The Hypocrisy of Kendrick Lamar

The entire foundation of Kendrick “winning” and the overall message of his diss songs is that Drake is a cornball, pedophile, outsider who isn’t truly part of the culture. He admits to hating Drake and even going so far as to saying people like him should die. If Kendrick cared so much about sexual deviancy and moral integrity, why has he platformed and supported actual convicted abusers. Does it only matter when it’s someone who he dislikes, otherwise he turns a blind eye?

-He featured Kodak Black multiple times on his latest album, a man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a high school student as well as committing a slew of other crimes. The point of Kodak being on the album is not lost on me, but it falls extremely flat. Trying to redeem Kodak and/or use him as a symbol of growth and redemption really just absolves him of accountability, especially considering the fact that he is a repeat offender. He was arrested on two drug charges within a year and a half of Mr. Morale releasing.

-His long-time friend and mentor Dr. Dre (who he recently brought on stage at his concert in LA) has had multiple instances of violence against women and unlike Drake, these instances are actually verifiable fact. Kendrick performed alongside him and a few other artists at the 2021 NFL Superbowl.  Dr. Dre also began dating a 16-year-old when he was 22 years old. The dude is a predator. Why has Kendrick never once held him accountable and continues to affiliate with him?

-In 2017, he tweeted and supported XXXTentacion’s album, telling his fans to “listen to this album if you feel anything”. XXXTentacion is a known scumbag and women beater, and this was well-known information at the time of this tweet. He follows this up with another tweet claiming he’s on his fifth listen.

• “Baka got a weird case, why is he around?” from the dude who had Smacc TDE (a former pimp and long-time affiliate) as well as multiple gangbangers on stage at the Juneteenth concert. No, I’m not absolving Drake of blame or saying Baka gets a pass. None of this shit is okay. I’m merely questioning why none of this is ever brought up and Kendrick is never held to the same standard.

Why does Kendrick get to stand on this moral high ground but never actually walk his talk? Why is he almost going out his way to support these kinds of people? Why did he first allude to it being a “friendly battle” with a pedophile? Why has not one allegation come out against Drake considering this would’ve been the perfect time? Every girl they tried to claim Drake did something with came out and defended him. He claims Drake “runs to Atlanta” but this beef was fully ignited on a collab song with FUTURE and METRO BOOMIN, two of the biggest artists from Atlanta. Yes, I’m aware it was brewing, but he could’ve easily released his own song to kick things off from his side. Future, Baby, Thug, Quavo, all the rappers Kendrick mentioned in NLU, Drake is and has been bigger than all of them and has given them some of the biggest songs of their careers. From 2012-2020, a Drake feature basically gave you a jumpstart at a career but according to Kenny, he needs Atlanta. Who has Kendrick put on in his career? His cousin Baby Keem? His labelmate SZA? He claims to go against the industry and want to “watch the party die”, but he is universally loved by that same industry. 10 different rappers came at Drake all at once, but Kendrick is the black sheep taking on the flock? Both of these dudes dropped allegations with no evidence, but somehow Drake got killed and Kenny is untouchable. Kendricks whole “I’m not your savior” “I’m the biggest hypocrite of 2015” gimmick is cute and I appreciate some self-awareness and reflection but it doesn’t just absolve you of all responsibility. Just because you cheat on someone but admit you’re a cheater doesn’t make you a better person and it definitely doesn’t mean you can spew whatever you want with no accountability. And before anyone mentions Baka and Nicki Minaj, Drake doesn’t present himself as a beacon of social justice and his stance during the beef doesn’t rely on moral grandstanding.  I truly don’t think anyone really won this beef, Kendrick just played it to social media and the fans better. Both artists just went back and forth with gossip and he-say she-say.