http://www.spin.com/articles/kendrick-lamar-control-verse-big-sean-jay-electronica/

Kendrick Lamar's 'Control' Verse: Not as Impressive as It Seems

K.Dot's guest verse on the Big Sean bonus track promotes a conservative vision of rap lyricism

WRITTEN BY Brandon Soderberg
August 13 2013, 2:36 PM ET

Last night, Big Sean released "Control," a track that won't make his upcoming album, Hall of Fame, due to sample-clearance issues. It's a seven-minute epic pulled along by a squeaky Spanish-language sample, with guest verses from a terse, confident Jay Electronica and an acrobatic Kendrick Lamar. The latter's endless-in-a-good-way rapping here expands from an intoned chant to a gravelly near-yell, delivering loaded lines wherein he declares himself "the King of New York"; places himself amid some of rap's all-time greats (Jay Z, Nas, Eminem, Andre 3000); and, via direct shout-outs, offers up a challenge to the rest of his straight-spitting generation: "Jermaine Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Wale / Pusha T, Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, Drake / Big Sean, Jay Electron', Tyler, Mac Miller / I got love for you all but I'm trying to murder you niggas." The verse immediately knocked everybody over.

But "Control" is not quite as impressive as it seems. There's a great deal of filibustering in Kendrick's verse: Far too much name-checking just to fill space (from Kurupt to Lindsay Lohan), and numerous lines that say the same exact thing in pretty much the same exact way. The chilling "I don't smoke crack, motherfucker, I sell it" sounds like a Compton cryptkeeper character straight out of his 2012 rap opera good kid, m.A.A.d city, but the idea is quickly abandoned. Such a rah-rah song could use some pathos, and Kendrick's great at that-pleasure-that-pain rapping, but only toward verse's end, when he conjures up an extended, absurdist image (skydiving out of a plane piloted by a drunk-ass old man) does the end result qualify as truly memorable and vivid. Sure, Kendrick's expert trolling of rap's gatekeepers is the big takeaway here, but you admire his balls in even attempting such a thing more than the writing itself. Contrast it with the sober (and, yes, less exciting) Jay Electronica verse that immediately follows — with a solid elemental conceit sustained throughout, every line building on the previous one and propeling his boasts forward — and Kendrick comes off as unfocused and chaotic.

"Control" is also a rap verse about how much he's killing it, even though he isn't really killing it. It feels like an event because Kendrick tells you it's an event. And so it becomes an event, picked up and propelled by a thirsty blogosphere awash in "What do you think? Comment below!"-style nonsense. It's rap lyricism as click bait. Amazingly well-rapped click bait, but Kendrick calling himself "King of New York" is cheap nonetheless. Cheap because it's just a lazy way of upsetting a certain quadrant of embattled rap listeners, but also because at the same time, it tows the party line that New York hip-hop is still monolithic, or even matters much at all. Does it mean anything in 2013 to be the King of New York Rap? Does it mean anything to say you're the King of New York Rap?

Tucked around that unlikely declaration is an incredibly safe act of maintaining the status quo for what constitutes "good" rapping. New York hip-hop is briefly challenged and affronted here, but ultimately, it is also further mythologized. Also, the lack of Southern MCs in Kendrick's rundown (save for Big K.R.I.T.) is particularly egregious. Kendrick is constructing a narrative here: Not only did he unleash the verse of the year, dawg, but he's essentially told listeners which mainstream-approved rappers they should care about. He might as well be editing XXL here, planning a cover story titled "#NEWLYRICISM." Typically, though, there's nothing "new" about the lyricism celebrated or displayed on "Control."

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█▆▇▅▇█▇▆▄▁▃
Big PEMFin H & z's
"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am 1 thing, a musician." © Miles

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

>
>█▆▇▅▇█▇▆▄▁▃
>Big PEMFin H & z's
>"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am 1
>thing, a musician." © Miles
>
>"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

https://www.instagram.com/christiancgarrido/

Hussein ibn Malik "if he escaped on a horse he might be realest nigga ever, EVER..2013 Nat Turner with the burner"

MaxPtah "Django is real homie.."

