While speaking on Hip Hop past and present during an interview with Vlad TV, the conversation with R.A. The Rugged Man shifted to Compton, California rapper Kendrick Lamar. R.A. began to criticize today’s mainstream Hip Hop when he was asked about the TDE lyricist.
He then immediately shared his belief that Kendrick isn’t a top five lyricist. R.A. revealed that the rapper is a top five lyricist commercially and credited K-Dot’s success to the fact that he’s a good lyricist who happens to have the backing of Interscope Records.
The Long Island, New York rapper later added that King Los, Locksmith, and Elzhi are three artists who are better lyrically than Kendrick.
“I don’t think Kendrick is a top five lyricist,” R.A. The Rugged Man said. “I don’t think he is. I think he’s a top five lyricist in a commercial market. I think Kendrick is a very good lyricist, but I believe the reason he’s so respected is because he has the Interscope machine behind him. And when you’re actually marketing a real lyricist—It’s refreshing to hear a real lyricist. Then they put you on the top. In my opinion, I think there’s a lot of rappers that can slice up Kendrick. I don’t think Kendrick is the best. I think Locksmith will slice him up. I think Elzhi will slice him up. I even think King Los will slice him up. Those are just off the head real quick.”
Prior to speaking on Kendrick, R.A. The Rugged Man revealed that there is “great Hip Hop being made” today, but stated that there isn’t an artist out today who’s capable of impacting the culture as much as an artist like Rakim.
“There’s great Hip Hop being made,” he said. “When you go to the whole ‘My era’s better than this era and this era and that era,’ I understand it. Because when you come from an era of ’88. With Rakim, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, that era is an untouchable, golden era. It is a climax. So, I went through the ‘90s spoiled cause I came up on these guys. Even in the ‘90s I was like ‘Yeah, Q-Tip’s dope, Tribe’s dope, but they can’t fuck with Kane and Rakim.’ I was even doing that in the 90s…So, today I don’t think there’s a lyricist making an impact or impacting the culture as much as like Rakim did when he dropped. But I think there’s a lot of lyrical dudes doing a lot of lyrical shit that’s very impressive.”
R.A. The Rugged Man’s interview with Vlad TV can be found below.
For additional Kendrick Lamar coverage, watch the following DX Daily:
““I don’t think he is. I think he’s a top five lyricist in a commercial market.”
I agree. He’s way better than most but at the same time non of these rappers are talking about shit. Commercial Rappers can never ever be on the same skill level as the underground rappers.
Kendrick came from the underground and bodied every feature he was in. Look back before Kendrick lamar ep
This is funny. I will quote 50 – underground and battle rappers can say the wittiest things and have really nice rhymes, but they can’t write a song to save their life. Can’t compare those artists to Kendrick or other musicians that make music, not just rhymes.
You’re underground for a reason. One reason may be that your flow is ass.
Kendricks a Top Tier lyricist and yes they’re are people who are better lyricists but you can’t take away from the fact he spits and his flow is insane. the reason Kendrick is throned is because he is a pretty good lyricist and his flow combined makes him almost untouchable. A lot of rappers dont have the lyricism but people cheer them on because of flow… but I mean no shade on K.Dot i love the progression I enjoy all Hip-Hop but its pretty fuckin awesome to see people but good song writers and lyricists…
Respect to you. Because you get it. Everything you said is spot on.
Not just dudes. Nitty Scott, Boog Brown and K.Flay are great lyricists. Nicki Minaj (‘s ass) has only dragged females down in hip hop.
He is right. Eminem is a top 5 Lyricist
hes wrnog but then again he loves shitting on every mainstream artist
coming from the guy who said tupac was trash? coming from the guy who said he would lyrically crush eminem? coming from the guy who said Kanye albums were the worst in music history?
hes the best from a pure objective standpoint
says the guy who rhymes for the sake of it.. .lol kendrick would shit on you
Yes hes top 5 and RA the trash man is a hater.
lol hes definitely one of the greatest lyricists of the last 10 years.
