With this battle with Drake and Kendrick, this is a reminder that lyricism in hiphop is and always will be here to stay. It never left but it hasn’t been as commercially in the forefront with some of the music in this era and artists. I look at this as hiphop being competitive in a sense of keeping your skills sharp and helping other MC’s with theirs. Sometimes it’s friendly and other times it’s war. I’ve seen a lot of people say this battle with Kendrick and Drake is two different perspectives and two different type of artists. I agree, Kendrick being more of an hiphop artist and Drake being the more pop and commercially successful one. But these guys have been at this for years and I think the best way to handle everything is on wax and with their creativity.
I hope with this people get back to other MC’s that rap and are technical with they do. There are some many to name and highlight that have similar success to these two artists whether they’re independent or mainstream. I think there needs to be a balance of the vibes and also hearing something and someone who’s going to make you think and look at things differently. Some people are saying this is staged because of hiphop not doing so well but I feel this isn’t the case. As far as Drake and Kendrick, you could say the Control verse a decade ago, maybe even in the beginning of both their careers despite Kendrick being on tour with Drake and them collaborating on music on each other’s albums and taking shots throughout the years led to this. I do feel this battle is needed not only for them but for hiphop to show what it was built on when it started and to show that the Masters of Ceremony reign supreme.