PoppaGeorge "If you're a child of the 70's, Ye looks like

unfocused? anything but.

the South is the reason why there are no more NYC rappers to respond to kendrick

Everybody trying to emulate that retarded shit (which is cool I like French too)

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and 'hot bars' or whatever this dumb ass argument is about regarding Kendrick's verse

http://twitter.com/Menphyel7


"F you Im better in tune with the Infinite"

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I only speak the thun language

I'm not from the south (CA), so I may have it twisted.. but isn't VA (Pusha T) and (LA) Jay Electron' considered the South?

LOL

Or is it because that besides KRIT, none of those other guys are considered to fit the mold or stereotype, if you will, of a southern rapper?

Kendrick wrote his verse this Saturday. He came hungry, he came focused, even if I agree that maybe the verse itself sometimes seems lost in the beat. The hunger is still there, though, and the goal reached: make everybody mad.

He's written a million verses technically "better" than this one, he's crafted better songs. But the fact remains: this dood was invited onto a track with two guys in his "generation" so to speak, and namechecked both of them on the song they invited him on. Not to mention everyone else. That's dope and unexpected. It's fun.

He called himself the king of NY. Someone tweeted that if he wanted to "let his nuts hang," he should've claimed the South. But I don't think that he was trying to make a claim as the King of the world, I think Spin missed the point of what he was saying. I think he wanted to verbally acknowledge that NY rap has been somewhat stagnant and boring to him for a while, and therefore claim that since no one FROM that geographic locale seems hungry enough to take it, that he'll claim KONY even being an MC 3000 miles away. That's dope. It's a challenge, not a diss.

He succeeded in the challenge and he made everyone mad, and hopefully, that anger will turn to hunger and NY rap will become interesting again. I think that was KL's goal. This is exciting, no matter how "great" the verse is technically (I still think it's damn good even if it's a bit jumbled at times and off beat), it's something that hiphop deserves I think. It's been a while since a verse has made this type of noise. Over a decade probably.

Spin is grasping at straws just for the sake of having a different opinion. If it gets them hits, good for them. But they made no strong case. The verse is dope and served its purpose.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

Solid thinking....

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

I agree with what you said...Kendrick like most of us grew up on NY rap 2 and its sad to see the state its in..

http://twitter.com/Menphyel7


"F you Im better in tune with the Infinite"

Kendrick's verse is more remarkable for the shock the names he dropped triggered and the brashness of the boasts the verse contained than for technical musicality of the verse.

in a purely technical aspect, Jay Elec's verse was better. his verse was more streamlined and clear in focus than Kendrick's.

but then again, Kendrick's lyrical gift seems to be the way he moves back and forth around the line of cartoonish emotional intensity and clear, relateable terms. half of the pleasure of the verse is how unpolished and raw it is; kind of a half-freestyle.

the author seems to be saying that the hype is more of a social media creation than of a legitimate sense of awe caused by the delivery and construction of the verse. i can't really argue against that, but i think the hype is more of a sign that this new generation has really arrived and is being embraced by us oldheads as living up to the traditional standards of the music.

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http://www.twitter.com/chriscjamison/

People who don't take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year.

Peter Drucker

don't mean much to me. Yeah I'm still mad.

>don't mean much to me. Yeah I'm still mad.

Spin was actually a good magazine in the mid-to-late-80's up through maybe Kurt Cobain's death.

Did anyone actually read it or just immediately piddle in their Kendrick underoos to jump to dismiss it?

_
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The writer says "Far too much name dropping just to fill space" then can only name Kurupt and Lindsey Lohan as the "space fillers." And it's arguable whether either of those were even "space fillers" at all. Not to mention that, it's a fucking 3 minute verse, of course there's going to be a little filler.

