Key lines: вЂњвЂCompton!вЂ™ a nigga gotta scream that shit / Never went commercial, never TV-screened that shit / CanвЂ™t block or screen that shit, now everybody sing that shit.вЂќ If you thought his вЂњControlвЂќ verse was harsh, Kendrick upgraded from a handgun to an AK-47 with this one - and he uses that Mobb Deep beat to his best advantage.ДЎ5. Rumor has it, Kendrick came up with this entire verse on the spot, which is almost unheard of in todayвЂ™s read-lyrics-off-my-iPhone freestyle culture. Key lines: вЂњIвЂ™m way more polished than 99 percent of the scholars you thought had graduated / IвЂ™m the master that masturbated on your favorite emcee / Until the industry had wanted me assassinated.вЂќ Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, Isaiah Rashad, and Kendrick Lamar, BET Cypher, Fifth Verse (2013)

ItвЂ™s not necessarily one fans will repeat word for word or even regularly play back, but itвЂ™s his most memorable manifesto: the birth of King Kendrick.ДЎ6. вЂњControlвЂќ is arguably KendrickвЂ™s best-known song (sorry, Big Sean). Diss tracks are a rapperвЂ™s bread and butter, but few address competitors by name and chew them out one by one with such murderous conceit. This verse, perhaps even more than GKMC, is what made Kendrick hip-hopвЂ™s most dangerous voice.

Key lines: вЂњ I got love for you all, but IвЂ™m tryna murder you niggas / Trying to make sure your core fans never heard of you niggas / They donвЂ™t wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you niggas.вЂќ Jay Electronica and Kendrick Lamar, вЂњControl,вЂќ Second Verse (2013) вЂњFreedomвЂќ was the вЂњAlrightвЂќ of Lemonade and, while it wouldвЂ™ve served its purpose well enough without Kendrick (as you saw in its visual), he only further punctuates BeyoncГ©вЂ™s message of resistance with a breathless numbered list of anecdotal grievances.ДЎ7. Not everything Kendrick raps is about being a black man in America, but his blackness seeps through every word. This verse works as a cousin of вЂњTwelve Days of Christmas,вЂќ if, say, the original were a countdown to the black apocalypse. Key lines: вЂњTen Hail Marys, I meditate for practice / Channel 9 news tell me IвЂ™m movinвЂ™ backwards / Eight blocks left, death is around the corner / Seven misleadinвЂ™ statements вЂ™bout my persona / Six headlights wavinвЂ™ in my direction / Five-O askinвЂ™ me whatвЂ™s in my possession.вЂќ Kendrick Lamar, вЂњFreedom,вЂќ Lemonade, Third Verse (2016) He likens partisanship to gang affiliation and admonishes their hypocrisy, even putting a target on then-president ObamaвЂ™s back. This was long before the election went nuclear, but even then Kendrick knew danger was lurking. Kendrick freestyled this verse first on the radio over a medley of Biggie instrumentals. We didnвЂ™t know it at the time, but we heard part of вЂњHood PoliticsвЂќ before we ever knew the song existed. Key lines: вЂњFrom Compton to Congress, set trippinвЂ™ all around / AinвЂ™t nothinвЂ™ new, but a flu of new Demo-Crips and Re-Blood-licans / Red state versus a blue state, which one you governinвЂ™? / They give us guns and drugs, call us thugs / Make it they promise to fuck with you / No condom, they fuck with you, Obama say, вЂWhat it do?вЂ™вЂќ Kendrick Lamar, вЂњHood Politics,вЂќ To Pimp a Butterfly, Second Verse (2015) A line like вЂњI can put a rapper on life supportвЂќ would be a mild threat coming from lesser rappers, but knowing what we do about KendrickвЂ™s own admissions of his violent past makes this read more like a chilling promise if ever tempted.ДЎ9. This isnвЂ™t even his greatest potshot (see everything below), but itвЂ™s still enough for KendrickвЂ™s peers to dodge the bullets. Over the course of his still-young career, Kendrick has continuously fired warning shots at his competitors. Key lines: вЂњI can put a rapper on life support / Guarantee thatвЂ™s something none of you want / Ten homies down and they all serving life / What is it like twenty-five hundred a month? / What if I empty my bank out and stunt? / What if I certified all of these ones? / Bitch I get buck, IвЂ™m as real as they come.вЂќ

Lyrics alright by kendrick lamar