During an interview with Nessa of KIIS FM, Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar revealed that despite Apple purchasing Beats Electronics for $3 billion last month, Dr. Dre is still “focused on music.” The Top Dawg Entertainment lyricist even confirmed that Dr. Dre is working with him on his follow-up to 2012’s good kid, m.A.A.d city.
He added that Dr. Dre is still in the studio and will continue to be there despite Apple’s acquisition of Beats Music and Beats Electronics.
“One thing about Dre is you can’t take the music away from him no matter how much money he has,” Kendrick said. “He’s always gonna be right there in that studio. That’s before the deal, after the deal. He’s always locked in there. That’s something that I know personally.”
Prior to speaking on Dr. Dre, Kendrick responded to comments both Lupe Fiasco and Troy Ave made criticizing his music.
In response to Lupe’s remarks that he isn’t the best lyrically, K-Dot simply stated that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And as far as Troy Ave’s “weirdo” rapper comments are concerned, Kendrick said that he’s unsure of what a “weirdo” rapper is and expressed his unfamiliarity with Troy Ave.
“Everybody entitled to they opinion. You feel me? I just continue to do what I do,” the rapper said. “But, you know, everybody feel they own aspects of it and how they look at different artists. But I just continue to do what I do.
“I don’t even know what the definition [is]. I never met him [Troy Ave]. I never really focused on his music either,” he added.
Kendrick also clarified rumors about a house he reportedly bought outside of Los Angeles. He says that he did buy the house, but purchased it for investment purposes, and still currently lives in a condo in Los Angeles.
“It’s real, but it’s not my spot. I really like to buy property,” Kendrick said. “Whether it’s apartments. Whether it’s buildings. Whether it’s houses. I like to stay in L.A. I still live in L.A. A small, little apartment condo in L.A. But I like to invest my money in different things rather than just buying things for the moment. Something that can last me a lifetime…And it’s looking right right now. The market value around the outskirts of L.A. is right.”
Kendrick’s interview with KIIS FM can be found below.
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lupe is a cornball who will allways be irrelevent. Kendricks album good kid mad city is better than lupes carreeer and kendrick is so much better than lupe.
You’re riding Kendrick’s dick a little too hard with that comment.
GKMC is an incredible album, and may be considered a classic over time, however Lupe’s 1st album is better IMO. Lupe isn’t irrelevant if you feel the need to respond to something he said, so who’s the real cornball here?
Lupe is good, but none of his album are better than GKMC.
Lupe’s first album was def. better than GKMC and it’s not really that close
No. Quick sucking Kendricks dick.
Relevant enough that its him oyu are comparing kendrick too. Lupes The Cool shits all over gkmc. Easily.
Everyone shut up. Both Lupe’s albums and Kendrick’s albums are equally great.
Easy there…This is HipHopDx nothing can be equal it’s either or so pick a side LOL
Food and Liquor 1>>> GKMC, Lupe has hella fell off since then though. The cool was solid and the rest of his albums are blah.
GKMC>>>The Cool
Section 80>>>The Cool
he just sonned troy average, like who???
that chick is a 11/10
i feel you but she needs to lose the hat, thats not a good look its not snowing its summer.
lmao yea that hot bitch in a beanie shit is getting played out
I can’t give a final score until I see the full body. Face wise alone I’d give her an 8/10
That is Nessa from MTV’s Girl Code. Her twitter is @nessnitty
nigga fuck her twitter i dont care what she says
Isnt Troy that popular skateboard kid from Maryland?
Troy Ave is not even in the same Galaxy as Kendrick Lamar. End Of Story
and lupe isnt in the same planet as kendrick
No they both are. Nothing more the artist piggy backing off of Dre and others. Kendrick has not done half of the stuff Lupe has in his career stop reaching
No one’s piggy backing off of anyone.
Did you look at the actual(50 Cent Voice) video and read the article? It was pretty much about him piggy backing off of Dre and needing Dre’s energy to be apart of his next album.