He then says that Kendrick says the exact same thing in the exact same way a bunch of times (paraphrasing), without showing any examples. Well, sure, it's a bragging song about how he's the best. And again, it's 3 minutes long. There's bound to be some level of repetition as there's only so many ways of saying "I'm the best in the game." But, still, he didn't say it in the exact same way. He kept it interesting. If he didn't, people wouldn't be freaking out about it.

He then goes on to talk about how there's no overarching narrative/concept/vivid imagery. Uhmmmm, bro, it's a song where he claims to be the best and calls out potential challengers, and claims NY because no one else will, and notes how he wants to be mentioned as one of the greats. And it's a hastily written guest verse on a track he was invited on that will probably never be released. Did you expect some kind of intense, Tale of Two Cities narrative? Do you even enjoy rap music? (I'm talking to the writer).

He mentions how the balls he shows in making the bold claims are more exciting than the writing itself. This is the only part I can agree with. He's written far better verses from a technical standpoint. And, revisiting the above paragraph, he's penned many songs with very vivid concepts and content. Is he not allowed to have a little fun, too?

So Jay Elec's verse was better from a technical standpoint. Notice how bored everyone is by it?

He then mentions that it's a verse about how Kendrick is killing it, even though he isn't really killing it. But the fact is that he is killing it. He's the hottest lyricist in the industry.

Then he says it's only an event because Kendrick said it was an event. Kendrick never said it was an event. He made it one by spitting a hot verse that got everyone talking. That's what made it an event.

He then says that his claim as KONY is "cheap" because it's a lazy way of upsetting a certain quadrant of embattled rap listeners. If you read my post above, you'll see that I think he totally misses the point of what Kendrick was saying and trying to do by making that claim. I won't repeat myself, just go read it. This, of course, is an interpretation and I could very well be wrong. But at least it's a theory.

So yea --- the writer is mostly wrong, I think. Only part he was right about was that the writing isn't his best. So fucking what.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

> Only part he
>was right about was that the writing isn't his best. So
>fucking what.

That this verse is less "Oh shit listen to this skilled emcee!" and more "oh shit, he drew a line in the sand?" I feel like (on both sides) people are letting their allegiances get in the way of actual discussion about the verse. A verse I love. But I feel like people are going overboard on all this (again, on both sides). I thought the writer did a good job of pointing all of that. Does he have unfounded hate in his breath? Sure. But he backs up what he doesn't like, unlike a lot of posters on some "He's the GOAT! n/m"/"Shit's wack n/m."

An on the name tip, yeah, he only named Kurupt and Lohan, but was dude supposed to be like "...and Bob Marley, and Sean Connery, and Paul Mccartney, and Phil Jackson, and..."?

_
Yo! That’s My Jawn: The Podcast - Available Now!
http://linktr.ee/yothatsmyjawn

That was my point. It was one not worth making. And I don't even think the writer believes in it.

>That this verse is less "Oh shit listen to this skilled
>emcee!" and more "oh shit, he drew a line in the sand?"

Can't it be both? And even if not, the verse is hot. Again, it's not HIS best, he's mega talented. He can't bring his A+ everytime. So yes -- the writing leaves a little to be desired because of what we've come to expect from this kid, but I think people are wigging out BECAUSE it's a pretty hot verse AND he drew that line in the sand. In other words he made up for the below-his-standards writing with some pretty strong claims and challenges. I don't see a problem with this.


>I
>feel like (on both sides) people are letting their allegiances
>get in the way of actual discussion about the verse. A verse
>I love. But I feel like people are going overboard on all
>this (again, on both sides).

Word. This I can agree with. People are being hyperbolic on both sides, no doubt. But the writer didn't really say that.

But yea -- we're in agreement here. Those that are saying HOTTEST VERSE EVER are wrong. There's been far better verses. And those who are trying to write it off completely are also out of their minds.


>I thought the writer did a good
>job of pointing all of that. Does he have unfounded hate in
>his breath? Sure. But he backs up what he doesn't like,
>unlike a lot of posters on some "He's the GOAT! n/m"/"Shit's
>wack n/m."

