1It’s easy to evaluate whether the first few years of Death Row, Bad Boy, or even a Roc-a-fella have classics because it’s been over two decades. There are certain songs that have stood the test of time which is probably the most important consideration in determining if something is classic.2 I don’t think you can seriously compare TDE to all-time great labels until they’ve been around at least a decade.3 I think 2011 marked the birth of TDE with Kendrick’s Section 80 release. I guess you could go back a couple of years before that if you consider Kendrick’s mixtape projects but I don’t think people really knew what a TDE was at that point. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’ll probably still be blasphemous to compare them to Death Row or Bad Boy even if you wait 10 more years—4if you’re primary criteria is memorable quotables or the greatness of individual songs. 5And that’s no disrespect to TDE because I like Kendrick, Schoolboy Q, and Jay Rock. I just think Kendrick is the label (in a significantly greater way then 2Pac being Death Row or Biggie being Bad Boy)6 and the allure of his shyt is not around hot lines or hot songs. It’s more about crafting conceptually cohesive projects that highlight the whole and not just its parts. Lastly, if you’re to do a serious comparison, 7I think you have to discuss the label’s rise, the label’s founder, the label’s biggest artists, the label’s best projects, the label’s hottest songs, and the other little things that come to define the label.
1.True it's been over two decades,but alot of badboy and deathrow songs,were instant undeniable classics. You immediately knew Deep cover,G-THANG, ETC were special. Same with ALL of biggie's singles from ready to die. It didnt take a decade to see
2.I'm reacting to those that tried.
3.We can start seven years ago or six. Either way,bad boy and deathrow CLEARLY made a bigger impact in their first 6/7 years. And it didnt take 20 years later to peep the impact.
4.Well that's just me breaking it down. Anyone can say that's dope,that's great,that's classic. But when it's time to break shyt down via aspects of something,can it stand up to that. If not,maybe it's not so great. Just like somebody can say THAT bytch BAD.
She might have a pretty smile and pretty eyes .
But when you really appraise her,she might have no ass,no t*ts,no hips,kind of pudgy,a meh facial structure,fukked up nose. Now a nikka still might like her as is,but she's really not a BAD bytch statistically.
5.Yea most of them other nigas have no buzz
6.See #4. But to put it bluntly. if you dont have the classic songs,because you dont have enough classic rhymes,flows,hooks or beats,then how CLASSIC is your album,really?
Maybe "classic" is just a term used for branding when it comes to kendrick's music. And when you start to dissect his albums,it's clear that title is paper thin and not backed by anything.
7.Me breaking down the lack of dope flows,hooks,beats etc is me breaking down the littlest of things and really exposing the truth on shyt. Avoiding that convo would be a way to hide flaws and continue with the myth of classical work being doe.