No, it’s not. Kendrick isn’t piggy backing off of Dre. Dre is his boss.
Your boss doesn’t have to sit in the studio with you. The fact that he needs his energy is due to his production value. No matter how you slice it without Dre’s co-sign initially Kendrick would not be where he is today.
Dre didn’t even produce any songs for Kendrick’s last album. He doesn’t NEED his energy, he has his own. He took that co-sign and did his own thing.
Yes, Kendrick did sign to Dre’s label, but that doesn’t mean he held his hand throughout his career.
He does need his energy especially since he(Dre) was the “EXECUTIVE PRODUCER” #Ether
That was a weak comeback. Do you even know what an executive producer is? He doesn’t need his energy.
What the hell does that even mean, needing someone’s energy?
Kenny is a fake blood. nah mean? this nigga is a backpack rapper. Kenny never gangbanned, all he did is lying. GKMC is a pop rap album, dem beats suck really, wack lyrics, wack all. fuck kenny
You just went full retard. Never go full retard.
Lupe Fiasco needs to sit his ass down somewhere and put out some music that makes sense. All he does is talk shit like he is always the smartest one in the room. So shut your pie hole Whoopi Fiasco and make music…
Hatin ass nigga. Lupe never dissed Kendrick, he gave him mad props but that he just isn’t the best lyrically
Fella, if you are insinuating that I am hatin on Lupe, your wrong. He is nothing to hate on, not eve a lil bit. And by the way, my life is great, with no reason to hate.
^Cool story bro tell me snorezzzzzz^
When 2014s XXL Freshman cover was released, the inclusion of Troy Ave in the increasingly-irrelevant tableau of industry plants, late-pass viral sensations, and regional heroes that the magazine begrudgingly placed on the cover was something of a foregone conclusion. Through savvy campaigning, relentless networking, and more than a little bullshit, the New York rapper has positioned himself as the next big thing in New York hip-hop. A placement on the main stage of Sundays Hot 97 Summer Jam concert only seems to confirm this.
Except, Troy Ave is not the next big thing in New York hip-hop. Not at all.
If you dont know who he is, Troy Ave is a rapper from New York who would like you to know that he has sold drugs (in New York) and continues to put on for his city (which, again, is New York). His raps are po-faced retreads of gangster clichs and his beats sound like the Lox passed on them for being boring. He is the last remaining living human who thinks its a good idea to solicit Memphis Bleek for a guest verse. One of the members of his BSB crew is named Avon Blocksdale. He sounds like he really, really, really wants to be 50 Cent, to the point that both of his singles in Hot 97 rotation right now feature a member of G-Unit, and one of them, Show Me Love, is a literal rewrite of 50s In da Club. 50 Cent has reacted to Troy Aves existence with bemusement, commenting, I like the idea of Troy Ave but in reality, he sounds a lot like me.
If he is our citys great rap hope, then we are fucked.
That is, unless you ask Troy Ave. In an interview with Vibe shortly after the release of his record New York City, he claimed, I know that New York City: The Album is classic It’s album of the year, and that’s not just my opinion, that’s everybody’s opinion, later adding, that the only kings of New York rap have ever been, Big, Jay Z, now Troy Ave here after. (This is also the interview where he dismissed Kendrick Lamar as a weirdo by saying, Kendrick Lamar wears shorts above his knees. I’m not trying to diss the nigga because I’m just speaking the facts, which is hilarious on about 57 different levels.) In a segment filmed with professional sycophant Elliott Wilson, his statistics are reiteratedXXL cover. Summer Jam appearance. Ave explains his success by saying, Youve gotta be where youre from and sound like where youre from and represent that. Hes so fixated upon the fact that hes bringing New York back that he has no idea what actually that might possibly entail.
Troy Ave embraces his fellow rapper Rich Hil, the rapping son of Tommy Hilfiger, while bringing New York back.
