Discover Top Posts Tagged with #kendrick larmar

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Kendrick Lamar - DNA.

#DNA #Kdot #Kendrick LArmar #DAMN

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6HBptaqL3Q)

#Kendrick larmar #curtain$#schoolboy Q

I just wish we would fight less and we would talk more And they say communication save relations, I can tell But I can never right my wrongs unless I write 'em down for real, P.S

Drake

#Drake #Poetic Justice #Kendrick Larmar

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis vs. Kendrick Lamar

If you haven't heard by now, the GRAMMYs aired this past Sunday night and one of the biggest debates, still being discussed, is the fact that hip-hop/rap artists Macklemore & Ryan Lewis went 4 for 7 while Kendrick Lamar went 0 for 7. Fans are very upset about this, but the question is: do they really need to be? Being a fan of both acts myself, I break down my standpoint on whether or not the award was rightfully deserved for the Seattle-based duo.

Now before I get into it, some of you may not know the distinction between Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song. Just like the general awards of Record of the Year and Song of the Year, it's kind of hard to distinguish the differences between them. Think of it like this: Best Rap Performance is equivalent to Record of the Year, so the award goes to the artist who performed the actual song as well as the team who helped produce and engineer the song (the latter only applies to Record of the Year). Best Rap Song is equivalent to Song of the Year, so if you provided any lyrics for the song, and your name is in the credits, then the award goes to you. For example: Rihanna's "Umbrella" was nominated for Song of the Year in 2008, but had that song won, Rihanna herself wouldn't be able to accept the award since she had no input on the track.

Now, let's get into it.

Best Rap Performance

Nominees:

"Thrift Shop" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (ft. Wanz)

"Started From the Bottom" by Drake

"Berzerk" by Eminem

"Tom Ford" by Jay-Z

"Swimming Pools (Drank)" by Kendrick Lamar

Did they deserve it? Yes. Why? Despite "Thrift Shop" being one of the most overplayed songs in all of 2013, it's performed by Macklemore so confidently that it comes off as effortless when you really listen to it. His flow is steady, strong, and sounds as if it could've been delivered in one take. So, I personally think this one was well-deserved. "Swimming Pools (Drank)" is also a strong contender for this category, but the fact that there were so many detailed bits here and there, such as background vocals, different levels of tones, and a change in tempo, may have thrown off the voters of the Recording Academy. Now, had it been nominated for Best Rap Song, he'd probably win that GRAMMY, but it wasn't. This then leads us to... Past overlooked nominee: "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy lost to "Bust a Move" by Young MC (1990)

Best Rap Song

Nominees:

"Thrift Shop" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (ft. Wanz)

"Fuckin' Problems" by A$AP Rocky (ft. Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar)

"Holy Grail" by Jay-Z (ft. Justin Timberlake)

"New Slaves" by Kanye West

"Started From the Bottom" by Drake

Did they deserve it? No, but Kendrick didn't either. Why? Like I mentioned before, had "Swimming Pools (Drank)" been nominated, it would've had a better shot at winning, but unfortunately, they took in A$AP Rocky's "Fuckin' Problems" into consideration instead, a track Kendrick is featured on. However, I don't think Macklemore or K. Dot deserved this award. I actually think this award should've gone to Kanye, to be honest. This award is based on lyrical content and is a songwriter's award, and what's more in-your-face than "New Slaves"? Not only is it an outstanding song with a powerful second verse, but Ye's voice is actually the dominant instrument of the track that it forces you to only listen to his lyrics, which is a tough feat to accomplish. Past overlooked nominee: "Kick, Push" by Lupe Fiasco lost to "Money Maker" by Ludacris (ft. Pharrell) (2007)

Best Rap Album

Nominees:

The Heist by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Nothing Was the Same by Drake

Magna Carta... Holy Grail by Jay-Z

good kid, m.A.A.d. city by Kendrick Lamar

Yeezus by Kanye West

Did they deserve it? Hell no. Why? Anyone who hasn't sat down and listened to K. Dot's good kid, m.A.A.d. city must not be a fan of good hip-hop or music in general. GKMC is not only a genius debut album, but it's also considered a short film set on the streets of Compton and it immerses the listener into Kendrick's world. The Heist is a pretty good album, too. In fact, there are deeper cuts than "Thrift Shop" and "Can't Hold Us" that are actually really eye-opening (see: "Wing$" and "Jimmy Iovine"). And for it to be independently distributed and sell 136,000 more copies than GKMC is actually really amazing and very admirable. However, when it comes down to overall content and cohesiveness, this is Kendrick's award. This is actually the award that Macklemore wanted Kendrick to win and even felt that Kendrick had been robbed of this particular GRAMMY (there's text message proof of this). Also, Yeezus was better than The Heist. Past overlooked nominees: Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor and The Roots' Game Theory lost to Ludacris' Release Therapy (2007)

Best New Artist

Nominees:

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

James Blake

Kendrick Lamar

Kacey Musgraves

Ed Sheeran

Did they deserve it? They should've tied. Why? Macklemore & Ryan Lewis had a huge year in 2013, with a couple of major hits, and became a household name across the United States in such a short amount of time. Something that probably helped them earn this award is what they've done in hip-hop, which is breaking barriers and showing their huge support to the LGBT community via "Same Love," which is highly commendable, especially in the hip-hop/rap community. Now, I say "sort of" because I honestly felt that Kendrick truly deserved this award. Like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, he bursted onto the scene out of nowhere and because he became arguably the best MC of 2013. He was featured on so many albums in the past year that it was difficult to find a huge artist he hasn't worked with. From A$AP Rocky to Kid Cudi to Robin Thicke to Eminem to J. Cole. K. Dot was easy to find. However, this category tends to be overlooked quite often and given to the wrong act (Milli Vanilli, anyone?) so in some unfortunate and weird way, it was inevitable. Past overlooked nominees: Boyz II Men lost to Marc Cohn (1992), Fiona Apple and Erykah Badu lost to Paula Cole (1998), Jill Scott lost to Shelby Lynne (2001), 50 Cent lost to Evanescence (2004), Drake and Mumford & Sons lost to Esperanza Spalding (2011), Frank Ocean lost to fun. (2013)

So, how many awards did Macklemore & Ryan Lewis really deserve? One. Maybe two. How many did Kendrick deserve? Also, one. Maybe two.

But do GRAMMYs really matter? They do, but they don't. It really depends on you; the fans. Some see it as the most prestigious award an artist can receive and some just see it as another award. For me, I agree that the GRAMMYs are a big deal, but I'm honestly just happy for both acts. Not only were they newcomers to the GRAMMYs this year, but they were both up for seven awards each, right behind Jay-Z's nine and tied with Pharrell and Justin Timberlake, all of whom are veterans at the GRAMMYs. They've made an imprint in music this past year and they've been getting recognition and other accolades for doing so (both acts have 13 other awards). On one hand, you have a duo from Seattle who made it big with no record label and still continue to thrive in the music industry. On the other hand, you have an MC who made it out of Compton, was basically discovered and eventually produced by Dr. Dre (a mentor to Eminem who eventually became the best-selling rapper of all time), and compiled one of the best hip-hop debut albums of all time.

#Macklemore #Ryan Lewis #Kendrick Larmar #GRAMMYs #2014 #This has been a post