Allegations that Kendrick Lamar secretly used a ghostwriter to help him craft “N95” have been denied by the rapper at the center of the controversy.
Over the weekend, an alleged demo of the Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers track performed by CJ Francis surfaced online, with a user on X claiming it was a reference for Kendrick and that Francis was uncredited for his work on the song.
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“Quentin Miller associate CJ Francis IV ghostwriting for Kendrick Lamar. This is his demo of N95 (2022). I’d say this is a collab, but his name isn’t on the credits [ghost emoji],” the user claimed.
The post was accompanied by a brief snippet of Francis rapping over the “N95” beat and using a similar cadence and lyrics as Kendrick’s version.
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There was also a screenshot of a 2022 tweet from the user @ItsNotHarold that said: “My boy CJ Francis IV wrote on the Kendrick project man I’m so fuckin gassed for my boy!!!! He one of the most talented people in the world bro this shit is so next level!!!”
However, Francis denied that he was ever involved with the song, writing on his Instagram Stories: “I had nothing to do with that song. Nor do I have anything to do with it being posted online.”
The original social media post also received a community note which said Francis “is known for rapping over instrumental remakes from YouTube & pretending he made demos for popular songs.”
A Reddit thread also debunked the claims, pointing out that “N95” originated in 2019 as a collaboration between Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem that was ultimately scrapped.
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Kendrick reportedly later merged two different songs to create the basis for “N95” before settling on the final version of the song in 2022.
The beat on the snippet of the alleged demo is also mastered and sounds exactly like the final version that ended up on Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.
The since-debunked ghostwriting drama cropped up just as Drake — who is no stranger to ghostwriting allegations himself — responded to Kendrick Lamar on wax after he dissed him on Future and Metro Boomin‘s “Like That.”
On the leaked track, titled “Push Ups,” the 6 God taunts his longtime rival over his stature, album sales and pop collaborations while claiming he is being extorted by his former label boss, TDE founder Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith.
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“You won’t ever take no chain off of us/ How the fuck you big steppin’ with a size seven men’s on?/ This the bark with the bite, n-gga, what’s up?/ I know my picture on the wall when y’all cook up/ Extortion baby, whole career you been shook up/ ‘Cause Top told you drop and give me fifty like some push-ups, heugh!” he raps.
He also seemingly references Kendrick’s wife and baby mother Whitney Alford: “I be with some bodyguards like Whitney/ Top say drop, your little midget-ass better fuckin.'”
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On his initial diss which reignited their years-long feud, Kendrick spit: “Fuck sneak dissin’, first-person shooter, I hope they came with three switches/ I crash out like, ‘Fuck rap,’ diss Melle Mel if I had to/ Got 2TEEZ with me, I’m snatchin’ chains and burnin’ tattoos, it’s up.”
Kendrick also declared supremacy over other rappers: “Think I won’t drop the location? I still got PTSD/ Motherfuck the big three, n-gga, it’s just big me.”
