Kendrick Lamar has profoundly affected hip-hop since he first emerged in the early 2010s. His lyrical ability set a precedent for other MCs in the culture and highlighted the weakness of many prevalent mumble rappers. Lamar’s ability to record and curate exceptional bodies of work made him a star.
From Good Kid, m.A.A.d City to DAMN., his projects are always cohesive and exciting to listen to. That said, when the Compton native highlights an emcee who he believes is of high quality, radio personalities and fans take great interest, and, on one occasion, the ‘Humble’ musician labelled one of his counterparts “super dope.”
Lamar has collaborated with many acts. However, it is clear from his selection that he only works with people he admires and respects. On his 2012 major label debut Good Kid, m.A.A.d City, the lyricist (real name Kendrick Duckworth) worked with the likes of Jay Rock, Drake and MC Eiht.
However, many acts request a verse from Duckworth for their own albums. He is very selective about who he collaborates with. Still, in 2016, he appeared on the Travis Scott project, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight. The 2016 body of work was a follow-up to Scott’s 2015 debut Rodeo, which put the Houston emcee on the map.
There was a lot of excitement around the project, and it exclusively premiered on Travis Scott and Chase B’s radio show Wav Radio on Beats 1. Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight was a beacon of unbridled creativity and featured the likes of Andre 3000, Kid Cudi and Trapsoul star Bryson Tiller.
In a 2016 interview with Billboard magazine, Scott explained how he got Duckworth to appear on the album and unveiled that he ran across the Compton native at the VMA’s. Detailing their encounter, Scott disclosed, “I met him at the MTV Video Music Awards one year, and he came up to me and was just like, ‘Yo, man, I f*ck with your music. It’s super dope and inspirational.’ I was like, whoa, this is the best rapper in the globe — he f*cks with my music!”
He continued, “That’s one of the things that made me want to keep working on my music and try to keep it going ’cause I’m not the most rappity rap ass n*gga. That’s not me, but I really love Kendrick’s music!” Scott explained how the two of them recorded the track at his home studio, and he was very grateful that such a talent wanted to work with him.
You can hear their collaboration, ‘Goosebumps’, in the video below.
