Instigator / Pro
24
1417
rating
158
debates
32.59%
won
Topic
#2252
Kendrick Lamar is the best rap artist of the last decade
Status
Finished
The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.
Winner & statistics
After 6 votes and with 13 points ahead, the winner is...
BearMan
Parameters
- Publication date
- Last updated date
- Type
- Standard
- Number of rounds
- 3
- Time for argument
- Two days
- Max argument characters
- 10,000
- Voting period
- Two weeks
- Point system
- Multiple criterions
- Voting system
- Open
Contender / Con
37
1615
rating
16
debates
93.75%
won
Description
because "best" can be subjective, let's say we count influence/success, quality of songs (flow, message, rhythm, rhymes), critical reception, so on and so forth.
rap: musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular", which is performed or chanted in a variety of ways, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment
Round 1
1. Awards
awards mean recognition and a nod by the critics that you are good. Hence, the more awards you have, the more likely you are to be the best, right? As you can see from his Wikipedia page, he "won 160 awards from 399 nominations, including 13 Grammy Awards, six Billboard Music Awards, and the ASCAP Vanguard Award" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Kendrick_Lamar). He was also the first rapper to win the Pulitzer prize for music, a very notable achievement.
2. Legacy
Kendrick Lamar has been widely liked in his music ratings. From RateYourMusic, the top albums of the last 10 decade, Lamar dominates the chart with Pimp a Butterfly at no. 1 and good kid +m.a.a.d city at no. 3. It's clear that people value his music higher than other rappers' albums (as they are likely not as consistent). The messages and the themes are also very consistent and empathize well with people, as he rallies black men and those livin' in the hood. Even just extracting a random verse,
"N----, and we hate po-po / Wanna kill us dead in the street fo sho' / N----, I'm at the preacher's door / My knees gettin' weak, and my gun might blow / But we gon' be alright,"
"The yam is the power that be (that be, that be, that be, that be, that be)
You can smell it when I'm walkin' down the street
(Oh yes, we can, oh yes, we can)
I can dig rappin'
But a rapper with a ghost writer?
What the fuck happened? (Oh no)
I swore I wouldn't tell (tell, tell, tell, tell)
But most of y'all sharing bars
Like you got the bottom bunk in a two-man cell (a two-man cell)
Something's in the water (something's in the water)
And if I gotta brown-nose for some gold
Then I'd rather be a bum than a motherfuckin' baller (oh yeah)",
"I'm the biggest hypocrite of 2015
Once I finish this, witnesses will convey just what I mean
Been feeling this way since I was sixteen, came to my senses
You never liked us anyway, fuck your friendship, I meant it
I'm African-American, I'm African
I'm black as the moon, heritage of a small village
Pardon my residence
Came from the bottom of mankind
My hair is nappy, my dick is big, my nose is round and wide
You hate me don't you?
You hate my people, your plan is to terminate my culture
You're fuckin' evil I want you to recognize that I'm a proud monkey
You vandalize my perception but can't take style from me
And this is more than confession
I mean I might press the button just so you know my discretion
I'm caught in my feelings, I know that you feel it
You sabotage my community, makin' a killin'
You made me a killer, emancipation of a real nigga"....
etc, they all address real life issues with racism and problems we have in America. His addressing of real issues and his impact have led him to be even compared to Tupac, one of the best old school rappers (https://thesource.com/2018/01/29/kendrick-lamar-tupacs-one-true-heir/)
Over his career Kendrick has earned over 180 million, a feat achieved by very few rappers (https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/richest-rappers/kendrick-lamar-net-worth/#:~:text=Kendrick%20Lamar%20net%20worth%3A%20Kendrick,%24180%20million%20in%20his%20career.). It's very clear he is in the top echelon of rap artists.
My opponent might consider Eminem, considering I myself conceded he might be a better rapper in terms of flow and delivery, but Eminem has a lot of copy cats and the majority of his career was sparked by Lose Yourself in the decade of 2000's. With Lamar's rise in action, I can't help but think that he is the best rapper of the last decade (even if I personally dislike his music).
BE IT RESOLVED:
KENDRICK LAMAR IS THE BEST RAPPER OF THE LAST DECADE
Key Definitions:
Best: As in Pro’s description, the word “best” is subjective. Pro also states that best should account for quality of songs, influence/success, and critical reception. In addition to this, Con would like to add several more criteria, which is that being the best rapper is being the best at rapping. Which means that the subject of this debate will have to be the best at rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular.
