T.I. is the latest hip-hop artist to weigh-in on the “King of New York” debate Kendrick Lamar sparked with his “Control” verse.
In Tip’s perspective, Lamar’s overall approach to “Control” from the name-dropping and the New York proclamation turned into a wake-up call for hip-hop.
Speaking to Vibe magazine, he stated “I think the climate being as it is, the skill level being as it is, the level of artistry being applied to hit records as it is today, overall, not just for one person, but overall, I think he did what he had to do to get motherf*ckers to wake up and step their sh*t up,” Tip said in an interview.
“If you ask someone who is highly skilled but less successful, it would not have worked as well. It takes someone who is highly skilled, to be the most successful and to be daring enough to step out. … Him saying that he was the ‘King of New York,’ that was courageous. [laughs] To go against a whole coast? That was courageous. That was heroic. … He said it and he gonna wear it ’cause right now there is no, well, with the exception of Jay, there is no new artist out right now whose as successful or more than Kendrick from New York. There is no new artist whose record plays more than Kendrick’s record in New York. So arguably, he’s correct.” (VIBE)
