Who’s the better rapper/artist between Kendrick Lamar and J.Cole?
J.Cole and Kendrick Lamar are arguably the two most talented rappers of our new generation , but we all love discussions and debates on who is the better lyricist / artist among the two. What makes hip-hop great is competition and arguably Kendrick and J.Cole have dominated conscious hip-hop in the mainstream for a good part of 7–8 years.
In terms of technical ability /lyricism , its a close one but for me Kendrick Lamar has the edge here. He knows how to play with words to make the song more captivating or the song has many layers to uncover. Like for example songs like FEAR, DNA , FEEL , DUCKWORTH , art of peer pressure, rigarmortus show his technical ability. While Cole is a good lyricist as well. He doesn’t have that knack for wordplay like Kendrick has. Although J.Cole really showcased good technical ability on his mixtapes like “Friday night lights” and “The warm up”, songs like Can I live , 2face, the last call , Villematic, dead presidents II, he hasn’t had the same hunger as an upcoming young rapper on his albums. J.Cole still had great albums after but his albums are more focused on making his words relatable rather than flexing his lyrical muscles on tracks. I think rapping ability wise Kendrick is better but J.Cole ain’t that far away.
As an artist Kendrick has the edge by far. He knows how to re-invent himself with each album and each album is completely different in structure and content wise. Section 80 talks about the difficulties issues of growing up in the ghettos in America, Good kid M.A.A.D City is like a movie that plays out like a storytelling album about a young kid growing up in the streets of Compton, To pimp a butterfly incorporates jazz, blues, funks, spoken word hip-hop which ends up creating a masterpiece of an album with deep lyrics and finally Damn is an album that describes the elements of what Kendrick Lamar has been dealing with from the start up to his career to when he became famous. J.Cole makes good albums but he doesn’t have the creative edge to which Kendrick Lamar makes albums. J.Cole is very talented but I feel he may be one dimensional in terms of content and album focus while Kendrick is unpredictable in what hes going to release next.
I feel that’s what separates Kendrick from J.Cole. I know what I’m going to expect from J.Cole’s next album but with Kendrick , hes certain to test his artistry or take risks while making albums.
