Though the song didn’t make rapper Big Sean’s Hall of Fame album because of sample-clearance issues, ‘Control’ set the hip-hop scene on fire because of a guest verse by Kendrick Lamar.
The track, produced by NO I.D., features verses by Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica, but Lamar’s fiery lyrics and clever jab is the root of the buzz.
Lamar, who hails from Compton, anoints himself the most royal of rappers: “I’m Machiavelli’s offspring, I’m the king of New York, king of the coast, one hand, I juggle them both.”
He also lets the latest class of hip-hop have ]individually calling out his competition, including Jermaine Cole, Big KRIT, Wale, Push T, Meek Millz, A$AP Rocky, Drake, Tyler, Mac Miller – and even his partners on the track, Big Sean and Jay Electronica.
An excerpt from the verse reads:
I got love for you all but I’m tryna murder you n—–
Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you n—–
They don’t wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you n—–
What is competition? I’m tryna raise the bar high
On Twitter, Sean “Diddy” Combs retweeted @REVOLT TV’s approving reactions: “If Larry Bird and Magic Never challenged each other – the game wouldn’t have made the strides that it did. Same with Music.” And, “Hip Hop was born out of competition and raised by battles. This is what Music needs.”
Push T, a victim of Lamar’s barbs, tweeted, “I hear u loud and clear my n—-.”
Hall of Fame, featuring Lil Wayne, Nas, Kid Cudi, Juicy J, Jeezy, Miguel and Nicki Minaj, is slated for release on Aug. 27.
Information from USA Today contributed to this report.