When I met Troy Ave nearly two years ago, we spent an entire day together. I found him to be genial, savvy, and extremely ambitious. He casually pulled a gun out while we were riding around in his Jeep, the same Jeep that ended up showing up on the cover of New York City. He didnt mention wanting to be the king of New York once, because he wasnt interested in that. He wanted to pitch himself as something of New Yorks answer to Jeezy, the rapper who sold drugs and rapped on the side. But following the release of his mixtape Bricks in my Backpack 3, nobody cared. So he changed his tune and started telling people he was the king of the city and bringing New York back, because people seemed to give a fuck about him whenever he told people he was the king of the city and bringing New York back. This leads me to a pro tip: If youve got to tell everyone youre the king of something, you are probably not the king of that thing.
To say that Troy Ave is an opportunistic, out-of-touch bozo who does not actually represent the hopes, dreams, and realities of New York rap fans is to state the obvious. As sure as the sun shines and the clouds piss rain on our heads, there will always be a Troy Ave, the archetypal New York hardhead who makes New York rap in a way that shows fealty to the New York rap canon, all the while managing to have the ear of the streets. Because the vast majority of the rap press resides in New York, the Birthplace of Hip-Hop, they will pay attention to him, give him national press, and then scratch their heads when no one in any other part of America gives a shit. Troy Ave is nothing more than the next in a line of Mainos, Papooses, Uncle Murdas, Vados, and Saigons: sacrificial lambs who must fall flat on their faces and die in order to further prove that New York is not the center of the hip-hop universe.
Troy Ave takes a selfie while wearing a hat while bringing New York back.
However flat Troy Aves rhetoric might be, it does resonate with a certain section of the rap media, a set of stodgy conservatives who are to hip-hop as the Christian Right is to politics. Just like George W. Bush became the president by appealing to the base who are worried about the direction the country is going in, Troy Ave has preached taking hip-hop back to a simpler, more idyllic time when New York ruled hip-hop with an iron fist, dictating the direction the culture headed rather than constantly trying to play catch-up. This playing-to-the-base rhetoric has helped him gain traction amongst old heads who have had enough of weirdo rappers taking hip-hop in a direction that they neither care for nor understand. When Troy Ave fishes for brownie points by bitching about the fact that Kendrick Lamar wears his shorts above the knee, hes essentially playing the same bullshit card as when some bozo in a garage rock band complains about dudes getting on the radio by using synths. Hes consistently earned positive press from MTV News, but the vast majority of the posts have been written by a writer named Rob Markman, whose twitter bio reveals that he and Ave have the same manager. Connections such as these help forge the illusion of Ave having a movement in the city, but they do little to actually help him gain traction in terms of convincing actual human beings with ears and brains (which rap journalists are not, generally) to listen to his music.
If youre wondering why Troy Ave writes checks he continually is unable to cash, a cursory glance at his music reveals why. His music isn’t actively shitty, it’s just that all of his ideas are recycled; simply retreads of things that other, better New York rappers have done in the past. Its not that New York rap has to constantly be innovating or else it cant be done well; far from it. Look to the work of careful craftsmen such as J-Live, Cormega, Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire, or Meyhem Lauren, all of whom make great, classic-sounding records that work within the various paradigms of New York hip-hop without getting all preachy about it. The difference between those guys and Troy Ave, of course, is that while Troy Ave tells you what hes going to do and does it poorly, those guys just do what they do, and do it well. Meanwhile, dudes like French Montana, Chinx, A$AP Rocky, and A$AP Ferg who are actually putting on for New York understand that the point of artists like Dipset and G-Unit was to represent for the city in new ways, regardless of whether it fit the mold of old-school boom-bap or not. This is why Coke Boys and A$AP Mob are interested in sounding unique and exploring new ground, and Troy Ave and his BSB crew are conservative, make subpar versions of old songs, and wont shut the fuck up about how theyre from New York. Great rappers innovate, and shit rappers imitate. It seems that Troy Ave hasnt figured that out yet.
