When Jay-Z drops something, the rap world stops to take notice. For the past 15 hours or so, Hov has watched the Earth tremble and react to his 13th studio effort, 4:44. LeBron James has weighed in with his positive take. Eric Benet is still catching flack for divorcing Halle Berry. Everyone is lauding Jay’s latest effort and that includes the man most consider the current best rapper alive, Kendrick Lamar.
4:44. WOW. MASTER TEACHER.
— Kendrick Lamar (@kendricklamar) June 30, 2017
“4:44. Wow. Master teacher,” Lamar wrote on Twitter Friday afternoon. The comment comes only days after Lamar weighed in on one of hip-hop’s long debated topics: who is the greatest MC ever? Naturally, Lamar gave himself the crown.
Kendrick has made it no secret how devout a stan of Jay-Z he is. When he started rhyming, he wanted to rap like Jay-Z and has stated in numerous songs, dating back to the Kendrick Lamar EP, that being Jay-Z was far more influential to his life than being anybody else. That being said, the two men’s albums share a different take on vulnerability and celebrity, especially in an age where everything gets judged by micro-thoughts and images through a 12-megapixel camera lens.
Back in April, it was Kendrick’s time to own every bit of the hip-hop conversation with DAMN. Now it’s Hov has grabbed the mic. As Lamar still plays the student to Jay’s “master teacher,” it’s fitting to know that one GOAT can acknowledge another and still feel he has some things to learn.
