are banging in a way that’s closer to the center of rap. Or, put another way, they’re productions you could imagine his competition vying to use.
Sure, DAMN. could be seen as a tacit admission that the direction he had hoped to explore with his previous work wasn’t as commercially viable as he hoped. Or it could be seen as him deciding to follow his ambition to beat his contemporaries in their own arena. No matter how you view it, Kendrick Lamar proved himself to be the best rapper alive. —Damien Scott
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Jay-Z, Cardi B, Future
Kendrick Lamar
CREDENTIALS: No. 1 album debut, first solo single to hit No. 1, four Grammys
"To be the man, you got to beat the man." — Ric Flair
Depending on how you viewed it, To Pimp a Butterfly was one of two things. To most, Kendrick's third full-length was the moment in which he bucked the mainstream and decided follow his vision to create an abrasive, yet important, piece of art that spoke viscerally about the issues he believed to be afflicting the group of people with which he most closely identified.
To others, it was a tacit admission that, up until that point, when it came to creating popular rap music, he just wasn't up the task. As much as TPAB was discussed and debated—much to the delight, we're sure, of Kendrick, who said the album would wind up on university syllabi—it didn’t make much of a dent in the marketplace. It went platinum, but it sold less than Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, and only one single managed to crack the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
For comparison’s sake, that same year Drake dropped two albums, each debuting at number one, each pregnant with hits that would dominate the charts, radio, playlists, and commercials for the entire year.
To Pimp a Butterfly and the album of outtakes that followed it were such aberrations from the center of rap that many wondered if Kendrick would ever return. Would he even continue to rap? Would he strike out as a jazz fusion artist? Would he take up spoken word full time? Would he ever answer the shots taken at him by Big Sean and Drake? Would he focus his time on more pressing issues and, by default, cede the crown to one of the aforementioned competitors? Did he even give a fukk about being the best rapper alive?
After a varied series of guest appearances, on March 23, 2017 we finally got our answer via “The Heart Part IV,” on which Kendrick addressed his doubtful, slick-talking peers, comforted his worried fans, and staked his claim as the king.
I put my foot on the gas, head on the floor
Hoppin' out before the vehicle crash, I'm on a roll
Yellin', "One, two, three, four, five
I am the greatest rapper alive"
Not only that, he announced that he was coming right back with another album that would further solidify his place in the game. And DAMN. did just that. This isn’t another experimental project meant to be debated and discussed in barbershops and on rap forums. DAMN., with production from Mike-Will Made, Sounwave, DJ Dhahi, 9th Wonder, and the Alchemist, and MCing from the legendary DJ Kid Capri, is meant to be bumped everywhere you listened to hot shyt. It literally has something for everyone.
To run rap, you have to create music that applies to a multitude of scenarios and situations. You can’t be the best rapper alive if all you make is music that’s meant to be bumped in headphones. Or that only sounds good at ear-piercing decibels. Or lyrics that are better read on computer screens than recited back to you by rabid fans. Kendrick had all of that, and more. “HUMBLE.,” the first single from the album, and Kendrick’s first solo number one song, was a bop-inducing ditty that was immensely rappable thanks to its simple earworm of a chorus. It was like a photonegative of “The Blacker the Berry.”
Even more remarkable was that Kendrick seemingly conceded very little—if anything—creatively to make this album (which also debuted at number one) work. Yes, Rihanna and U2 are on the album, but it still features the same heady computation of the world and its inhabitants and institutions as heard on TPAB. Only this time the beats are banging in a way that’s closer to the center of rap. Or, put another way, they’re productions you could imagine his competition vying to use.
Sure, DAMN. could be seen as a tacit admission that the direction he had hoped to explore with his previous work wasn’t as commercially viable as he hoped. Or it could be seen as him deciding to follow his ambition to beat his contemporaries in their own arena. No matter how you view it, Kendrick Lamar proved himself to be the best rapper alive. —Damien Scott
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Jay-Z, Cardi B, Future