In the biggest showing of West Coast unity in recent memory, 24-year-old Dr. Dre protégé Kendrick Lamar headlined a sold-out show at Los Angeles venue the Music Box on Friday night (Aug. 19), performing with his Black Hippy crew, and receiving onstage co-signs from virtually every relevant L.A. MC.
A Tupac Shakur video clip set the tone for the evening, as the Compton native, who looked like a mini Bernie Mac, in a black suit and T-shirt with a single gold chain, deftly controlled the crowd with a similar amount of authority, despite his age.
With Dre looking on from the the balcony, Kendrick brought out a veritable who's who of West Coast rap royalty, alternately receiving praise from his heroes and delivering crowd favorites from his 2010 mixtape 'O(verly) D(edicated)' and noteworthy street album 'Section 80,' which he released in July.
"Ayo, throw up dubs for Kendrick Lamar," fellow Compton rapper Game announced, as he surprised the significantly smaller rapper by coming out early in his set to rock 'The City,' their collaboration from Game's forthcoming 'The R.E.D. Album.' "The illest n---- in the west right now is this n---- right here. This n---- right here can flat out rap. It ain't no n---- in this city, including me, that can f--- with Kendrick Lamar."
The night continued with a special dedication to Kendrick's parents, an impromptu Nate Dogg memorium, and song after song from the up-and-coming MC's internet-only releases, as he was joined on stage by his Black Hippy partners Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q, who opened the show with an energetic set, and surprise guest Talib Kweli.
Though the sound cut out during 'A.D.H.D.,' which should have been one of the hypest songs of the night, Mos Def made a brief cameo, followed by Big Sean, who likened Kendrick and himself to Tupac and Biggie Smalls, a bold, albeit somewhat dubious comparison.
"I'll tell the world man, you one of the only rappers that inspire me," Big Sean exclaimed. "Let's be like what Biggie and 'Pac was to our generation."
After Game returned to contribute a verse to 'Blow My High (Members Only),' and Schoolboy Q rocked crowd-pleaser 'Michael Jordan,' the show took on a ceremonial quality, as Kendrick was joined on stage by West Coast legends Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Warren G and several others, who figuratively passed him the torch, once again.
"I'm sittin' there with Dr. Dre, we watchin' you rock, and we watchin' Game pass the torch," Snoop barked. "You great at what you do. You ain't good at what you do, you great. You got the torch n----, you better run with that mothaf---er."
Things got emotional then, as the group of Cali O.G.'s surrounded the visibly moved young rapper in a group hug, and he appeared to tear up, while the entire crowd chanted his name. Closing with 'HiiiPower,' it felt like Kendrick might actually have a real shot at success, with the whole city behind him -- even the bartenders were shouting out their streets at this point.
"Tonight was for everybody to understand me," he concluded. "I'm Kendrick motherf---in' Lamar. Los Angeles, I love y'all."
A legend in the making
ReplyDeletenipsey hussle should have been gotten the torch!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI wish theres a song on detox that features snoop, kendrick, game, kurupt, daz, warren g all together, that would be BANG..oh yeah i forgot, PRODUCED BY DR.DRE!
ReplyDeleteidk i think its too soon, i remember game had the torch for 05-06 and jay rock and nipsey hussle came out 07/08 idk why he got it so soon??
ReplyDeletewhy so soon ...because the west coast scene is lost.
ReplyDeletelow album sales + corperate hunger = weak music.
They looking for anything to pump it up again.
The Game Done Change. Period.
section 80 is the hottest mixtape for the summer hands down
ReplyDeleteBecause he has a personal relationship with Dre that goes beyond being a mentor or even music. Beyond that, he has talent, he's doing his thing without Dre's production, and they think he's the future. Section.80 is an amazing album he did with his own people by himself and Dre probably figures Kendrick is going to rise up above Nipsey or Jay Rock than they could. When Detox drops, I imagine it will put Kendrick on the map.
ReplyDeleteIt all has me wondering how Slim da Mobster feels about being the old flavor of the month and probably not having Dre's attention and excitement anymore. What a big shock!
Whos the guy in the jacket? Hes all over the place lol
ReplyDeleteUhhh, am i missing something? How is it that Game and Snoop are passing the torch when its not even theres to pass....EMINEM BLOWS BOTH OF THOSE GUYS OUT OF THE WATER. And to pass it to who??? Kendrick Lamar?! Lol....Guy couldnt hold Em's jock...he would get lyrically killed.