No way you didn’t copy and paste most of this. Either way I gave up almost halfway thru but only cuz I’m not into Troy Ave or care to hear about him. You need to do one of these write ups on some better artist though. You’re probably the second best writer affiliated with this site but your not getting a check cut yet homey. Work on that!!!!
wow that was long, that New York album goes
thats the noisey article troy caught mad feelings over i think, those captions under the photo were hilarious
“Troy Ave embraces his fellow rapper Rich Hil, the rapping son of Tommy Hilfiger, while bringing New York back”
“Troy Ave takes a selfie while wearing a hat while bringing New York back.”
“
@Drew Millard, stop copying and pasting your EMO article over the internet. You sound gay as fuck considering you wrote a dick-riding article about Troy Ave on Vice.
New York Rap: Flatbush Zombiez, The Underachievers, Pro Era, Asap Mob > basic ass Troy Ave.
Troy Ave.: Who? Kendrick? He’s a weirdo where I come from.
Kendrick: Who? Troy Ave.? …….Who?
Lmmfao! Win. Also, very intelligent move with investing. Happy to see someone take their success and utilize it to maximize profit and worth.
ahaha kendrick shitted on troy
all these scrubs cant hold a candle to drake. Drake makes every rapper irrelevent
Drake is the real scrub. He can’t even make hip-hop songs.
oh look, another trolling drake fan. Get a life dude, and maybe broaden your music taste because it obviously sucks
TALK TO EM
truuuu
Can’t we all just get along?
NOPE
i love it when 2 real hiphop fan bases go at each other. Kendrick and lupe have some self rightous annoying fans that act stuck up and think they are better for liking either of the rappers. When they battle it out it humours me hahaha
Y’all can keep pushing that he say she say bullshit, Kendrick da Gawd ain’t with that
lol, he just blew troy ave off like he don’t matter…… because, he really doesn’t
Troy Ave’s debut sold 3.9 million, far surpassing Dumbo’s.
i dont think he sold 39k total
3.9 million? HA!! Did you pull that number out your ass?
I like Troy Ave, but his album didn’t sell shit. He debuted at 57 and just dropped from there. Too bad, because wackass New Yorkers are just supporting the same wack rappers from Down South that they themselves call wack.
while Troy Ave is absolutely a talentless hack, Kendrick does sound like a black lesbian when he raps
kendrick lamar IS detox
Kendrick is definitely a top lyricist, and if Lupe thinks otherwise then he needs to listen to more of kendricks discog
Kendrick Is very smart in answering questions. #TDE
Buying property? lol You’ve had 1 album. Just admit Drake is buying the properties for you.
anyone can buy property bruh.
2 albums. Kendrick is the one buying the properties.
Drake is to busy putting on make up, to be into buy real estate.
Nigga made the forbes list last year! He makes more than Rick Ross and bitch tits bought a 109 mansion that costs 1 mill a year just to maintain! 500k aint shit to kendrick.
I BET TROY AVE WONT SAY THAT SHIT ABOUT DRAKECUS WE GOT REAL KILLAS AT YMCMB
Lupe a bum ass hipster. Fuck him and whoever this fat boy troy is. Kendrick will be better than Pac one day BELIEVE ME. He already passed Biggie with lyrics and storytelling. HiiiPower!!!
GKMC > everything else in the past 50 years
ROFLMAO! You just went full retarded. Never go full Retarded
bruh you just got that quote wrong. that’s pretty retarded.
Most of “K-Dot” stans are un-educated when it comes to “Hip Hop”
Kendrick lamar fans the usual MTV/Pop/ Mainstream audience. They really have no idea what “lyrics” are or “flow”.
One stan was tellin me at my gym that Kendrick is a “gangsta” rapper, I almost shitted my pants.
If you really think Kendrick is on par with Nas or Biggie or Tupac, then you are F’ing Crazy. With that being said, Lupe’s lyrics are far more advanced and intelligent than Kendrick Lamars.
