Where do you rank Kendrick’s current run?

[Conan]

Is Kendrick on the same level or even bigger right now than ‘98 DMX, ‘02 Eminem, ‘03 50 Cent, ‘08 Lil Wayne, or 2016 Drake?

He's not bigger than '03 50 Cent

He's not bigger than '02 Eminem

Those 2 were global phenomenons.

He has an argument for being bigger than DMX in '98. DMX was an inferno that died out fast, if Kendrick carries this into next year then I'd say he's surpassed DMX.

Wayne and Drake were more about longevity and hearing them everywhere. Drake ruled the waves for a decade. Lil Wayne had the streets and mixtapes on lock. I'd say Kendrick's current run is nearly equivalent but he needs to show he's more than riding the waves of this Drake beef.

I'll give an example. Nas won in 2001. Stillmatic was awesome. Then... he just fell off the map. Once the beef euphoria wore off (no pun, also, pause), what did he have to lean back on? Is Kendrick's run better than Nas in 2001? I'd say no. Come back in a year and let's see who's ruling the waves before we make a determination.

 

[SNG]

The thing that makes Kendrick’s run unique is that he always was that nikka in hip hop that people knew was a going to be one of the greats. After GKMC his project releases would shut the internet down. The thing about him is his consistency. I don’t think an artist has had a second wind like him at pushing 40 where he’s dominating everything in site in terms of Hip Hop. I would say Ye would be the closest. But in my whole 30+ years of hip hop I ain’t seen no shyt like this. A rapper almost pushing 40 and selling out stadiums, Super Bowl, Music playing in commercials, Grammy awards and breaking records on the music charts all in the span of one year. He’s breaking the idea that hip hop is a young man’s game. He’s aging gracefully.

Kendrick has thee Ultimate Run. You can’t even compare this run with rappers this run is like a Modern day thriller Mike run. Kendrick is a cultural phenomenon at this point.

 

[Hum Alistair]

I don't think I've ever seen a bigger run than 24/25 Kendrick.

 

[Bboystyle]

Holy shyt the Kendrick delusion is a real thing on here. I thought it was just a running joke on other parts of the site but here this thread is

 

[Overpss]

Holy shyt the Kendrick delusion is a real thing on here. I thought it was just a running joke on other parts of the site but here this thread is

These are just the facts
You can have an opinion, but you can't dispute the facts

 

[tysigna]

Honestly at this point the only rapper that had a bigger run is Eminem, that's it.
In 2024 and 2025, Kendrick became the first rapper to ever cross multiple lines that were never crossed.

 

[tremonthustler1]

no to those comparisons because at least during those eras, there was other shyt going on that made those runs so damn impressive. Kendrick having a run is great, but if you took Kendrick outta the equation, you'd realize that this is about as a dry of a 2 year stretch that hip-hop as a whole has had.

 

[Jasonmask]

On a scale from one to ten I’ll give it a ten. Not comparing eras that’s not an accurate representation

 

[Tasha And]

Tough to compare eras. Hip Hop is more mainstream and global than ever. The entire young adult and youth landscape for this era have spent their entire lives with rap being the top genre of music, unlike other eras. In 1999, not a single rap song went #1 on billboard hot 100. This is a year with these smash hits that helped albums go double and triple platinum and diamond, were featured on hit movie soundtracks, or influenced the lexicon.

My Name Is
Hard Knock Life
Back That Ass Up
Bling Bling
What's It Gonna Be
Changes
Can I Get A
The Next Episode
Still Dre

But none reached #1. Hell only one of them was a top 10 hit, Busta and Janet's joint. All of them would be easy #1's today.

You compare that to 2024 where Kendrick alone had 3 #1's. The path to a #1 is cleaner than it was in the past.

And the entire ecosystem of pop culture (influencers, podcasts, virality) has made rap so palatable to what's considered the mainstream, that everyone from fast food restaurants companies to Pulitzer organizations are tapping in.

So the raw numbers and mainstream accolades are going to lean Dot's way because he has a wider visibility and acceptability than other era top rappers.

But.

But I also think Dot's 25 run has far weaker competition than a 98 or 02 or 96. To dominate a narrative and period of time relative to your peers that are also putting up a fight for mindshare/market share is what really makes a run crazy.

 

[tysigna]

Tough to compare eras. Hip Hop is more mainstream and global than ever. The entire young adult and youth landscape for this era have spent their entire lives with rap being the top genre of music, unlike other eras. In 1999, not a single rap song went #1 on billboard hot 100. This is a year with these smash hits that helped albums go double and triple platinum and diamond, were featured on hit movie soundtracks, or influenced the lexicon.

My Name Is
Hard Knock Life
Back That Ass Up
Bling Bling
What's It Gonna Be
Changes
Can I Get A
The Next Episode
Still Dre

But none reached #1. Hell only one of them was a top 10 hit, Busta and Janet's joint. All of them would be easy #1's today.

You compare that to 2024 where Kendrick alone had 3 #1's. The path to a #1 is cleaner than it was in the past.

And the entire ecosystem of pop culture (influencers, podcasts, virality) has made rap so palatable to what's considered the mainstream, that everyone from fast food restaurants companies to Pulitzer organizations are tapping in.

So the raw numbers and mainstream accolades are going to lean Dot's way because he has a wider visibility and acceptability than other era top rappers.

But.

But I also think Dot's 25 run has far weaker competition than a 98 or 02 or 96. To dominate a narrative and period of time relative to your peers that are also putting up a fight for mindshare/market share is what really makes a run crazy.

Except that Kendrick's run is transcending hip hop...what he's doing right now isn't just crazy by hip hop standards, it's crazy period.
Even if you remove the hits and everything, nobody before was moving the crowd like he's currently doing in a stadium.

 

[Tasha And]

Except that Kendrick's run is transcending hip hop...what he's doing right now isn't just crazy by hip hop standards, it's crazy period.
Even if you remove the hits and everything, nobody before was moving the crowd like he's currently doing in a stadium.

I addressed this in my first three sentences. Kendrick is benefiting from the global mainstreaming of hip hop, where it’s basically synonymous with pop culture and lower case p pop music.

Rappers can headline super bowls. That wasn’t a thing in other eras.

 

[tysigna]

I addressed this in my first two sentences.

Nah...cuz it has nothing to do with hip hop being more global. Kendrick has historically always had a massive non-hip hop fanbase, that listens to him for his art and music.
For years he was probably the most popular act on jazz boards lol

 

[Tasha And]

Nah...cuz it has nothing to do with hip hop being more global. Kendrick has historically always had a massive non-hip hop fanbase, that listens to him for his art and music.
For years he was probably the most popular act on jazz boards lol

You cannot separate rap being more palatable to and accessible as mainstream lower case p pop music to millions more people than past eras from him reaching more people outside of traditional rap bubbles. The two things are connected.

A rapper like Kanye opening up rap to the “I don’t usually listen to rap” crowd only made it easier for that same crossover to get to an artist like Kendrick or a Tyler. Past era artists did not really have that benefit, not at this scale.

 

[tweezy]

Kendrick reached heights that we never thought possible
On top of being a massive commercial force, he's also setting records critically, making history at the grammy too.

Only Outkast can compare.

 

[Ziggiy]

Why do you hate Eminem this much?

F U CK Eminem