Many would rank Kendrick Lamar high on the list of greatest lyricists in the rap game to-date, but Lupe Fiasco isn’t too sure K. Dot deserves a spot on top just yet. In fact, the “Dumb It Down” rapper suggested that Kendrick isn’t even a “top tier lyricist” in a series of now-deleted statements on Twitter last week (Jan. 5).
When a fan asked Lupe to compare the lyricism of Logic and Kendrick, the rapper gave a surprising response. “I’ll put it to you like this. K. Dot is not a top tier lyricist to me and my standards when it comes to punchlines and bars,” he wrote. “His overall lyrics are good, his stories phenomenal, but punchline entendre lyrically I don’t see it.”
Another Twitter user quickly chimed in to defend the “HUMBLE.” artist, suggesting that any one of Kendrick’s songs is better than Lupe’s entire music catalog. Lupe replied: “I’ve never been destroyed.” He also expressed more thoughts on Kendrick’s bars, namely his 2013 “Control” verse. “Also the only issue that the world thinks I have with K. Dot and I actually do is that I think his ‘Control’ verse was wack and super overhyped to be a verse claiming you are the best rapper. It was very weird. I was told it was just bait, but still,” he stated.
Lupe may have deleted his tweets, but we have the screenshots. Check them out below.