With Kendrick Lamar’s final album with TDE dropping in a few hours, it only felt right to look back on some of the hardest bars he has as a featured artist.
We can all agree that K.Dot can handle a track on his own and make his mark every time we hear him blasting through our speakers. But it’s also no surprise that the Compton rapper can appear as a guest artist and still bring the heat just as he would on his own tracks.
The talented rapper has been challenging Hip-hop and developing his craft every time he blesses a feature since his career took off. Kendrick also does not shy away from laying down bars that outshine other rappers on a song. Although Kung Fu Kenny has made several guest appearances, these are just a few that raised eyebrows and highlighted some of his greatest features.
Here is a list of 5 tracks that featured Kendrick Lamar and lyrically brought out the best of the rapper in his career:
- “Control” – Big Sean and Jay Electronica
The Compton native shook Hip-hop with this verse as he called out several rappers from J. Cole, Big K.R.I.T, Wale, A$AP Rocky, Drake, Pusha T, Meek Millz, Big Sean, Tyler, the Creator, Jay Electronica and the late Mac Miller. He definitely was raising the expectations for rappers and wanted to bring back competitive, lyrical rapping.
“I got love for you all, but I’m tryna murder you n****s/ Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you n****s/ They don’t wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you n****s/ What is competition? I’m tryna raise the bar high/ Who tryna jump and get it? You’re better off tryna skydive”
- “The City” – The Game
When it came to “The City,” Dot can be heard throughout the whole track on the chorus but took over at the end of the song. Kendrick rapped as the beat cut off, and he went acapella bar after bar, making it known that he reps L.A, especially Compton to the fullest.
“Game came through, put the city on his back/I was in the city where a n***a hadn’t seen that shit/ ‘Compton!’ – a n***a gotta scream that shit/Never went commercial, never TV-screened that shit/Can’t block or screen that shit/Now everybody sing that shit!”
- “TDE BET Cypher 2013” ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, Isaiah Rashad and Kendrick Lamar
Although this one is a cypher freestyle, it was hard to not include it because of how dope this verse was when it aired at the BET awards in 2013. Kendrick was a young, rising rapper that was spitting bars over Mobb Deep’s classic, “Shook Ones, Pt. II,” and it was everything. From the “high-five” with ScHoolboy to letting the world know, “Your career ain’t shit unless you got some Kendrick in it,” and he was not wrong.
“What are we doing? I’m ’bout to crack the da Vinci Code/Yeah, and nothing been the same since they dropped ‘Control’/And tucked a sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes/Haha, joke’s on you/High-five, {*smack!*}/I’m bulletproof”
- “Nosetalgia” – Pusha T
This verse has surfaced on the internet recently with a recent Tiktok of a creator decoding the 2013 lyrics and making an incredible finding of Kendrick’s detail and wordplay on the crack epidemic and numbers. Kung Fu Kenny embodied this track as he switches his tones to fit the lyrics and his storytelling perfectly.
“When I was ten, back when nine ounces had got you ten/And nine times out of ten, n****s don’t pay attention/And when it’s tension in the air, nines come with extensions.”
- “Dedication” – Nipsey Hussle
This special track with the late Nipsey Hussle is a solid feature, as Kendrick reflects on his respect for Nip making it in his career and making sure to take it back to his neighborhood. He even highlights a moment he had with Nip, Top Dawg, Snoop and himself at a premier, where he shares that Tupac is overlooking them seeing what they’ve done for the culture.
“I give you the game, go back to the turf and give it right back/For generations we been dealt bad hands with bad plans/Prove your dedication by hoppin’ out Grand Am’s/I’m at the premiere politickin’ with Top, Nip, and Snoop/Damn, Pac watchin’ the way we grew, from dedication.”
- “Mask Off (Remix)” – Future
This feature is a bonus since it’s a remix song of “Mask Off,” but it was hard to pass up since Kendrick went in per usual. His verse on this remix was unique as K.Dot rapped about allowing Black culture on television or someone from Compton to play a big part in the music industry and businesses. Kendrick talks his shit in the track and makes it known where he stands.
“Platinum, platinum, platinum/Gotta look at self and ask what happened/How y’all let a conscious n***a go commercial/While only makin’ conscious albums?/How y’all let the braids on TV?/How y’all let the hood at the table?/Now y’all don’t even know how to rate him.”