How did Kendrick Lamar become considered 'lyrical'?

[Mowgli]

So you've been listening to hip hop for years and you are questioning Kendrick's lyrical abilities??....yeah....ok....these cacs out here bruh's....

Years like, 2.

 

[West Coast Avenger]

I'll start putting #ThreadByWhitePoster in the first post, so there's no confusion.

.....

 

[Mowgli]

he was infiltrating the family and trying to get secret occult knowledge. all while smashing famous london supermodels

And what did he do with that knowledge. Got on the internet drunk to talk shyt about other black people while releasing no album wearing a gold grill . Hes a clown.

 

[H.J.Duck]

@mr. smoke weed what I think hasn't been mentioned... to me, Kendrick before he changed his name was a punchline rapper or a more "traditional" lyrical rapper. He became a better artist once he started figuring out his "own" style, which was around the same time he changed his name.

 

[West Coast Avenger]

Since Wu Tang forever. Nah if you read the thread I'm talking about what's considered a 'lyrical' MC. @OnlyInCalifornia had a good point that I agreed with. Kendrick can evoke emotion from his lyrics (ala 2pac on a much lower scale) which is in a way being lyrical. Whereas I view MC'ing like Nas, Rebel INS, Black Thought, Mos Def, Common, Jay Elec as more MC lyrical/lyricist. But I can see the case for both.

So basically you are just trying to say Kendrick isn't on the level of mc's from the 90's and Jay Elec....ok I get it....but by today's hip hop standards Kendrick is very lyrical....

 

[Piff Perkins]

Do you listen to music or do you skim thru it? If being a punchline rapper is what it takes to be "lyrical" to you, he's not. Like Nas he's a very evocative lyricist. Very poetic. And yes, he's very witty.

Dark as the midnight hour, I'm bright as the mornin' sun
Brown skinned, but your blue eyes tell me your mama can't run

If that's not lyrical I don't know what is. I've listened to rap for years and heard plenty of lines that boiled down to "you're light skinned because your great great great grandma was raped" - but I haven't seen anyone do it like that.

I'm not gonna go thru a bunch of songs. But go listen to Sing About Me or just about any random non-single from him...he knows what he's doing fam.

 

[mr. smoke weed]

So basically you are just trying to say Kendrick isn't on the level of mc's from the 90's and Jay Elec....ok I get it....but by today's hip hop standards Kendrick is very lyrical....

Okay I can rock with that. Now smoke one breh

 

[mr. smoke weed]

Do you listen to music or do you skim thru it? If being a punchline rapper is what it takes to be "lyrical" to you, he's not. Like Nas he's a very evocative lyricist. Very poetic. And yes, he's very witty.

Dark as the midnight hour, I'm bright as the mornin' sun
Brown skinned, but your blue eyes tell me your mama can't run

If that's not lyrical I don't know what is. I've listened to rap for years and heard plenty of lines that boiled down to "you're light skinned because your great great great grandma was raped" - but I haven't seen anyone do it like that.

I'm not gonna go thru a bunch of songs. But go listen to Sing About Me or just about any random non-single from him...he knows what he's doing fam.

Famlay did you read past the first page

 

[mr. smoke weed]

Years like, 2.

 

[Piff Perkins]

Famlay did you read past the first page

....no

I just woke up and saw a Cornrow Kenny thread n had to come thru blasting, fam

 

[yo moms]

young thug is the best doing it right now.

 

[Jack Don the G]

By starting off with a SirBiatch personal instead of just getting into the heart of the matter.



Receipts?

Do you want to discuss SirBiatch or Kendrick being lyrical? Pick one and let's run with it.



Breh, I've had this convo so many times on The Coli I don't wanna waste my time anymore. Especially when you're posting entire songs.

I will answer your question when you frame it properly. You're not gonna frame some cliche vague question and have me invest way too much time into answering it. Nah. This isn't how it works. An entire song is way too much wiggle room for y'all to deflect and run. I analyze one part, you tell me I missed the other parts (which you won't specify of course)

Get specific or don't bother.



Here you go again with the struggle personals. But your feelings aren't hurt

And at handing me an entire song, then going "here" as some sort of argument.

Wow, what a surprise.

You did exactly what I thought you would. Focus on me calling you a well know troll and deflect the question.

I called you a well know troll since you have the WOAT banner, thats a fact and not a personal attack. You make attention seeking threads and post sarcastic answers to anyone that make a real argument.

That Kendrick thread you made just proved my point. A thread where you don't argue your point just make other people write stuff which you later dismiss with sarcastic answers and smiles.

I gave you a song since you made such an outlandish remark that Kendricks writing is low level, middle school poetry (before your edit you wrote trash).

Since its YOUR statement its up to YOU to defend it.

My statement is that Sing about me is top tier song writing.