RA’s Uncommon Valor verse bodies Kendrick’s overrated Control verse.
Kendrick is dope but RA is right. He’s not a top 5 lyricist. I don’t know if it’s the media or internet hipsters that overrate him but yeah he’s not top 5.
kendrick would rap circles around this clown. yeah kendrick is popular but its not a reason to downplay his skill. hes the best right now
Lol, no he won’t. Kendrick is dope, but he ain’t fuckin with R.A.
this clown stays shitting on whoever makes it big in the mainstream LMAO. he can’t rap and kednrick is def one of the greatest
his opinino doesn’t matter, it comes from a hater who hates first and listen to the music after
objectively speaking kendrick lamar is the best lyricist of this generation in both the underground & the mainstream.
If you really think so…then you haven’t heard much. Kendrick is real nice, but people tend to be on his tip too much.
yea, he has cross over appeal. but i’m worried that he’s gonna cross over too much.
its because he didn’t listen to kendrick. Lord jamar & lupe said the same thing and they changed their opinions last night.
Rugged man stays ruining the hip hop culture with his irrelevant & terrible opinions
its wrong, but then again this guy doesn’t know what hes saying
don’t care what he says, I think kendrick is one of the best lyricists at the moment
this guy stays hating on the mainstream smh.. type of clown to come in the youtube comment of an Eminem song to say “underground > mainstream”
LOL! Interviewers should know by know that RA speaks the real and doesn’t tolerate commercial artists. Real talk.
I swear none of you dudes actually payed any attention to what RA was saying. If anything he was praising Kendrick and Cole, I didn’t hear any hate in there at all.
No hate at all. I just wish i heard top tier rappers say who good or not. Everytime you here someone hate, usually the person talking shit is wacker than the one they talking about
Are you motherfuckers deaf? Did you actually listen to what he was saying?
ruggeds nice, that galor song was dope af with jedi
Dude obviously thought his opinion through, it’s a nice change to hear someone with a coherent view, not just throwing shade for the sake of it *cough*Azaleia Banks
kdot is def the best right now
this clown stays hating on popular rappers
What’s not to hate? Guess I’m even more of a hater then because I hate everything dropping nowadays. It’s ALL garbage. Your favorite pop rappers are fags, plain and simple.
same guy who said pac wasn’t lyrical? hu? get cancer and die.
I agree with rugged, and its good to hear that. This seems like an honest opinion about kendrick i’ve heard comming from a veteran artist. Most major artist are scared to give a real opinion about kendrick because they are scared of the backlash from the major labels and the internet. Most artist will say that like kendrick to gain acceptance from social media and the younger people who dont know much about music but will spend money on it.
i agree and welll said,he is not the shit,same with Eminem he no rap God..
True that.Word is bond
LOL A WHOLE BUNCH OF ARTIST THAT I COULD GIVE A FUKC ABOUT AND THAT 3/5THS OF PEOPLE WITH ACTUAL LIVES AND FRIENDS WHO DONT SPEND THE DAY ON BLOGS AND HIP HOP NEWS SITES LOOKING FOR ARTISIT TO SOUND DIFFERENT DURING INTERNET JARGON ARGUMENTS HAVE NEVER HEARD OF, FUKC YOUR BAKCPAKC RAPP CRAP, LITTLE BROTHERS DEAD, DEAD-LA-SOUL, TRIBE CALLED DEAD, FUKC ALL THOSE COMMERCIALLY DEAD RAPPERS WHOEVER THE FUKC RA THE RUGGEDMAN IS JUST NAMED!, THERES A REASON THE ALMIGHTY GFK, DOSENT GO BY GHOST FACE KILLA ANYMORE, HES DEAD HE DIED AFTER FISHSCALE, NOBODY CARES ANYMORE YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST BETTER SIP LEAN,POP OLLIES, AND RHYME ALL DYKE!
Real hip hop never die.
