Kanye West Slams Kendrick Lamar’s Feature on Playboi Carti’s New Album.
Kanye West has made it clear that he’s not a fan of Kendrick Lamar’s music and isn’t happy about his appearance on Playboi Carti’s latest album, Music.
Carti’s highly anticipated project finally dropped on Friday morning (March 14), several hours after its scheduled midnight release. The album features multiple contributions from Kendrick Lamar, but not everyone is thrilled — especially Kanye.
Kendrick appears on the track “Good Credit,” where he seemingly addresses Drake’s defamation lawsuit over the diss track “Not Like Us.” He also lends his vocals to “Mojo Jojo” and “Backd00r.” Despite having previously collaborated with Kendrick and even co-producing “Backd00r,” Kanye didn’t hold back when sharing his thoughts on X (formerly Twitter).
“I DON’T LIKE KENDRICK LAMAR’S MUSIC. HE RAPS VERY GOOD BUT I DIDN’T NEED TO HEAR HIM ON CARTI ALBUM,” Kanye posted bluntly.
However, Kanye did show some love for other parts of the album. He posted a screenshot of himself listening to “Crank” and “I Seeeeee You Baby Boi” with positive captions, making it clear that not all of Carti’s work was a miss in his eyes.
Kanye’s History of Criticizing Kendrick
This isn’t the first time Kanye has publicly criticized Kendrick. Ahead of Kendrick’s Super Bowl halftime show in February, Kanye suggested that the industry was selectively “propping up” Kendrick while tearing down others.
“DRAKE SAID KENDRICK HIT HIS GIRL. BUT THAT IS NOT RECORDED ON TAPE LIKE THE PUFF VIDEO. I AM IN LA RIGHT NOW AT THE 4 SEASONS. I AM RISKING MY LIFE TO TWEET THIS. SO WALK WITH ME. DRAKE SAYS KENDRICK HIT HIS QUEEN. THE WORLD SEES PUFF HIT CASSIE. KENDRICK IS AT THE SUPER BOWL. PUFF IN JAIL,” Kanye posted in one of his signature all-caps rants.
He didn’t stop there. Kanye went on to accuse the music industry of playing favorites:
“THEY PICK WHICH N-GGAS THEY WANT TO PROP UP AND WHO THEY WANT TO PUT DOWN. AND WHEN THEY WANT TO. BUT ALL CELEBRITIES ARE SCARED AND SELFISH.”
Kanye also pressured Kendrick to use his Super Bowl platform to support Diddy, who was in jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges at the time.
“KENDRICK LAMAR NEEDS TO SCREAM FREE PUFF FROM THE SUPER BOWL. AND WE ALL KNOW WHY. AND I’M GOING TO RESPECTFULLY LEAVE IT LIGHT JUST LIKE THAT,” he posted. “BUT THAT’S THE HYPOCRISY. ONE N-GGA’S IN JAIL AND THE OTHER N-GGA IS AT THE SUPER BOWL.”
Kanye’s Mixed Feelings Toward Kendrick
Interestingly, Kanye’s criticism of Kendrick hasn’t stopped him from praising him in other contexts. After the Super Bowl, Kanye called Kendrick’s performance his “favorite” since Michael Jackson’s iconic 1993 halftime show.
He even acknowledged Kendrick’s dominance in rap battles. In a conversation with Justin LaBoy last year, Kanye said:
“If you rap against Kendrick, you will lose. This man does this. You know on Street Fighter, you get like a Chun-Li, you get a certain kick, and no matter what, you can’t beat that thing. Joe Budden said, ‘Never rap against Kendrick Lamar.’ If you rap against Kendrick Lamar, it’s a difficult task.”
Still, Kanye couldn’t resist adding a touch of ego to his praise, claiming that he might be the only one capable of beating Kendrick in a rap battle:
“But perhaps there’s something — I’m a psycho genius so it could be… [Do not rap against Kendrick] unless you’re a psycho genius like me.”
Kanye’s relationship with Kendrick Lamar remains as complex as ever — torn between admiration and criticism. While he respects Kendrick’s talent, it’s clear he’s not ready to let go of the underlying tension. And with Kanye, you never really know what’s coming next.