I already wrote why in my other post:

"He weave the lines so good with the beat and flow. Its effortless. Like damn. How can you not call that lyrical. The lyrics punch through the song.

People is so attached to the idea that to be considered lyrical you have to have lines that takes you out off the song and go "damn let me rewind that line".
But true genius writing makes you so engaged with the song that you are hypnotized and forget you just listened to a 12 minute song without become being bored."

I wont take single lines out of context for you since it goes against my own argument. If they are out of context they don't have any power. Its the way they are weaved together to make an effortless stream of introspective narrative of three different people while still painting a vivid picture of exterior surroundings which makes it great poetry. But you have to listen to it to really get whats genius about it. And sure you can say that is "wiggly" but thats how music and rap lyrics work.
Lyrics is not whats good on paper, its making words work together in a flow.

If you cant make an argument why it is low level, middle school poetry with out having single lines to judge then you are not fit to question a rappers level of lyricism.

If you cant argue why a song is lyrical without singled out lines. Then at lest explain why you have to be specific to the point of singled out lines with out calling it "wiggly".

How much to you need to break stuff down anyway? Maybe lines are even too wide of a concept. Maybe people should start compering words and single them out. If you judge a painting, you dont single out single brush strokes.

But sure if you really want to keep the discussion to single lines/bars then point out whats low level, middle school poetry about this part?

This is the life of another girl damaged by the system
These foster homes, I run away and never do miss 'em
See, my hormones just run away and if I can get 'em back
To where they used to be then I'll probably be in the denim
Of a family gene that show women how to be women
Or better yet, a leader, you need her to learn somethin'
Then you probably need to beat her, that's how I was taught
Three nikkas in one room, first time I was tossed
And I'm exhausted, but fukk that "Sorry for your loss" shyt
My sister died in vain, but what point are you trying to gain
If you can't fit the pumps I walk in?

 

[B-Mint94]

@mr. smoke weed what I think hasn't been mentioned... to me, Kendrick before he changed his name was a punchline rapper or a more "traditional" lyrical rapper. He became a better artist once he started figuring out his "own" style, which was around the same time he changed his name.

This is true. Just listen to the wordplay on the second verse on this song:



Haven't heard Kendrick do shyt like that in a while.

 

[It is a mystery]

How did Kid Cudi become considered good at anything?

"Doing what I need, hater I am A-okay
How many times must I tell 'em we don't care what people say ":smugcudi:

 

[VladTheImpaler]

Now, I'm a fan of a dude he makes good music etc. etc.

But lyrical? :dafukk:

From this

Tell Flex to drop a bomb on this shyt
So many bombs, ring the alarm like Vietnam in this shyt
So many bombs, make Farrakhan think that Saddam in this bytch
One at a time, I line 'em up and bomb on they mom while she watchin' the kids
I'm in a destruction mode if the gold exists
I'm important like the pope, I'm a muslim on pork
I'm Machiavelli's offspring, I'm the king of New York
King of the Coast, one hand, I juggle them both
The juggernaut's all in your jugular, you take me for jokes
Live in the basement, church pews and funeral faces
Cardio bracelets for my women free as I'm in Vegas
Who the fukk y'all thought it's supposed to be?
If Phil Jackson came back, still no coachin' me
I'm uncoachable, I'm unsociable
fukk y'all clubs, fukk y'all pictures
Your Instagram can gobble these nuts
Gobble dikk up 'til you hiccup
My big homie Kurupt
This the same flow that put the rap game on a crutch
I've seen nikkas Transform like villain Decepticons
Mollies'll prolly turn these bytches to fukkin' Lindsey Lohans
A bunch of rich ass white girls lookin' for parties
Playin with Barbies wreck the Porsche before you give 'em the car key
Judge me 'til the monarchy, blessin's to Paul McCartney
You called me a black Beatle, I'm either that or a Marley
(I don't smoke crack, motherfukker I sell it!)
I'm dressed in all black, this is not for the fan of Elvis
I'm aimin' straight for your pelvis, you can't stomach me
You plan on stumpin' me? I've been jumped before you put a gun on me
I put one on yours I'm Sean Connery
James Bond, wasn't none of you nikkas climbing 100 mil in front of me
And I'm gonna get it even if you're in the way
And if you're in it, better run for pete's sake
I heard the barbershops be in great debates all the time
Who's the best MC? Kendrick, Jigga and Nas
Eminem, Andre 3000, the rest of ya'll
New nikkas just new nikkas, don't get involved
And I ain't rockin no more designer shyt
White T's and Nike Cortez, this is red corvettes annonymous
I'm usually homeboys with the same nikkas I'm rhymin with
But this is hip hop and them nikkas should know what time it is
And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big KRIT, 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 nikkas
Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you nikkas
They don't wanna hear not one more noun or verb from u nikkas
What is competition? I'm tryna raise the bar high
Who tryna jump and get it? You better off tryna skydive
Out the exit window of 5 G5's with 5 grams
With your grandad as the pilot he drunk as fukk tryna land
With the hand full of arthritis and popping prosthetic leg
Bumpin Pac in the cockpit so the shyt that pops in his head
Is an option of violence, someone heard the stewardess said
That your parachute is a latex condom hooked to a dread