The only reason Kendrick has fans is because he’s signed to Dr. Dre
False. The reason Kendrick Lamar has fans is because of Section.80. Anyone who didn’t follow K.Dot’s rise to fame since EP doesn’t need to speak on his success IMO. None of yall knew who Kendrick was before GKMC…
Nas aint shit since illmatic everyone knows that. King K already has a better discography with two classics. Biggie is an average rapper that has become legendary because Pac mentions him in a few songs and the fact he died during the media hyped WC vs. EC fiasco. Kendrick is Pac’s reincarnation and he’s going to finish what pac has started
Lupe is a delusional conspirator which makes him sound smart and edgy to you fag hipsters. He’s not intelligent.. Anyone can use Wikipedia
@Spray
Nobody knows about Section 80! I meant NOBODY. The only reason he got signed is because of Techn9, he introduced Kendrick to Dre. After that Kendrick gave Dre a blowjob and the rest is history!
Matter of FAct, people know him because Tech9 put him on his album before he even signed with Dre!
Anyway, Jay Rock is way better.
You really are retarded.
So you are telling me no one knew about Kendrick Lamar until GKMC? That nobody knows about Section 80? You do know he had mixtapes before that, right? How about, “Overly Dedicated” and “Kendrick Lamar.” The “Overly Dedicated” mixtape probably propelled his career more than anything else. Before that, he went by K.Dot and made a mixtape or two by that name. Section 80 actually went pretty mainstream, in the sense that everyone knew of that mixtape. Shit, HipHopDX named it mixtape of the year when it came out, over Jay Rock’s. Don’t have because the dudes rhymes actually have substance and meaning, and nah bro I don’t mean that substance on your face from sucking Wayne’s dick. I don’t hate on the dudes rhyming and putting clever bars together but c’mon. “I know some rappers using big words to make they similes curve/My simplest shit be more pivotal/I penetrate the hearts of good kids and criminals.”
fuck drake
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Batista is half Filipino you misinformed numskull
What does any of this have to do with hiphop?
8=D
New York Rap: Flatbush Zombiez, The Underachievers, Pro Era, Asap Mob > basic ass Troy Ave
U the only one who listens to those bums u mentioned
A$AP Rocky is good, but the rest of that crew is terrible. Seriously why do all rappers now a days have to bring along their friends that can’t rap. Like G Unit reforming, 50 cent should drop Yayo and Banks, and just go get Game. Quit wasting song space on people who can’t rap.
You forgot about Joey Bada$$.
Good to see that Kendrick is still alive. Where the hell is the music K Dot??? As for Troy Ave, he is popular amongst the NYC crowd. I move to NYC a few months ago and he has become their new savior since French Montana didn’t live up to the expectations. Lupe needs to drop that new project asap! Bottomline: Stop with all this Twitter/Blog shit and drop dope music. This applies to ALL of the hiphop/rap artists. Less comments and more dope projects
French Montana sucks!!!!
Lupe just needs to stop rapping, dude is wack. As far as Troy Ave, he is good, but he needs to drop the post 80’s New York MC attitude of being jealous of a successful rapper. He dissed Lamar with just a word. If you’re going to diss somebody, you gotta come harder than weirdo.
YO THAT SHAWTY HELLA CUTE!
Finally a smart rapper that invest in something that makes sense and not Bently’s, chains, watches and other things that broke azz rappers buy to appear not to be a broke azz rapper. We buy stuff to appear to be more than we are not knowing we are making ourselves less than.
I’m pretty sure you’re trolling? There’s plenty of rappers that have made 8 figures off investments
Fuck Troy Ave people want a change of pace from the shoot em up bang bang in rap sometimes
Hell yeah she’s fine as hell
when you make an INSTANT CLASSIC!…13/16..like GK,MC….everyone is going to hate…LUPE should know better thugh…..I LOVE HOW LUPE FIASCO was never the “crossover hit machine”….like DRAKE..LOL……it is jusy envy on HOW KENDRICK changed the game “LYRICALLY”….#TDE4LIFE
GK,MC is going to be hard to top..it is like a modern-day “READY TO DIE”…..a short-film concept THRILLER!…..lol
as far as TROY AVE….#WHO THE HELL CARES ABOUT THIS WACK HATER