Top Dawg Entertainment boss issues Kendrick Lamar warning: “Dot is a dangerous man”
Kendrick Lamar has been a hot topic of conversation this year surrounding his beef with Drake and the release of his new album GNX. After dropping the project last week, Top Dawg Entertainment founder Anthony ‘Top Dawg’ Tiffith has warned any rapper who thinks they can go toe to toe with Kendrick.
Top Dawg signed Kendrick Lamar to TDE when he was just a teenager, remaining on the label between 2005 and 2022. He released classic albums such as good kid, m.A.A.d city, To Pimp a Butterfly and DAMN., while becoming one of the biggest rappers in the world in the process.
Taking to his Instagram Stories over the weekend, Top Dawg issued a public service announcement about Kendrick Lamar’s ability, claiming he’s reached the full potential he envisioned for him back in the day. “Dot is a dangerous man right now,” he wrote. “Everything I thought he would be at 16 years old is here right now. Everybody stand down. I promise you.”
His post came after Lil Wayne threatened to “destroy if disturbed” in response to Kendrick Lamar mentioning him on GNX. Since then, Drake has also accused K.Dot of rapping “fairytales” on his new album.
Kendrick Lamar mentioned Top Dawg in the song ‘Heart Pt. 6’ from his GNX album, reminiscing on the times when he was in the studio with no money to his name. He raps, “Top used to record me back when it was poor me/ And now we at the round table for what assures me/ I guess my motivation was the yearnin’ for independence/ Poured everything I had left in the family business/ Now it’s about Kendrick, I wanna evolve, place my skillset as a Black exec.”
During an interview with Billboard in 2017, Kendrick Lamar credited Top Dawg for shaping him into the artist he is today. “You don’t get too many people like him this side of the neighbourhood,” he said. “A lot of motherfuckers want you to see them down just like them. Or don’t want you to come up like them.”
He continued, “If it weren’t for him, I’d probably be sitting around with this motherfucking money and face and platform and not doing shit because I didn’t have the proper guidance to know exactly what to do and how to inspire the next kid.”