Rap: A musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular", which is performed or chanted in a variety of ways, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment
The Last Decade: From the start of 2009 to the end of 2019
Interpretation of the Resolution:
Pro must prove that Kendrick Lamar is the best in every single criteria of a rapper:
Rebuttal:
My opponent may state that Kendrick Lamar is one of the highest paid, therefore the best at influence and success, but this is clearly wrong. Kendrick Lamar is not even in the top ten of the highest paid rappers. Jay Z alone has a net worth of one billion, and Kendrick Lamar doesn’t even come close to his title.[1]
My opponent also states that Kendrick Lamar has the best legacy, this is false. In a list by the billboard, Kendrick Lamar only comes in 9th, which is good, but it is not the best.[2] My opponent seems to think that the debate is whether Kendrick Lamar is good or not, not whether he is the best. All the evidence placed by my opponent only suggests he is in the top spectrum of the rappers.
My opponent also states that Eminem is not that relevant anymore, and his songs were biggest in the 2000’s. However, this fact does not matter because of the resolution. The resolution is Kendrick Lamar is the Best Rapper of the Last Decade, not, Kendrick Lamar is the Best Active Rapper of the Last Decade. Nowhere in Pro’s definitions define rapper as an active rapper. Did Eminem exist in the last decade? Yes. Therefore we shall count him as a rapper in the last decade.
Conclusion:
Kendrick Lamar is in the top spectrum of rappers. However, he is not the best. He is not the richest, he does not have the best legacy, and he does not have the best quality of songs. My opponent’s evidence only places him in the top notch. But top notch does not mean best. My opponent also fails to prove all the criteria of a good rapper. Therefore, unless my opponent fulfills his burden of proof the next rounds upcoming, he will lose.
Sources:
[1]https://www.therichest.com/top-lists/top-100-richest-rappers
[2]https://www.billboard.com/photos/6723017/the-10-best-rappers-of-all-time
KENDRICK LAMAR IS THE BEST RAPPER OF THE LAST DECADE
- Quality of Songs
- Influence and Success
- Rhyme, rhythmic speech and street vernacular
[1]https://www.therichest.com/top-lists/top-100-richest-rappers
[2]https://www.billboard.com/photos/6723017/the-10-best-rappers-of-all-time
Round 2
I concede. I wanted to play some devil's advocate, but arguing him better than Eminem is probably too tough.
Thanks.
Round 3
abc
Vote Con
Yeah, I know he raps well. But it's not that interesting. No one will be talking about MTBMB it in a year. GKMC, on the other hand, was released in 2013 and it is still a very talked about album. It's because there's more to rap than just being able to spit bars.
"Far greater" no. Kendrick's last three full length albums have always been hailed as the greatest albums of their respective year, for good reason. Kanye's not as consistient, but he has plenty of great projects.
Drake not a chance. I am fairly confident that there is not a single "great" Drake album. Maybe some hot singles. Bu Drake projects as a whole are very middling.
drake as well.
have you heard music to be murdered by?
godzilla is literally solid evidence that eminem is still a god.
plus kanye has a far greater legacy than kendrick.
To each their own, I guess
But kendrick wins discography, depth, variety, versatility...
Eminem is an extremely impressive rapper, don't get me wrong; MMLP is one of my favorite albums. But ever since The Eminem Show, Em's lyrical talents have never been put to use in any very significant way. Most modern Eminem music is just him rapping well, which is fine because that's what a lot of rappers do and he does it better than most of them, but I'd honestly rather listen to Playboi Carti than Eminem in this day and age because his music is just more entertaining and he hasn't been doing more of the same for the past 20 years.
Kendrick is good for a different reason then Eminem. Unlike the short "pop" you get after Eminem says something clever, Kendrick's music makes you think far past the length of an Em verse. Take this early Kendrick song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n5r6N7grNA) for example. Even when he's just rambling, his incredible sense of confidence, understanding, and depth is put on full display.
If we're talking about sheer contribution to hip hop? Eminem easily wins dude.
I have to question how anyone could come to the conclusion that Eminem is a better rap artist than Kendrick this decade.
I also have to question how people could think that Juice WRLD or J. Cole are even close.
To be clear, Kendrick Lamar is basically a "living legend". When he dies we'll remember him much like we did Big and Pac. Putting Kendrick Lamar on a list with any new school rapper is just silly until one of them makes the accomplishments neccesary to do so.
I listened to both and I like eminem's music better, but it feels less consistent message wise (Eminem's album have not been such a massive influence as Pimp Butterfly)
Ok first off Eminem.
Next, Kanye.
Upcoming artist Juice WRLD passed away, but he was a far better rapper in terms of free style. :(
J. Cole he has superb lyrical ability.
then again, I don't see how you can defend kendrick when the first two are far better in literally everything.
Eminem had rap god godzilla venom and other hits in the past decade. godzilla was released less than a year ago and it was straight fire.
im just basing off of the songs and the success they had in the last decade; it seems lamar's impact is greater than eminem. Though overall yeah I feel m&m has better impact
He is my pick too. FAR better than Kendrick. The absolute GOAT. Problem is, I'm not sure if Seldiora is trying to cut off who we can debate with by when they began their careers or not.
What about eminem? I just think so but I know too little rap to be confident at winning this.
You should make it "since 2000." Lamar started at about 2004