Songs Responding to Kendrick Lamar's "Control" Verse
It's never too late for Mac Miller, see what he has to say.
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Songs Responding to Kendrick Lamar's "Control" Verse - Kendrick Lamar name checked his competition on Big Sean's single "Control" last year, and had nearly every MC, unsigned and signed, riled up to respond to his plea for MCs to step their game up.Better late than never, Mac Miller dropped his new mixtape, Faces, on Sunday and had a few bars for Kendrick on the track "Friends." Surprisingly, K. Dot's TDE homey ScHoolboy Q switches sides and assists Mac on the hook.All in fun, Mac spits, "In this Game of Thrones, it is known/I got the 4G, L-T-E connection boards/No 'Control,' f--k Ken Lamar (F--k you Kendrick!)"While Mac took it in jest, the song did have a few rappers caught up in their feelings via Twitter and on tracks. Read on to see who said what. (Photos from left: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images, Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
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J. Cole, "TKO" Remix - J. Cole stewed for a few months before he let loose on Lamar via a verse on Justin Timberlake's "TKO" remix featuring Cole, A$AP Rocky and Pusha T."I was home alone, next thing I know / That long a-- verse from a song called "Control" was on," Cole revved up.(Photo: Mike Windle/Getty Images for BET)
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Meek Mill, "Ooh Kill 'Em" - On a warpath after dropping a Cassidy diss track called "Kendrick You Next" last year, Meek Mill was the first of those Lamar actually mentioned to lyrically respond. The Philly MC flipped a Dre beat (and a Terio on Vine vocal sample) to question how the Compton MC dare claim the NY throne."Hov gave you 24, let you have that/ Man, you claiming you the king of New York/ What the f--- wrong with you n---a? Step back." (Photo: Randy Smith / BET)
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Shyne, "King of NYS" - Shyne prefers not to hear from "new" rappers at all. "Lamar or Kendrick new rappers all perish!" he spit on a track he recorded for his 2012 Gangland mixtape. His beef with Lamar, specifically, stems from a 2012 tweet he wrote declaring good kid, m.A.A.d. city to be "trash." He flipped that burger into a music video he released about a week after "Control" was let loose.(Photo: UPI/Debbie Hill /Landov)
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Joe Budden - If only Lamar had paid proper homage before his snatch at the crown, says Joe in this "Lost Control" freestyle. "You're the king of New York, you might as well spit on Biggie grave," he suggested, adding later, "Outrhyming A$AP ain't showing me where your weight at."(Photo: John Ricard/BET)
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Uncle Murda - "The Response" - Seasoned Brooklyn rapper Uncle Murda decided to use Jay Z's "Somewhere In America" beat to point out the obvi on "The Response." "Tell Kendrick I ain't mad at him, this is just what the game needed," but, "Jay ain't dead, Nas alive, you the king, Kendrick? how that sound?"(Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage/Getty Images)
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Lupe Fiasco - "SLR 3" - In part 3 of Lupe Fiasco's "Super Lupe Rap," Fiasco doesn't call out Lamar directly, but ends up singing the same song Lamar is probably singing right now: "so I'm gonna ride this wave/and n----s poppin' s--t that ain't got nothin' to do with me/and just capitalize off all the free press/because my publicist charges a lot to do the same s--t."(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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Joell Ortiz - "Outta Control" - Brooklyn rapper and Slaughterhouse member Joell Ortiz was the first MC -- name-checked or not -- to step up and reject Lamar’s bold proclamation that he was the “King of New York.” Rhyming over the same No I.D.-produced beat from “Control,” Joell minced no words on "Outta Control" when he rhymed, “I’m listening, you the king of New York?/Lil homie you ain’t the king of New York/You the next thing on my fork.” Yaowa!(Photo: Wendell Teodoro/WireImage)
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B.o.B - "How 2 Rap" - Though he went unmentioned in Lamar’s “Control” verse, B.o.B figured his voice should still be heard. The multi-talented Hustle Gang rapper took an unorthodox approach on his response record "How 2 Rap," where he raps at the beginning, even mimicking Kendrick’s voice, then breaks out into a guitar solo. It's different.(Photo: Randy Smith/BET)
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Fred Da Godson - "Say My Name" - Bronx spitta Fred Da Godson was clearly offended that he was not one of the rappers Lamar name-checked in “Control.” The song title, "Say My Name" says it all, and Fred’s clever snipes at K. Dot further sent the message home. “King of New York, you drunk swimming pool full of liquor, right.”(Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
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Bizzy Crook - "Kendrick Forgot About Me" - Our guess here is that hip hop newcomer Bizzy Crook wasn’t paying attention to everything Lamar said on "Control." The Compton MC warned new rappers "new n---- just new n----, don’t get involved." But the Miami rapper got himself all the way in it with his comeback record, "Kendrick Forgot About Me," where he questions why he doesn’t get the credit he deserves. (Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
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Mickey Factz - "South Park" - Mickey's response to Lamar opens with a (sarcastic) round of applause, and immediately turns into a toungue lashing. The Bronx native is downright hungry on "South Park" when he discredits the "King of New York" claim, rapping, "ain't no 'King of New York,' Biggie gone." It's a valid point, but who says the rap kingdom of New York can't have a new ruler?(Photo: WENN)
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Lupe Faisco - "SLR2" - Before Lupe Fiasco's "SLR 3," there was "SLR 2." He never names the Compton-born MC on this one either, but there's no denying his target with a line like this: "Look at the little baby/ N---- you ain't Nas, n---- you ain't Jay Z." (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
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King Los - "Control (Remix)" - From the sounds of King Los's "Control" remix, he was more inspired than offended by Lamar's verse. Rather than name himself competition (like a bunch of others), the Baltimore native let his superb rhyme do the talking. Towards the end, he even declares the TDE rapper "a genius." (Photo: Instgram via IamKingLos)
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Astro - "KONY" - Don't be fooled by his age, Brooklyn native Astro dropped some "old-man wisdom" here. The teen rapper's "KONY" reaction to the"Control" verse is out of loyalty to NYC. Over a Statick Selektah beat, Astro scolds Lamar, and warns him to "be cautious" of disrespecting the "home of legends." Then he flips it, and turns on his hometown for basically letting a West Coast rapper take the rap crown. (Photo: John Ricard/BET)
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