Is Kendrick Lamar the G.O.A.T?
The criteria I use when introducing rappers into the greatest of all time (G.O.A.T.) conversation is influence, audience breadth, and longevity. How much has his music impacted today’s rap, how diverse of an audience can he reach, and how long can he keep his name in everyday conversation?
Where does Kendrick Lamar place in all of these categories?
Lamar has been impacting and changing today’s rap game since his feature on Control by Big Sean in 2013. The feature was Lamar’s big break. It exemplified his lyricism to the rap community. He called out rappers such as Mac Miller, A$AP Rocky, and Pusha T to step up and take control of the rap game while simultaneously dissing today’s mumble rap.
It’s possible to attribute some of the success that rappers have stumbled upon in recent years to Lamar. For example, one of the people that he name-dropped on Control is J. Cole. A year later, J. Cole came out with what is arguably his greatest project, 2014 Forest Hills Drive. Lamar challenged some of rap’s greatest to keep on putting out their music and to not conform to today’s rap culture in hopes of moving away from today’s mumble rap.
Everyone takes notice when Lamar drops something new. He’s good at keeping up with the ever changing demand in the music industry by always choosing edgy beats and finding a wide array of topics to rap about. Influence from his revolutionary tracks is deeply rooted in today’s rap culture. Although many try to follow in Lamar’s footsteps, few prevail.
He also thrives in reaching all kinds of audience members. People who don’t know anything about rap know who Kendrick Lamar is. Not many rappers have that reach.
Never before has a rapper been able to attract so many fans who don’t traditionally listen to rap, and he can do this because his sound isn’t particular to rap. His beats and features, especially on his newest album DAMN, often feel as though he’s transcending through different music genres, while still staying true to his rap roots. This allows him to reach a diverse audience.
His songs also follow universal themes that pretty much anyone despite their race, ethnicity, or age can relate to. Lamar raps about everything, from the problems his community faces to substance abuse and peer pressure. Even my mother, a forty-seven year old Cuban woman who had never listened to rap in her life, knows who he is and enjoys his music.
However, Lamar has yet to pass the longevity test. Rap has had its fair share of artists who started off stellar, and people were quick to call them the G.O.A.T, but they fell off their thrones later on.
Nas is a great example. Illmatic was a revolutionary album and many started to consider Nas to be the greatest. However, he never managed to make another album as impactful or popular.
It’s also true that people had no shame in calling Tupac and Biggie the G.O.A.T’s during their era and long before their deaths; however, that’s when rap was a relatively new genre and there were only so many notable artists around. Now that rap has grown tenfold, the criteria to be the G.O.A.T has become much tougher.
Lamar is simply still early in his career to be considered the greatest. An artist’s value should be judged in its entirety and it’s simply impossible to know what Lamar is going to do next. It’s like Lamar has only dipped his toe in the deep pool that is his career.
So no, he is not the greatest. That’s not to say that he might not become the greatest or that he isn’t the greatest rapper alive right now, but he cannot be considered the greatest of all time when his time isn’t over yet.