Sure. Again, I think we can agree here. The unfounded hate breath, which you so aptly mention, was the part I took issue with and think was completely unnecessary. I think he did a really poor job of getting his point across. And it wasn't deserving of a full article I don't think. It's the internet. Of course people are gonna be hyperbolic. But he didn't even really touch on that part specifically. Was just a weird article.


>An on the name tip, yeah, he only named Kurupt and Lohan, but
>was dude supposed to be like "...and Bob Marley, and Sean
>Connery, and Paul Mccartney, and Phil Jackson, and..."?

Yea I listened again after the fact. He did some name dropping. But I think my point still stands. There ain't many 3+ minute verses any of us could name that don't have any time-fillers or rhyme-finishers in them. Nature of the beast.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

was filler or random at all. This is Kendrick's "Calling Out Names" moment. He's from the West Coast. I think that was intentional.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

make such elementary mistakes within articles like this, suggesting the only artist from the South K-Dot called on was KRIT, when:

J Cole - Fayetteville, NC
Pusha T - VA
Jay Electronica - New Orleans, LA

Smh..........

Twitter.com/djRBI
Instagram.com/DJ_RBI

"I'm That Guy", Mike G (J Beez)

http://www.spin.com/sites/all/files/pictures/picture-18238-1372868646.png

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nuff said
---
If you release what is within u, what u release will save you. If you do not release what is within u, what u do not release will destroy u.

www.pitchblackgold.bandcamp.com

the actual substance of most of these articles is completely worthless

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http://i.minus.com/iQBdCzZIftHZ2.gif

>J Cole - Fayetteville, NC

dude is totally non-regional

>Pusha T - VA

has never repped or claimed the south too heavy

>Jay Electronica - New Orleans, LA

he himself has admitted to avoiding his southern past and his rap life was birthed in Detroit

none of those dudes are "Southern MC's"

Please go fuck off

>>J Cole - Fayetteville, NC

>dude is totally non-regional

He reps "The 'Ville" (Fayetteville, NC) in rhyme form. Often, in fact. Sounds regional to me.

>>Pusha T - VA
>
>has never repped or claimed the south too heavy

"I'm from Virgina!" - Clipse (aka Pusha T & Malice) ...


>
>>Jay Electronica - New Orleans, LA
>
>he himself has admitted to avoiding his southern past and his
>rap life was birthed in Detroit

Jay E mentions his 'Nolia origin/ influence in rhyme ie: "There they go/ there they go" on Exhibit C. He never shys away from being from New Orleans.

>
>none of those dudes are "Southern MC's"

Wrong. You seem to have a stereotype of what a "Southern MC" should look/ sound like.

Twitter.com/djRBI
Instagram.com/DJ_RBI

"I'm That Guy", Mike G (J Beez)

>>none of those dudes are "Southern MC's"
>
>Wrong. You seem to have a stereotype of what a "Southern MC"
>should look/ sound like.

pretty much most of OKP does. that good ol' east coast bias

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>>>Jay Electronica - New Orleans, LA
>>he himself has admitted to avoiding his southern past and his
>>rap life was birthed in Detroit
>
>Jay E mentions his 'Nolia origin/ influence in rhyme ie:
>"There they go/ there they go" on Exhibit C. He never shys
>away from being from New Orleans.


totally. just from listening to his rhymes, never looking that much into his backstory otherwise, he reps NO pretty fucking hard actually - ive been basically unaware of his D connections.

>>>J Cole - Fayetteville, NC
>
>>dude is totally non-regional
>
> He reps "The 'Ville" (Fayetteville, NC) in rhyme form. Often,
>in fact. Sounds regional to me.
>
>>>Pusha T - VA
>>
>>has never repped or claimed the south too heavy
>
>"I'm from Virgina!" - Clipse (aka Pusha T & Malice) ...
>
>
>>
>>>Jay Electronica - New Orleans, LA
>>
>>he himself has admitted to avoiding his southern past and
>his
>>rap life was birthed in Detroit
>
>Jay E mentions his 'Nolia origin/ influence in rhyme ie:
>"There they go/ there they go" on Exhibit C. He never shys
>away from being from New Orleans.
>
>>
>>none of those dudes are "Southern MC's"
>
>Wrong. You seem to have a stereotype of what a "Southern MC"
>should look/ sound like.

