Lupe Fiasco has made various comments about Kendrick Lamar over the years, and 2020 is proving to be no different.
On Sunday (September 20), the Chicago rapper couldn’t help but respond to a tweet asking whether Lupe or Kendrick was a better lyricist. Based on his previous views of K. Dot, it’s no surprise who he sided with on this debate.
“Lupe but…,” he said.
Lupe Fiasco responds to fan page tweet about who's the better lyricist between him and Kendrick. ? pic.twitter.com/URm6zJtFHY
— Anon (@AnonMusic_) September 21, 2020
Lupe later deleted the tweet, but it wasn’t quick enough to stop Top Dawg Entertainment president Terrence “Punch” Henderson from seeing it and responding.
“Lol.,” Punch simply said in the replies.
Lol.
— Punch TDE (@iamstillpunch) September 20, 2020
In January 2018, Lupe caught some heat on Twitter for criticizing Kendrick’s lyrical ability.
“I’ll put it to you like this,” he said. “K. Dot is not a top tier lyricist to me and my standards when it comes to punchlines and bars. His overall lyrics are good, his stories phenomenal, but punchline entendre lyrically I don’t see it.”
Less than two months later, he apologized for what he said and vowed not to speak on other rappers again.
“Maybe I should have just left it alone,” Lupe said. “Even though my impetus was the ‘Control’ verse. I mean you put yourself out there like that. So, you opened yourself up to critique… I apologize for even engaging and talking about n****s careers, I’ll never do that shit again.”
Despite his digs at K. Dot, Lupe took to Instagram in May to post an old photo with Kendrick alongside a smiling face emoji.
View this post on Instagram☺️
This isn’t the first time Lupe has clashed with a member of TDE’s management team either. Former president Dave Free responded to Lupe in 2018, after he claimed the cover of K. Dot’s Black Panther single “All the Stars” copied his DROGAS Wave album cover.
“@LupeFiasco go kick & push yourself into a tree with these wild allegations,” Dave said, referencing his 2006 hit “Kick, Push.”
Lupe then responded with a sarcastic tweet of his own.
“I see what you did there,” Lupe wrote. “However it’s rather impossible to skate into a tree because most trees are located in grass, where skateboards don’t actually work too well due to the wheels not really being optimal for traversing across such terrain. Now a car or say a well-placed gate.”
Lupe previously collaborated with a TDE artist in 2014, featuring on Ab-Soul‘s song “World Runners” from his These Days… album. A big fan of Lupe’s, Soulo even requested a review of his 2016 album Do What Thou Wilt., to which he delivered.
… @abdashsoul pic.twitter.com/FtjaAZ7o2B
— HOUSE EP NOW PLAYING (@LupeFiasco) January 5, 2017