ReplyDeleteLet me know when there is real news to be posted..
^ its a westcoast thing...eminem has nothing to do with it
ReplyDelete^ because they're all from the West Coast and the old west coast (Dre Snoop & Game) are passing the torch to the new voice of the west coast (Kendrick Lamar) so that's wut it is. It's not a Rap & Hip-Hop thing.
ReplyDeleteMan I think the only thing you missed is a geography class. Eminem isn't a westcoast rapper he's from Detroit. Hes signed with dre under aftermath but that dosent make him a westcoast rapper. And the point of passing the torch is to give it 2 an up and coming rapper with talent. Eminem has talent for sure but he's not up and coming or westcoast.
ReplyDelete^ *facepalm*. Holy shit dude they were talking about the torch for the west coast. How could you not get that? That aside Kendrick is also one of the candidates like J Cole to run the rap game in the FUTURE.. hate to break it to ya but em wont be rapping forever. Get off em's dick and start using your head man.
ReplyDeleteEminem....? Moron, we're talking about the west coast! The black hippy members are the new west coast and kendrick lamar is the best of the them.
ReplyDeleteWestcoast rap is dead. Thank God that Eminem has seperated himself from that bullshit. The only reason westcoast is relevant is because Em kept Dres head above water the last ten years....besides him what else has the doc done....West coast Rap is dead folks....Snoop hasnt had a good track since he left Dre, and the Game's only Cd worth listening too was a ripoff of one of Dr Dres scrapped Detox records. Games new album is a joke and to say they are passing the torch to beetlejuice is a complete joke. Guy hasnt even put out a record yet and people are annoiting him the second coming.
ReplyDeleteThe saddest part is the guy they are annoiting...lol....has an eastcoast sound to him...he dosent.even want to sound westcoast....and newsflash...section 80 had 3-4 good songs...not great...and that if we are still on earth dosent annoint someone the second coming.....
The most dissapointing part of this argument is the expectations all of you are lowering yourselves too..Dre is the only chance Westcoast has of coming back. He better pass the torch back to himself or you can consider your WeatCoast music dead.
Unless of course, Beetlejuice is your savior.....lmao.
If so good luck with that......
kendrick killed it on game's new album
ReplyDeleteHOLY SHIT are you two fucking RETARDED. do you guys understand how regions work? EM isnt westcoast because he isnt FROM the westcoast. he is from Detroit. He doesnt need to seperate himself from the westcoast. the albums that an rapper is defined by the goddam rapper not the producer. So many assumptions made in you comment its ridiculous. you didnt even mention 50 and how the fuck would you know if the documentary was based off of a detox record? And so what if kendrick doesnt sound 100% westcoast.. he is from Compton so that makes him westcoast. Thats how regions WORK. Section 80 was a solid hip hop record i dont know what kind of taste in music you have. 3 superstars in the last ten years.. would have been 4 if bishop waited longer and your saying dre hasnt done shit. Game's new album wasn't terrible.. it is actually pretty good. get the fuck out of here im so tired of retarded people coming on to this blog.
ReplyDelete^You sir obviously are a new generATION RAP FAN...WHAT ARE YOU 12??? He said that passing the torch to Kendrick is a mistake and I agree....There hasnt been anyone that good to pass a torch from. If you want real hope its slim the mobster, and you better hope his war music tape is good. If it isnt The West Coast is dead. Detox is never coming out to save us but you obviously woulnt know that with the way you speak...Maby i should just say welcome to the site...you must have been on here say wahat, 6 months....your the one who should remove yourself....your dumbing down the room...
ReplyDeleteSparx
I was nullifying his claim that dre hasnt done anything in the last ten years. I agree that the westcoast is nowhere near what it has been ten years ago. Then again the entire rap industry is not as good as it was a decade ago. I dont like 50 besides his first album and same with snoop, doggystyle was his most significant work and he is only at his best when he collaborates with dre. Upon listening to game's new album again i realize there are some flaws.. It's about a 7 out of 10 in my opinion. I don't care about this passing the torch bullshit, all i know is that Kendrick is a decent rapper and i like what he did with section 80. It's different. If you are saying that game and snoop dont deserve to pass the torch.. i kinda agree. They haven't done anything close to what people like dre, the DOC, nate dogg, Ice cube and 2pac have done for the westcoast. I realize DOC is from Texas but he has done a lot of ghostwriting for dre and snoop on doggystyle. If anything dre should pass the torch. I also agree that slim has a lot of potential.. being a producer/songwriter/rapper. I hope he makes it big. I still believe detox will come out eventually despite what pessimists like you say.. it just might take a loong time. Why are people like you here checking this site if you dont think detox will ever come out? After 2011 comes and goes and there is still no detox i'll believe that. I'm happy he is working with the DOC and snoop again.. i hope he also gets the dogg pound, kurupt etc., all the great westcoast icons in the studio for that signiture laidback westcoast sound.
