Kanye West, now known as Ye, publicly criticized Kendrick Lamar in a series of posts on X, following Lamar’s appearances on Playboi Carti’s new album MUSIC. Ye, who was not involved in the album, said Kendrick was “never king,” adding that while Lamar may have been “king of the West Coast,” he was “never king of the world.”
Ye went on to share a list of what he called the “12 rap kings.” The list included Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Drake, Biggie, 2Pac, 50 Cent, Eminem, LL Cool J, Run-D.M.C., Nas, Rakim, and himself. Kendrick Lamar was not mentioned. Ye ended the post by asking, “Am I missing any?”
He also commented on MUSIC, which is projected to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Ye, who executive produced Carti’s 2020 album Whole Lotta Red, wrote that Carti “made my favorite music until I heard Kendrick on it.” He also stated that Soulja Boy was “more important” than Kendrick and referenced Lucian Grainge, the CEO of Universal Music Group, several times.
Ye and Kendrick have collaborated in the past, including on “No More Parties in LA” from Ye’s The Life of Pablo. In 2023, Ye appeared to support Kendrick in his battle with Drake, contributing a spoken intro to a remix of “Like That.” Ye has previously claimed they recorded around 40 songs together, though the current status of those tracks remains unknown.
