Whether it's A$AP Rocky's "F***in' Problems," Solange Knowles' "Looks Good with Trouble" or Robin Thicke's "Give It 2 U," Kendrick always brings his A-game and never sounds uncomfortable or out of place. Even in his good kid m.A.A.d city days, Kendrick did a number of guest features on songs with other rappers, R&B singers and pop artists. Pick any beat in the world and Kendrick can ride it extremely well. Lamar will even spit two verses sounding as if he had just been crying for the last several hours, like on "u." Very, very smart and effective. He uses his voice to create different characters that are part of his story. In the 16-track To Pimp a Butterfly, Kendrick employs a different vocal pitch and inflection on almost every song, switching up his flow so that no one song sounds like the one before it or after it. In hip-hop, there aren't a whole bunch of rappers changing the pitch or inflection in their voice for different effects, but Kendrick is definitely one who does.
This is something some singers like to claim that they do, even though they don't. Kendrick Lamar's videos are distinctly his and are unlike any other videos from any other rappers currently in the game, speaking to his level of individuality. In a string of his more recent videos for tracks from To Pimp a Butterfly, Kendrick has been incredibly bold in his social/political messages that are represented in various images. As the years have passed, Lamar has grown more and more creative and artistically-driven, delivering music videos that are really outside of the box. Kendrick's artistic flair does not stop with his music, and can also be seen in the visuals that accompany his music. Songs like "Swimming Pools," "i" and "Real" are just a few examples of Kendrick looking to deliver a message that is meant to benefit your life. To be honest, in mainstream hip-hop, there just aren't enough rappers who are trying to do this. He's alluded to some pretty dark stuff, but he's come out the other end of it trying to be a better person. From listening to a number of his older projects, you can gather that Kendrick experienced some pretty rough things while in Compton. Kendrick has been consistently weaving in positive messages on his albums, and this is more evident now then ever before. Not to mention that this song earned Kendrick the Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song Grammys. And whenever you've got Pharrell Williams in the producing chair, with this much bass, you're guaranteed to have a surefire hit on your hands. His faith allows him to accept his failures and keep pressing onward, knowing that he is going to be okay. The song deals with the rapper battling to find a higher purpose and overcoming his own depression. Moreover, the song was recently chanted by protesters at a Donald Trump rally. This song from To Pimp a Butterfly has become an important anthem for many protesters within the Black Lives Matter movement. It is these reasons and so much more, as to why it is clear that Kendrick Lamar is the best rapper in the world. Only true talent can inspire that kind of public discourse. On top of being outstanding to listen to, it inspired countless think-pieces and online publications that discuss the many layers of that project. To Pimp a Butterfly got reviews and respect that no other rap album got in 2015. Kanye West may be more controversial, for the wrong reasons, but Lamar stirs up a fair amount of conversations and arguments and for all the right reasons.
But it is clear that Kendrick's the golden child. Really, all of TDE (Top Dawg Entertainment) is just killing it right now, with Ab-Soul, ScHoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Isaiah Rashad, SZA and probably more to come. Drake knows how good Kendrick is, he'll just never say it out loud. It's laughable at this point, Drake could win all the Grammys and earn all the endorsement deals, but Kendrick is truly Drake's Achilles heel. You've got President Obama letting everybody know that Lamar is a better rapper, because he is, and then Drake takes a shot at Obama in one of his songs - but not at Kendrick. Sure, Drake is making so much more money (ridiculously so) than Kendrick, and Aubrey is certainly at the top, as far as monetary success, but he isn't making music that can even come close to what Kendrick is making. Kendrick's skill has been evident for a while. So many hip-hop heads have known for quite some time now that Kendrick Lamar truly is an unstoppable beast. But that's a bit unfair to Cole, since Kendrick can rap circles around almost every other mainstream rapper out there. Anyone should be able to tell that Kendrick is miles ahead of what Cole is able to do, and insinuating otherwise is just radically false. They're two completely different artists, and moreover, comparing Cole to Kendrick is just unfair. Despite what some people think, there's no reason to compare J.