ReplyDeleteSlim da Mobster is overhyped garbage. The records we've heard are average AT BEST, nothing mind blowing, and completely impotent when it comes to "saving the WC". Give me a break. Just another big bad Crip gang banging tough guy monkeying around Dr. Dre for no better reason than he's Freeway Ricky Ross's nephew, getting big checks for writing Dre's lyrics about weed smoking bullshit, talking a lot and riding a lot of hype the past few years with nothing to show for it but mediocre joints. Slim is just some thuggish acquaintance Dre keeps around for protection from Suge promising him an album someday (as Dre laughs inside) which will never happen in a million years. Dude has an interesting flow but he is nothing special, like at all.
ReplyDeleteWar Music might be cool but it's hard to prove he's the future over dudes keeping it about lyricism and real shit like Kendrick. Slim has pretty much admitted he wants to be the WC 50 Cent, going on about how his album will be the new "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" and shit. The whole meaningless, cripping gangsta noise is played out, fuck outta here with that.
Kendrick is the future because he's real, people and kids can relate to him, he spits real shit, and he doesn't rely on any stupid ass gangsta image or other gimmicks. He's real hip-hop backed up by extraordinary talent releasing dope ass albums like Section.80 all by himself on an independent label without Dr. Dre or any big name features.
I'm with the guy above, Kendrick Lamar is the future. Slim the mobster hasn't impressed me yet.
ReplyDeleteKendrick Lamar has fresh sound and he talks about things people can relate to.
I hope Kendrick Lamar doesn't sign with Aftermath because that will cause album delays for him. He should instead sign with another major label and have Dre only as a producer.
If Dre wants a big hit, he shoud get 50 cent and game in the same room and make them friends again.
ReplyDeleteImagine a Dre/Storch beat with verses by Dre, Game and 50 cent and maybe a good hook by 50 cent = Pure Gold!!!!!
Dre can make game and 50 cent sound good and bring the days back when aftermath was in the top of the charts!
Actually the whole music industry is a joke, rap in general is a big joke, aftermath is a bigger joke, and detox is the biggest joke...just check aftermath's history you'll find that there were about 15-20 rappers who got signed to the label, spent years there, then left without releasing even 1 album which means that detox too, after years of delays, can simply get shelved like it happend to rakim's album, busta rhymes second album on the label, nwa reunion album, bishop lamont's album, and alot others, though i still have hope it will see the light one day especially that now hes "surrounding himself with the right people" (hopefully)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.aftermathmusic.com/blog/2011/08/25/dr-dre-eminem-to-work-with-obie-trice/
ReplyDeleteGame's debut album wouldn't have even existed had 50 Cent not personally intervened, helped write it, and forced Dre to finish it. Dre couldn't even finish mixing "Dead People" in time for R.E.D. and besides the cheesy narrations and one feature, he didn't do anything for Game's newest album - absolutely ZERO Dre production on that whole record. It makes you wonder and laugh at what the fuck he's doing in the studio all day after Game went on and on about reuniting with Aftermath.
ReplyDeleteSlim and Kendrick do different things but the key difference is that Kendrick backs it up, he sticks to an independent label, and he makes sick albums with no flash or expensive production even though he easily could. That kid is an artist living hip-hop doing real things. Slim has a handful of leaked joints with big name features on big-name beats and the newest official one "Fuck You" for his one mixtape isn't anything. It just is. I have no idea why anyone cares about this guy or thinks he'll blow up when it's obvious he'll end up being another Aftermath hanger-on with no promised Dre-produced album until his ass realizes he fell for the same shit they all fell for. Like the above dude said, Kendrick would be wise to not sign any Aftermath papers and just do his own thing with Dre contributing since they have that relationship. The big key difference with Kendrick and Slim is that Kendrick doesn't need Dre, Aftermath, or any of that noise. He does his thing because he's an artist with talent. Slim needs the big names, the hype, and the gimmicks to get attention because he can't deliver on his own. Think about that shit.
