Top five greatest guest verses from Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar is an artist who needs no introduction, but we’ve written one anyway. The Compton-born megastar has already inserted himself into the conversation of the greatest rapper of all time due to his unique approach to flow, imperious taming of the art of lyricism with seamless control and use of technique.
Lamar started rapping in high school and released his debut album Section.80 in 2011. Ironically, his big break was gifted to him by Drake, as he opened on the Canadian’s Club Paradise tour; the same tour that introduced the wider community to ASAP Rocky. It didn’t take long for him to make his own way in the genre, though, releasing his second studio album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City in 2012 to huge acclaim. It was all up from thereon.
The Californian rapper’s individual discography is one that any other artist would wish to have. He has 17 Grammys to his name, 13 of which are credited to his own tracks. It goes without saying that K Dot doesn’t need to feature on other artists’ tracks, but he does so anyway out of love for the game.
Here are five of his greatest guest verses.
Five best Kendrick features:
5. ‘Collard Greens’ – Schoolboy Q (2014)
This song is Schoolboy Q’s love letter to weed with a fun, punchy and energetic delivery. Q and Kendrick started blowing up around the same time, and it feels like this was an opportunity for both of them to jump on a track and just have fun. Although Lamar is now a self-admitted teetotaler, he still manages to steal the show with his verse.
Kendrick bursts onto the song with some Spanish lyrics that sound romantic, but in translation leave little to the imagination. Clearly enjoying his newfound fame, he raps about partying and women like they’ll never run out, but brings his signature vibrance and lyricism that he is now known for.
4. ‘Family Ties’ – Baby Keem (2021)
Following his song ‘ORANGE SODA’ blowing up on TikTok, Baby Keem became a modern overnight sensation. As he was starting his career, it was only right for big cousin K Dot to grab a verse on Keem’s hit single, aptly named ‘family ties’, to help push him in the right direction. The image released with the single even includes a family picture of a young Kendrick and an actual baby Keem.
As the beat changes up to a heavier and darker flow, Lamar appears on the track. This beat change, synonymous with Kendrick’s discography, offers a nice contrast to his younger cousin’s contribution to the song and displays the master and apprentice dynamic of the pair. Though in the day of the internet, no one is safe, not even the Compton-born rapper. He was heavily meme’d for the accent he put on the lyrics “amazing, brother pop off, only on occasions, brother”.
3. ‘Like That’ – Future & Metro Boomin (2024)
On a random spring afternoon, Future & Metro Boomin woke up and decided they wanted all the violence. The pair released an album laced with sneak disses and even called it WE DON’T TRUST YOU to warn those mentioned in the release. Unnamed as a feature on the song, imagine the surprise when K Dot suddenly appeared on the beat. In fact, you don’t even have to imagine it. There are a ton of hilarious reaction videos online.
The verse is exactly what we’ve come to expect from the California rapper: an aggressive tone with amazing lyricism littered with references and amazing imagery. Technique is not what this appearance will be remembered for, though. Lamar’s verse on ‘Like That’ was the spark that lit the fire of his famous beef with Drake, specifically calling out the Canadian rapper and J Cole in the line “motherfuck the big three, n-gga, it’s just big me.”
2. ‘goosebumps’ – Travis Scott (2016)
Travis announced himself to the world with the success of his first mixtape, DAYS BEFORE RODEO, and debut studio album Rodeo. The hype was massive around Scott in 2016, and he capitalised on it by releasing his second studio album, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight. Kendrick was just coming off the success of one of the greatest rap albums of all time; 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly. It only made sense to get two of the most exciting young talents in the game on the same song.
The track has an eerie undertone, almost unnervingly creepy when the chorus fades off. Lamar understood the assignment perfectly and offered a poetic performance that pushed that vibe further with lyrics like “Peter Piper, picked a pepper so I could pick your brain and put your heart together”. The California native even delivers some vocals that hammer home the ominous feel of the song.
1. ’No More Parties in LA’ – Kanye West (2016)
After teasing the release of his seventh studio album Life of Pablo for almost a year, Ye finally released it in 2016 to a mixed reception. Looking back, it’s an album that grows on you with time, but there were still certainly a couple of gems that were appreciated on its release. One of those shining examples was ‘No More Parties in LA’, which included a surprising feature from Kung Fu Kenny himself.
Kendrick’s verse is a real treat. As West begins the first verse, he’s suddenly interrupted by Lamar, who steals the first verse for himself. The feature is an unexpectedly long one from K Dot, which is just a further gift to fans who crave more of him. The lyrics and flow blend perfectly with Ye’s masterful production and beat, so it feels more like a Kendrick song than a Kanye song.