Okay that flow was kinda dope, and he came aggressive, but Jay Elec came right after and to quote Gza "make it half short twice as strong"

You could check my name on the books
I Earth, Wind, and Fire'd the verse, then rained the hook
The legend of Dorothy Flowers proclaimed from the roof
The tale of magnificent king who came from the nooks
Of the wild magnolia, mother of many soldiers
We live by every single word she ever told us
Watch over your shoulders,
And keep a tin of beans for when the weather turns the coldest
The Lord is our shepherd, so our cup runneth over
Put your trust in the Lord, pretend that your Chevy Nova
I'm spittin this shyt closure
And God is my witness, so you could get it from Hova
For all you magicians that's fidgeting with the cobra
I'm silent as a rock, 'cause I came from a rock
That's why I came with a rock, then signed my name on the Roc
Draw a line around some earth, then put my name on the plot
Cause I endured a lot of pain for everything that I got
The eyelashes like umbrellas when it rains from the heart
And the tissue is like an angel kissin you in the dark
You go from blind sight to hindsight,
Passion of the Christ, right, to baskin in the limelight
It takes time to get your mind right
Jay Electricity, PBS mysteries
In a lofty place, tangling with Satan over history
You can't say shyt to me,
Alhamdulillah
It's strictly by faith that we made it this far

But Jay Elec a monster, from the Nas lineage, so lets look at the lyrics to my fav Kendrick song 'Rigamortis'

Got me breathing with dragons
I'll crack the egg in your basket, you b*stard
I'm Marilyn Manson with magnums
Now just imagine the magic I like to ask is
Don't ask for your favorite rapper

(He dead) Yessir
(Amen) Chuuch
(He dead) I killed him
(Amen) bytch

[Verse 1:]
And this is rigamortis
And it's gorgeous when you die
Ali recorded and I'm Morpheus
The Matrix in my mind
I'm out the orbit
You an orphan and a hairdresser combined
I'm on the toilet when I rhyme
If you the shyt then I decline
I climax when you begin
And then I end on Cloud 9
And that's important when you morph
Into an angel in the sky
And don't be forging all my signatures
My listeners reply and tell me
That you biting style
You got a hell of an appetite
And I'mma be here for a while
Just buckle up before the ride
Or knuckle up if you could fight
We always making them duck or die
A suit and tie is suitable and usual in suicide
CSI, just might investigate
This fukking parasite

(He dead)
(Amen)

[Verse 2:]
That's what they telling me
Aim it at your celebrity
This is studio felony
Ferrigamo to many
And cool enough for the 70s
nikka, payback's a bytch
And bytch you been living in debt with me
That I more than especially
Leave a call on his mother voicemail
To say that he rest in peace
Bigger chopper the recipe
Wrestling, that's irrelevant
Rather rest at your residence
Whistling to the melody
Couldn't think of a better D
Better be on your P and Q
It's just me Jay Rock, Soul and Q
Solar system ain't why we cuter
Ain't nothing else you can do

(He dead) yup, yup
(Amen) I killed him
(He dead) hahaha
(Amen) amen

[Hook]

[Verse 3:]
I rapped him and made him Casper
I captured the likes of NASA
My pedigree to fly past ya
I pass the weed to the pastor
We all are sinners, once you sinister
Bible study faster
You hypocrite is reaction of blasphemy
I assassin my casualty
And it's casually done
And tell 'em my salary come
A lump sum of hundreds
Don't talk to be bout no money
The sun is under my feet
And I come in peace to compete
I don't run if you rather leap
My statistics go up in weeks
And I go visit the nearest creek
And I get busy on many MC
Really ballistic, anybody can see
Any assistance, everybody done see
Some persistence, recognize I be
Really too vicious, the permanent beast
And the demolition, breaking up the streets
Better partition, better dot your T
And I gon' mention, how the far you see
Putting my dikk in the rap industry
Everybody bytchin', getting mad at me
Recognize Kendrick, in the battery
And I'm charged up, and the catastrophe
Is charged up, and the audacity
And y'all fukks, never could hassle me
And y'all luck, just ran out you'll see

Lyrical? IDK about that. So how did he get this rep new age hip-hoppers?

Also thread is not for hate or any lame this mc v that mc shyt, just genuine discussion. Get at me.

Honestly, I didn't ready any of it. The way the thread title was written.....bothers me. Did you finish high school?