Plus I have no clue why any of you guys are still crossing your fingers for a 2011 Detox release. That shit isn't coming anytime soon. If you hear no actual album announcement and release date from Interscope/Dre by September, happy 2012.
^well said......come to think of it WHAT IN THE FUCK IS DRE DOING OVER THERE??? He hasnt put anything out with any relevancy for what now? 6 years.....now thats a joke.....the guy makes two great albums.....produces a couple of more....and gets lucky and signs the best rapper in the world for the last ten years and writes his own meal ticket...there is NO EXCUSE FOR THE ALBUM TAKING SO LONG. If Dre is so great then why does he need all of this help writing the album. This has gone on long enough....i am so sick of all the fucking artists coming out with articles about how great Detox is and how its coming out soon.....I DONT WANT TO READ OR HEAR ABOUT THAT SHIT ANYMORE. Its time to put up or shut up.....Take what u have completed and put the fucking album out already...The fans are fed up and quite frankly your losing your legacy with each pasing day. And i dont want to see one comment about "I will wait forever for Dres album, he can take as long as he likes".....YOUR A FUCKING LOSER AND NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR YOUR BULLSHIT.
ReplyDeleteNobody owes this nigga a damn thing ...Grow the fuck up.
PUT THE FUCKING ALBUM OUT. TIMES UP.
Kraw Fash
Can't wait for obie's album. That guy keeps it real and is sooo underrated. Hope dre actually produces for that album like the article says. I love his new single battle cry i hope he goes in that direction with em and dre producing.
ReplyDeletei will wait forever for dre's album, he can take as long as he likes...
ReplyDeleteTo a few comments up^^
ReplyDeleteTo say Dre is losing his legacy everyday is a joke lol! He will never lose his legacy because he has gave us countless classic albums from N.W.A, Eazy E, The D.O.C & Snoop Dogg and to say what the fucks he been doing ? Living his life and spending his riches like he should be. I want to see Detox just as much as the rest of us but i don't blame him for not putting it out when whatever he puts out y'all will just shit on it regardless of how it sounds. Detox or no Detox Dre will always be a legend !!
Well said up above sounds like a " TRUE " Dre fan
ReplyDeleteDre is a living legend but you have to remember he hasn't lived up to his status in a long time for so many people. This is a guy who spans generations and most fans aren't even old enough to realize the force he brought to change everything to another level. A lot of kids don't remember the bang of "2001" or can appreciate shit from The Chronic days other than it's old school. Before that, Aftermath was his boutique label that wasn't going anywhere and only got saved by putting his faith in Eminem and after that 50 Cent.
ReplyDeleteThe 2001 album was Dre's way of proving his relevance on his own without riding on the Death Row legacy and he did it, but he did it with a lot of help from DOC, Mel-Man, Elizondo, you name it. Still, nobody can take away what Dre has done for hip-hop and being the architect of the West Coast sound. Times change and shit's different though. Everyone want ringtone hooks and big features so true hip-hop is hard to sell. Anyone who cries when Detox doesn't live up to their own little dreams of perfection they project and feels it crumbles Dre's impact on hip-hop aren't the true fans, but at the same time, the true fans are starving for Detox because they know he is the one that can bring it all back to where it belongs and take it to that level where it can flourish above the bullshit.
I'm not going to shit on Dre and expect he owes me shit. He's given us the foundation of great hip-hop and breathed life into other dudes carrying on that legacy like Kendrick Lamar who are full of promise for the WC. He may not be the big talent he gets credit for and he may not be one guy doing it all himself, but he's the conductor putting it all in its right place working and struggling to give not even the fans, but to give hip-hop what it deserves. When it's right he'll put it out and people bitching need to sit tight and realize when DOC and Snoop are at his side crafting what will be the next classic, waiting for it is the easiest thing you can do. Dre gave us everything and he's promising us one last classic, remember that shit and think about it.
To the above commenter claiming Dre hasn't given us any relevant material in six years, where have you been? Look up records like Busta's "Cocaina" from '06 or real shit like the Snoop collab "Imagine" and remember these are THROWAWAYS where Dre is saving the best for last: Detox. It'll be worth it when it drops and you'll be doing your best to get your brain around it.