Back in 2018 Lupe Fiasco said he doesn’t consider Kendrick Lamar to be a Top tier lyricist.
“I’ll put it to you like this. K. Dot is not a top tier lyricist to me and my standards when it comes to punchlines and bars,” Lupe wrote, in a series of tweets that have since been deleted. “His overall lyrics are good, his stories phenomenal, but punchline entendre lyrically I don’t see it.”
Now in recent interview with Sway Calloway ahead of his scheduled Pepsi Super Bowl LVI halftime show performance, Eminem has voiced his support for Kendrick Lamar, describing him as a “top tier lyricist,” and one of the all time best.
“Kendrick, to me, is one of the electrifying lyricists of his generation, would you agree with that?” Sway asked during a teaser of the Shade 45 interview, to which Eminem replied with “I absolutely would agree.”
He then went on to say “Kendrick is the very top, top tier of lyricists – not just of this generation, of all time.”
This isn’t the first time the Detroit rapper will be speaking highly of Kendrick Lamar, who will also be performing at the Super Bowl halftime show this Sunday.
In 2016, he told the New York Times, “I love Kendrick Lamar. I just try to pay attention to what’s out. Wayne puts out a new song, and my ears perk up. There are certain artists that make me do that just because of the talent that they rhyme at — it’s like candy to me. Kendrick, the way he puts albums together — front to back, they’re like pieces of art.”
Elsewhere during the interview scheduled to premiere Friday, February 11. Eminem admitted to feeling nervous about Sunday’s performance.
“It’s fucking nerve-racking. This is like to me, there’s nothing more final than live TV. You know what I’m saying? So, if you fuck up, your fuck up is there forever.”
“When Dre first asked, when the whole thing started going down and we were like, ‘ok, this might be actually serious.’ I was trying to envision what Dre might do,” Em said. “I was thinking like, ‘yeah, it’s dope that all of us are gonna rap together.’ […] I didn’t expect it to be, like the production to be like this.”
In addition to Em and Kendrick, the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show will see appearances from Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Mary J. Blige
