Since the release of good kid, m.A.A.d city back on October 22, 2012, Kendrick has been a hot artist to get features from. Today we narrow it down to his Top 5 from a year after his debut album's release
Fuckin' Problems - A$AP Rocky ft. Drake, 2 Chainz, & Kendrick Lamar EVERYBODY JUST DECIDED LET’S HIT EM WITH ONE. I LOVE WORKIN' WITH KENDRICK
- A$AP Rocky on working with Kendrick on this trackJust a mere two days after the album's release, A$AP Rocky released "Fuckin' Problems", which also had help from Drake and 2 Chainz. Kendrick gets the honor of having last verse on this track, which he states on his first bar:
Yeah ho, this the finale
My pep talk turn into a pep rally
The rhythmic, banger type beat fits Kendrick well, and he manages to switch up his flow about halfway through, keeping you interested with bars like:
She eyeing me like a nigga don't exist
Girl, I know you want this dick
Girl, I'm Kendrick Lamar
A.K.A. Benz-is-to-Me-Just-a-CarMemories Back Then - T.I. ft. B.o.B & Kendrick LamarLater on after the album's release, Kendrick was featured on T.I.'s track in December called "Memories Back Then" with B.o.B. Kendrick gives a passionate and poetic verse on a lost, young love, fitting the theme of the song set to a sample of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know". He tells a classic tale of trying to become a boyfriend to a gold digger, with all of his attempts shot down, while he raps about her:
Her dreams holds Versace
She fall for Armani
Only deal with rich niggas
Fuck you and Mitt RomneyKendrick talked about how he felt when Tip asked him to be a feature on the track:
I’ve been listening to him since day one. I consider him amongst the elite still to this day, along with Jay-Z and Nas and people I looked up to coming up. For him to actually acknowledge my talents is a great feeling.Kendrick ends this track with his love interest getting a good dose of karma on her, now Kendrick being rich and she, well:
Fast forward, wait is that you?
With them big old thighs after school?
And your 3 kids and 3 baby daddies
And car note that’s overdue?Collard Greens - Schoolboy Q ft. Kendrick LamarNow Kendrick goes into 2013 delivering powerful verse after powerful verse, but this one with fellow TDE label mate, Black Hippy member, and good friend Schoolboy Q stands out the most. It was released in June, just in time to be in everybody's summer playlists. Kendrick kills the banger type beat, spitting several bars in Spanish, and Q didn't even know what he was saying on his own track
I have no idea what he said, and I had no idea he was gonna do that. I remember seeing him talking to a Spanish dude while he was writing it and he came up with that and I was very upset because he killed it.Just the first bar let's you know that Kendrick is ready to go and on the top of his game, and very confident:
Hold up, biatch, this your favorite songControl - Big Sean ft. Kendrick Lamar & Jay ElectronicaBefore we start off with this track, if you haven't heard it, (which means you must be some mastery of stealth), go listen. Right. Now. You know we had to include this. Okay, Kendrick dropped what could very easily be the verse of 2013. The track was a cut off of Big Sean's new album that was released around a month later. This verse personally got everybody up and buzzing, literally going insane over this verse. It dropped at around 11:30 PM ET and people were still up like it was 1 in the afternoon. Millions of people tweeting Kendrick's most memorable bar throughout the song:
I don't smoke crack, motherfucker I sell it!Ohh yeah, and he kinda called out just about every big name rapper saying that he could kill them in the rap game, and that they need to step it up:
I'm usually homeboys with the same niggas I'm rhymin' with
But this is hip-hop and them niggas should know what time it is
And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big KRIT, Wale
Pusha T, Meek Millz, A$AP Rocky, Drake
Big Sean, Jay Electron', Tyler, Mac Miller
I got love for you all but I'm tryna murder you niggas
Trying to make sure your core fans never heard of you niggas
They don't wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you niggasKendrick fit the beat well, going at his absolute best for over 3 minutes, showing his case for why he is a cut above the rest of everybody. To go with the millions of tweets, many artists made responses as they felt hurt and dissed that Kendrick would be so braggy and call out all those other rappers. No doubt Kendrick dropped one of the most powerful and influential verses of the year, and this list isn't even over yet. Big Sean spoke about the track, (which he should be getting very tired of doing):
When I heard [Kendrick's] verse I was like I’m not about to go back and change my verse. That’s cheating...That ain't how G’s move. I wanted to do that for the culture of Hip Hop as opposed to myself, trying to protect myself. When three people hop on a song somebody's gunna have a stand-out verse, alwaysNosetalgia - Pusha T ft. Kendrick LamarWe top this list off with Kendrick spitting a passionate verse for friend Pusha T about his life and his family's crack addiction and experiences. A slow, grimy, melodic beat makes Kendrick's verse feel like a true story. Kendrick starts off with another bar that people like to repeat:
You wanna see a dead body?That sets the dark tone Kendrick takes to tell this tale about his family in something like an outtake or lost track from his very personal debut album. He goes everywhere from his brother, to his aunt, to even his own father, even going so far as to curse him out on the track. Pusha spoke about the track, (which he did even after Control, but he explains he asked before that):
I never heard [Kendrick] talk like that, I felt it was really dope that Kendrick hopped in my world — the street life — and [put] his perspective on it. I asked Kendrick to get on 'Nosetalgia' so long ago and he did," Push revealed. "Kendrick [is a] young lyricist in regards to his time in the game and I appreciate it. I reached out to him ages ago.
