Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake

In the eyes of most rap fans, Kendrick Lamar and Drake are the 2 most important rappers that shape this decade. The two of them used to be on each other’s albums, go on tour together, and respected each other on interviews. But, their relationship didn’t last long due to Kendrick Lamar’s verse on “Control” by Big Sean claiming that he is the king of hip-hop right after he released his second studio album good kid, m.A.A.d city. The two have been subtly dissing each other in their songs ever since.

The two rappers have very differing music styles that attract different audiences. Kendrick Lamar is definitely the better lyricist of the two due to his songs containing rhymes that are more complex, quicker, tighter and verbose while also telling the listener a story about him and where he came from. For example in his debut album Section .80, he tackles issues related to the inner city of Compton that he was born and raised in with topics that include prostitution, drug abuse, and racism. However, Drake has a very diverse musical style that includes hip-hop

, R&B, pop, and trap. Due to Drake being a very versatile musician, his songs are often played on the radio due to his songs being catchy melodically. Even though he is not as good lyrically as Kendrick Lamar, his songs are more catchy and more accessible to a bigger audience which makes him the most mainstream hip-hop artist currently. Drake’s best studio album today according to the billboards has to be Take Care released in 2011 and his fans believe that his music has been never reached the same level of Take Care ever since. Kendrick Lamar usually talks about more controversial topics such as drugs, gang violence, prostitution while Drake talks about more light-hearted topics such as love and relationships. Both rappers the major artist signed by a major label which provides them with the best producers that would elevate their music to another level.

Overall if you are only a casual listener of hip-hop, you might be lost when listening to Kendrick Lamar due to his complex lyrics and Drake would be your go-to choice due to his music being designed for accessibility and you won’t get lost while listening to him. In my opinion, the majority of music listeners prefer Drake over Kendrick Lamar and more hardcore hip-hop fans prefer Kendrick Lamar over Drake.