With a beard like that, R.A., you’re not, and should, not have an opinion on a top 5 anything!
He’s not top 500. Only kids under 20 think he’s top 5 material. lol
The people who like this guy are bigger dickriders than Nas’ dickriders
I like RA’s albums but the genre, the so-called “real hiphop” he represents is just an excuse to hate on everyone who haven’t stuck to dirty drums, predictable samples and a hypocrite “fuck the media” attitude.
Predictable samples? You go listen to your wack down south influenced hip pop and real hip hop heads will listen to real hip hop. It’s real hip hop cos the best hip hop and most respected era for hip hop came during the first and second golden era. Pretty much 1988 to 1995. That seven year period produced the best artists in hip hop history. If you go deeper and and say 1985 to 1996 i honestly believe Eminem who technically came out around 1999 would be the only rapper outside of those 10 or 11 years that I would put in the top 50 emcees of all time. And Eminem i would between 20th and 25th of all time. That’s why people call that sound real hip hop.
To the guy above me, you’re only proving his point even more.
not every underground artists are trash like rugged… for example tech n9ne has kendrick in this top 10 OF ALL TIME
hes wrong but then again this guy stays hating on whoever is popular. kdot is def the best right now
not every underground artists are trash like rugged… for example tech n9ne has kendrick in this top 10 OF ALL TIME
true, a lot of underground mcees rank kendrick amongst the best (dead or alive), rugged is just a hater.
lol coming from the guy who dissed Eminem, pac, tupac & a lot of other artists… Kendrick is top 5 dead or alive as far as lyrics go and I’m not even a fan
from a pure objective standpoint, kendrick is the best lyricist of the last 5 years in both the underground and mainstream
No, maybe in a mainstream sense, but not in hip hop in general.
I hate this guy, he doesn’t know anything about hip hop. Kendirck is the best since Lupe Fiasco and I don’t even like him
hahaaahha Lupe? hahahaha you must be young or new to hip hop
says who? kdot is def top 5 lol, if he isn’t then you ain’t cracking the top 20000
don’t blame it on the underground guys, a lot of underground mcees think kdot is top 10 of all time… its just that rugged trash is a try hard and thirsty for attention.
Yeah how dare he have an opinion.
even if he was the undisptuedly best lyrical cat ever, which he isn’t, he still doesn’t have enough material to be ranked higher than black thought, mos def, pharoahe monch, black star, wu cats, slaughterhouse members, outkast, nas, jay z, eminem, rakim, bdk and more. There are other cats just as lyrical, but their catalogs aren’t as deep in quality or quantity as those cats, yet. That would include dudes like slick rick, canibus, maybe elzhi, biggie smalls, etc. So, no, the highest anyone can legitimately put him in is maybe top 20, 15. Maybe in a couple years.
hes the best since lupe fiasco and thats a fact
Most of kennys career is a whole lot of marketing. Look at the new single ” I ” all it stands for is interscope, iphone, and internet. Without those 3 things his albums wouldnt take him far.
Damn, you’re stupid.
Well youre an ” I ” diot. ^^^^ Hows that for marketing.
You’re only proving my point of you being an idiot.
Hey if you wanna dance around in a g string while listening to kendricks isley brother sample to ” I ” more power to you. I just cant defend that kind of music.
G-string? Lol you have a sick twisted mind. I don’t want to hear about you dancing in your mom’s thong. And what does “that kind of music” mean? Upbeat that promotes positivity instead of the same slow crap about shooting people, selling drugs, living a life in excess, etc.? Lol have fun with your Migos and Bobby Schmurda.
Hahah, yeah it iz pretty sick, but that isley brother guitar sample just reminded me of this stripper in the club movin her waist around in a g, and you just ruined all that with all your pouting. As far as the artist you mentioned theyre garbage. I rather listen to some bishop nehru or public enemy.
So a sample from an old 70s soul track reminds you of a stripper? That’s dumb. And what pouting? That was all you whne you commented.