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~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

interlopers man

https://twitter.com/onnextlevel

and i thought the last paragraph specifically was thoughtful and true

It's code.

Heads like Soderberg, Noz, David Drake and others get upset when old guard ideas and techniques get legitimated because it's in direct contrast to the SHITTY rappers they promote and validate under the pretense it's cutting edge

I don't think since 'Bis' 2nd Round KO have sissies got so upset over brag battle rap

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

These are the same stuffed shirts that on the one hand tell me Big KRIT sucks while bigging up awful Gucci Mane proteges.

Noz at least has an amazing knowledge base from which he is pulling from, so while I often don't agree, I at least feel like I am getting an educated opinion.

David Drake and Brandon Soderberg? Total fuckin lames.

___________________________
OL' DIRTY BASTARD on himself:
"I may curse, I may have a bad mouth, whatever whatever. I'm not that bad, yaknow'mean. Bad to y'all, I dunno how y'all... I don't give a fuck. Um, I'm a good person at heart, for real and shit.

>These are the same stuffed shirts that on the one hand tell
>me Big KRIT sucks while bigging up awful Gucci Mane proteges.


Yep....

>Noz at least has an amazing knowledge base from which he is
>pulling from, so while I often don't agree, I at least feel
>like I am getting an educated opinion.

Yep...

>David Drake and Brandon Soderberg? Total fuckin lames.


I think a lot of the other side of my brethren have been plenty shameless in championing ignorance as the expense of talent. It's like people are not allowed to dig both 2 Chainz and Lupe...It has to be one against the other...

I've had knock-down debates with these folks...On the low (and ironically enough) it started with the Diplomats, who looking back were 10 times better than anything that they hold up now...

But I remember it all....Bigging up Jim Jones and calling Nas lame....This is their children...

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

it's still better than "look at me i refuse to think for myself bc i dont want to be left out"

________________________________________________________________
whenever you did these things to the least of my brothers you did them to me

________________________________________________________________
whenever you did these things to the least of my brothers you did them to me

Happy 50th D’Angelo: https://chrisp.bandcamp.com/track/d-50

Thank you when I heard it I wasnt impressed . The only thing people are talking about is how he named names.


At least he was smart enough to stay on his own level.

If he had said umm Nas, Jay Kanye, or Em

then he would have gotten more respect from me...

You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

>If he had said umm Nas, Jay Kanye, or Em
>
>then he would have gotten more respect from me...



He said Nas, Jay, Andre 3000 and Em....And in the context of "respect, but I'm coming for your spot" type shit...Dude then went harder at his own peers (Drake, J Cole, ect...) because they are the acts that kids deem the new rhyme stars alongside himself...

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

Hey,

David Drake here. Sorry some of you guys feel that way about my writing.

1. I wrote (positively) about Big KRIT before he was covered by any major publication, to my knowledge.

2. I don't think that's a particularly fair characterization of opinions that I hold. If you have a question about something specific I've wrote, it's easy to reach me & I welcome discussion.

Thanks guys.

*crickets*


I respect you for coming here and addressing the K.Dot fanboys in here.

I listened to the verse and for the life of me couldn't figure out what the fuss was about. he ain't kill shit. he just growled some names. and like you said it was a verse perfectly tailored to the internet jocking age and a generation desperate to have their own Nas or Jay.

Lebron couldn't win a chip without two superstars from his draft class. He didn't just need help. The nigga needed the cheat code to enable god mode.(c)Kira

Ha! To be clear, I didn't write the Spin piece. And I disagree with Brandon about many many things. But I do lurk on a few mbs, including okp, and saw my name.

I thought the Control verse was cool.

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