Adam22 Calls Out Kendrick Lamar Amid YG's Abysmal Album Sales

BYGabriel Bras Nevares8.1K Views
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Chanel : Front Row - Paris Fashion Week - Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2024
PARIS, FRANCE - JANUARY 23: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY - For Non-Editorial use please seek approval from Fashion House) Naomi Campbell and Kendrick Lamar attend the Chanel Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 23, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
Does Kendrick owe YG something here or is Adam making a mountain out of a molehill?

Kendrick Lamar has gotten quite a bit of flack online for not sharing anything on social media about the new album from YG, which is currently suffering from disappointing sales. Of course, this is because he was one of many artists to join K.Dot at "The Pop Out" this June. Also, there are a lot of different ways to look at this argument. Kendrick's defenders will bring up their past collaborations, the concert itself, and their long history as more than enough support, and will also bring up that he doesn't even use social media like that for anyone or anything. But others like Adam22 think that he could do more, and don't understand why we let him be so mysterious even if we don't know how he could've supported his West Coast colleague behind the scenes.

"What did Kendrick do for everybody?" Adam22 asked about Kendrick Lamar amid Wack 100's complaints that Adam and others are "nitpicking" and don't really know what's going on between each other. "Why didn't he post YG's album?" Adam went on. "That's what a lot of people want to know. *laughs* I'm just saying. After the whole L.A. got behind him so hard, does he not owe, you know, a little bit of a look here and there? Maybe do a song with somebody for their project?

Adam22 Questions Kendrick Lamar's Intentions & Gratitude

"I mean, it doesn't seem like the biggest ask," Adam22 continued. "Why does everybody just allow Kendrick to just exist in this mysterious, quiet little box away from everybody? And then it's like he's not expected to hop on anybody's project, to do any normal rapper s**t? I do think it's a decent question. It would've been nice if Kendrick shouted out YG's project, right? That would've been him behaving like a normal person, he's so mysterious. I bet if he was still cool with Drake, Drake would've posted his album. They all showed up out of the goodness of their heart. It's just kind of weird when you're doing stuff for somebody who doesn't want to return the favor, right?

"If Akademiks put out a documentary, and I was all up in the documentary, promoting the documentary, helped him out with the documentary. And then six months later, I put out a documentary... Crickets. Ak doesn't shout it out, doesn't post about it," Adam22 concluded. "It's pretty easy to post about something. I did a lot for you when you were in the exact same position. And you couldn't return the favor? That makes me feel like this is kind of a one-sided friendship. Why do we not ask of Kendrick the same things that we would expect of, like, anyone else? I'm just wondering why they didn't get something in return. It would've been nice. Yeah, I just think it's weird."

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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