Esteemed lyricist Lupe Fiasco recently did his part in sparking an interesting hip-hop debate, after suggesting that he was a superior lyricist to Top Dawg Entertainment's own Kendrick Lamar. It didn't take long for his take to reach the attention of TDE president Punch, who essentially wrote Fiasco's declaration off as a joke. It should be noted that Fiasco has been vocal about his definition of a lyricist, having recently declared Homeboy Sandman, King Los, Aesop Rock, and Black Thought to be the best "high tier" rappers.
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Clearly, he tends to gravitate toward a certain writing style, one in which heightened concepts and abstract imagery as used to great effect. It's no surprise, given his own dense lyricism penned throughout Drogas Wave and beyond. Not to mention, his rather specific definition of a "lyricist," which is notably distinct from an overall artist.
Despite his attempt at clarifying his stance to some degree, the debate managed to wage on nonetheless. Eventually, the Ferragamo Falcon himself, Guapdad 4000, came through to offer his own perspective on the matter. "Hey to all my TDE homies," he writes, on his twitter page. "I think Lupe is a better rapper than Kendrick in terms of lyrical ability and bar set ups but Kendrick make better music and has impacted culture more . That’s my take."
In essence, his take is largely similar to Lupe's own; though Fiasco refused to concede the lyricism category, he did in fact agree that Kendrick was a superior artist, with Top Dawg Entertainment standing as his favorite record label. It seems like many are coming to the same conclusion, though it feels a little surface level to dismiss Kendrick's lyricism without a full deep dive. In reality, the disparity between K Dot and Lupe probably isn't quite so far -- but that's a conversation for another day.