Words: Lee Fairweather

I still remember the day my friend Keifer (@twitchademus) and I were talking at work about music. He knew I listened to a few new rappers but not many. He told me that as soon as I get home, that I must watch a video by Kendrick Lamar called ‘HiiiPower’. I did. It was like nothing that generation of rappers were doing. He had the smoothness of NaS. The cultural awareness of Kam and Paris. The lyricism reminded me of Kurupt and King Tee. He would go on to fulfil the path of one of the best MCs alive and along the way some real gems were lost. Here are some of Kendrick’s best guest verses that deserve more recognition.

1. BJ The Chicago Kid – His Pain f. Kendrick Lamar

A lost ‘Section 80’ gem? Apparently this soulful track was meant to be included on Kendrick’s debut but he decided otherwise and let BJ The Chicago Kid have it for his project instead. When ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ was released, one of the most talked about tracks was ‘u’, where Kendrick tackles his inner demons and breaks down ending up in a drunken state about letting the fame getting to him and not helping those that helped him get to where he is and ultimately becoming suicidal. A possible precursor to that musical confession is this fictional sad yet uplifting tale where Kendrick details all the evil and wrong doings around him yet he always manages to come out of situations and questions why. As the song progresses, Kendrick’s voice breaks more and more and we hear the disturbing weeps of a broken man trying to figure out what his purpose is in life.

2. Drake – Buried Alive Interlude

Kendrick arguably had the best verse on Drake’s entire ‘Take Care’ album. Not a feature in the traditional sense, it closes ‘Marvin’s Room’ as a separate track altogether. Kendrick in a rather laid-back manner effortlessly weaves in and out a number of topics about his new found fame, money, celebrity and meeting Mr. Aubrey Graham himself and how his life makes him re-evaluate his own. Very much in the same spirit of his other song ‘Black Boy Fly’, Kendrick is brutally honest about the competitiveness between himself and his fellow contemporary even confessing at one point, ‘Then he said he was the same age as…myself/And it didn’t help cause it made me even more rude and impatient’. This track is another great example of why Kendrick has always been in a class of his own. Whereas most artists would of jumped at the chance of doing a song with the one of the biggest artist in Hip-Hop and blindly praise him with empty co-signs throughout their verse, Kendrick looks at the pros and cons of this opportunity and if he’ll be able to handle the materialistic temptations that come with it and still deliver the message he originally set out to spread.

3. Casey Veggies – Ridin’ Roun Town (Remix) [feat. C-San, Dom Kennedy, Kendrick Lamar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU7ure2_Vv8

Posse cuts, something Hip-Hop was built on. Before your favourite rappers squashed ‘beefs’ on Twitter and got along with just about anybody in the industry to avoid any possible business ventures and strongly proclaim that any criticism aimed towards them is actually ‘hate’, rappers were brave enough to jump on tracks with other talented MCs to see who had the best pen game and fans would argue forever about who had the better verse on the song. Around 2011 Kendrick was featuring on rappers songs and leaving no argument as to who came out on top. On this particular track Kendrick does some of the best bragging ever about why he’s the best and others just need to sit and take notes. Kendrick treats the track like it’s his own and flows so impeccably at a rapid pace. So much so, Casey Veggies has to return for another verse to reclaim his very own song and save grace by stating ‘Hold up man this is my song, let me take it back real quick for ya’ll’. You have to hear it to believe it.

4. Overdoz – Take Me Down Feat. Kendrick Lamar

A running theme in Kendrick’s verse is people and circumstances preventing him from reaching his goals. Whether it is his homies, the industry, other rappers or women who don’t have his best interests at heart (or aliens, a term he regularly uses for women). Here we find Lamar going through a stormy relationship with someone that obviously doesn’t want the best for him or his career and he knows it.

5. Ab-Soul – Black Lip Bastard (Remix) [feat. Black Hippy]

The angry tongue-in-cheek Kendrick is always a pleasure to listen to. The outrageous, something to prove, braggadocious Kendrick that says what he wants, not caring what others think because they are not worthy of his position in the rap game. This remix, which also includes an amazing verse courtesy of fellow TDE member Jay Rock, is almost like a prequel to his infamous ‘Control’ verse with less names although Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Sade are mentioned but for very different reasons. Again you have to hear it to believe it.

Words: Lee Fairweather