Kendrick Lamar has been no stranger to controversy lately, since he put the rap game on notice with his “Control” verse. Since then, there have been hosts of responses from rappers on different levels of success—some of whom had no business responding, but were simply capitalizing on the hype. Through all the reactions, Kendrick has been fairly quiet, except for an interview where he revealed that he expected responses.
However, that silence has been broken, as Kendrick addressed the diss track by Maybach Music Group’s Meek Mill released last week. The track, aimed at Kendrick titled “Ooh Kill Em,” appears to have gotten Lamar’s attention. According to BET.com:
“The Compton MC, who was back performing in New York after upsetting some natives by proclaiming himself king of the city, took some time during his set to address the Maybach Music Group rapper. K. Dot referenced Meek’s single ‘Levels’ to get his point across.”
“I been doing this s— for years, I mastered this s—,” said Lamar. “I have no time for irrelevant n—-as [or] new n—-.”
It didn’t take long for Meek Mill to reply to Lamar, according to complex.com:
“Meek Mill responded to Kendrick on Twitter, asking ‘King of what?’ and ‘Somebody please tell me.’ He also pointed out, once again, that there are levels to…whatever this is, although he immediately deleted the following two tweets: ‘I’m the only n*gga coming thru the streets w/ the baddest b*tch in the game on my bike w/ a 100 hittaz & army tanks behind me!’ and ‘That’s a king….. It’s really levels!'”
Meek probably deleted the last tweets because they were a little inflammatory, and while competition is healthy, rappers have learned from the past. They want to keep it solely on wax, not have it spill into the streets.
Although Lamar didn’t name Meek in his “Control” verse, the fact that he decided to respond to his diss track is perhaps an acknowledgement of Meek as a formidable rival. Lamar chose to ignore all previous responses—until now. So either Meek got under his skin, or he is deemed a competitor.
Meek Mill is almost certain to respond to Lamar again. This conversation has sparked a hip-hop dialogue, which is welcomed—as long as it is kept in the studio.
