Kendrick Lamar has earned praise from Rakim after mentioning the iconic rapper on his verse in Clipse’s “Chains & Whips”.
In his verse, Lamar highlighted Rakim’s influence on Hip Hop, stating: “Let’s be clear, Hip Hop died again / Half of my profits may go to Rakim.”
The God MC evidently heard the standout verse from Let God Sort Em Out and offered a public response on social media.
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Rakim posted on Instagram: “I salute you king. Thanks for the illest shout I heard in a long time, and keep up the incredible work my brother, you ain’t no joke!!!! Peace and blessings to you and yours.”
Previously, during Kendrick’s feud with Drake last year, Rakim had also commended him.
He remarked: “You know, a lot of people in that position won’t accept no challenge, because they got too much to lose. So, it was dope that these brothers put the mainstream success down and said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’”
He continued: “Younger artists now know that there’s a difference. A lot of them didn’t even understand that. They just listened to the majority, not knowing that a lot of people don’t categorize what they were hearing as real Hip Hop. The battle was very needed for the genre. I tip my hat to them brothers. Let’s just hope that it stays to the music.”
Rakim is not the only veteran rapper to acknowledge Kendrick.
Fat Joe recently commented that no West Coast artist had commanded attention the way the “Not Like Us” rapper has in recent years.
During an episode of his podcast Joe and Jada, the “Make it Rain” rapper discussed Kendrick’s rising radio presence since the feud with Drake began.