This guys a pussy, he did a show in bristol, UK a month back with pharoahe monch, he was cowering like a lil girl behind his mans when he got stepped too after the show for being a prick , only sayin shit from behind them , and got us guys tellin him to stand up for himself thrown out the venue, no balls this guy
Fuck this guy, but he’s right, kendricks not in top10
who the fuck is RA the rugged man
just one of those underground legends
Most rappers say they like kendrick to boost their own career. I cant imagine most rappers playing kendricks albums on their own time. If it wasnt for interscope nobody would care and try to ride kendricks advertising train. Most of thses comments defending him are hired people by interscope to increase his internet popularity.
And this is why I hate hating ass underground elitist hipsters. Unless you can back up everything you say, then shut the fuck up.
So how come French Montana flopped if he also has Interscope behind him? Why didn’t Rae Sremmurd do big numbers if they’re also singed to the same label? Kendrick ain’t the only rapper signed to that label, so why single him out?
Frenchy and rae sremmurd are not making because the days of cash money pop ur bottles music is played out. So interscope needed to market somebody that is a yes man and keep it lyrical enough for the young people and still watered down at the same time. Thats why schooboys album was not that successful either, cuz he even complained that he wanted is image a certain way and didnt get it. That why their was no marketing or production really put into his project and he became a tax write off. If interscope was concerned about making real albums the would have signed the whole tde crew, but I guess those days are gone.
I agree with G Dep, its a divide and conquer game.
g dep, you’re a dumbass whose conspiracy theories are full of logical holes and are the product of a nonsensical hipster nerd who only listens to underground music and thinks all mainstream music is trash (reality is there’s good and bad in both mediums). Interscope’s mission, like EVERY label, is to sign artists who’ll make them money and K-Dot happens to be one of those rappers. But unlike a bunch of rappers who talk about th same shit without an ounce of talent, Kendrick actually has substance in his material from OD to Section 80 to even GKMC. He managed to obtain success with quality music without giving up any artistic integrity. And if the music that French and Sremmurd make are played out, then how come that’s the only thing that gets played on radio stations and charts? Do something with your life outside of making up theories that can’t be proven. And the guy who agreed with you is a bigger idiot (that’s probably you co-signing yourself).
I dont think its really all about money with interscope or they would have put more effort in helping with school boys project. They have plenty of other artist they made to do that for them. If you ever watched an interview with jimmy ivoine you can tell hes can care less about hip hop or dance pop. He would rather have classic rock come back if he could. Gkmc was all about kenny driving around tryin to get laid, getting punked in the process and smoking a laced joint. If you want substance listen to R.A.P. Killer Mike. He was talking about police brutality and coruption before the ferguson shooting. His album is more about the community and less about teen struggles.
No, Interscope is just like every label out there, money first. Classic rock? That shit is dead on the charts. Iovine goes where the money is and there’s more money made for rap. R.A.P. Music is a good album, too, but don’t underestimate GKMC because it also has substance and it also talked about the community, not just “teen struggles.” Do you even listen to music or do you just skim through it? Just because the record was made by a mainstream artist doesn’t make it less good.
I dont think its really all about money with interscope or they would have put more effort in helping with school boys project. They have plenty of other artist they made to do that for them. If you ever watched an interview with jimmy ivoine you can tell hes can care less about hip hop or dance pop. He would rather have classic rock come back if he could. Gkmc was all about kenny driving around tryin to get laid, getting punked in the process and smoking a laced joint. If you want substance listen to R.A.P. Killer Mike. He was talking about police brutality and coruption before the ferguson shooting. His album is more about the community and less about teen struggles.
Interscope is just like every label out there, money first. Classic rock? That shit is dead on the charts. Iovine goes where the money is and there’s more money made for rap. R.A.P. Music is a good album, too, but don’t underestimate GKMC because it also has substance and it also talked about the community, not just “teen struggles.” Do you even listen to music or do you just skim through it? Just because the record was made by a mainstream artist doesn’t make it less good.
Ra is a beast