Lupe Fiasco claims he’s a better lyricist than Kendrick Lamar
Lupe Fiasco had a bold take for Twitter on Sunday evening (Sept. 20). The Drogas Wave rapper claimed to be a better lyricist than Kendrick Lamar while responding to a fan page’s tweet.
The Twitter page “Hip Hop Hub” posed the question, “Who’s the better lyricist? Lupe Fiasco or Kendrick Lamar.” Fiasco retweeted the poll and commented, “Lupe but…”
Naturally, the claim has stirred passionate reactions from Lamar’s staunchest supporters, including the president of Lamar’s label, Top Dawg Entertainment. Before Lupe could delete the tweet, Terrence “Punch” Henderson replied with a simple but effective: “Lol.”
In follow-up tweets, Fiasco doubled-down on his stance.
“I love me some KDot…always have always will. With that said do think I he’s a good lyricist? Yes. Do I think he’s the best lyricist? No,” he wrote. “Do I think it’s lyricists that are better than him? Yes. Is he a better artist than me? Yes.”
“Are we both legends? Yes. Are we both successful? Yes,” he wrote in another tweet. “… Section 80 is my fave. TDE is my favorite rap label.”
This isn’t the first time fans and Fiasco have compared the two rappers’ abilities. Back in 2018, Fiasco said Lamar was “not a top tier lyricist… when it comes to punchlines and bars.”
“His overall lyrics are good, his stories phenomenal, but punchline entendre lyrically I don’t see it,” he said. Less than two months later, he retracted the statement and apologized “for even engaging and talking about n****s careers.”
Lamar hasn’t responded to Fiasco’s latest claim or the Twitter debate sprouting from it. The Compton native has stayed pretty quiet this year, with the only updates on a potential project coming from the founder of TDE. Back in May, Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith told one fan to “stay patient” and that “King Kendrick will return soon.”
Punch has also commented on Lamar’s upcoming work, including his fabled joint album with J. Cole. After tweeting that the project would “never” happen, the music executive backtracked on his stance and put the responsibility into fans’ hands.
“Y’all really want that album still??? Like for real?” he tweeted in late May. “I think it would great for hip hop. I did my part though. I spoke to both of them. Hit them n****s!”
Fiasco, on the other hand, released his most recent House EP earlier this year. The five-tack effort was a joint effort with Kaelin Ellis and Virgil Abloh. See Fiasco’s tweet and fans’ reactions below.