Diddy Says Hip Hop's Gotten "Too Soft"

Posted October 21, 2013 

Diddy comments on Kendrick Lamar being deserving of his crown, says the Compton rapper is taking Hip Hop back to its essence.

While opinions on Kendrick Lamar’s “Control” verse may be varied, Hip Hop entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs says the Compton emcee’s verse was a “bold” move he loved every minute of.

During an interview with Big Boy’s Neighborhood, Diddy, who initially expressed his excitement regarding Kendrick’s verse via Twitter, revealed that he wasn’t all too impressed with the hurriedness of some of the lyrical responses to “Control.”

“With the ‘king of New York’ line, I mean, it turned me up,” said Diddy. “You know what I’m saying? I was just like, ‘Woah, yo. This cat is bold, man.’ And I was like, ‘I love every minute of it.’ You know, I Tweeted that I loved every minute of it. I was like ‘Yo, what are y’all cats gonna do now?’ A lot of y’all don’t take your time. Even if I get some of my rhymes co-written, I’m at least taking my time on what I’m saying. Certain cats, they don’t even take they time on what they saying. They’re not really into the details and into the importance of it. And I just think he put the game in perspective and he ignited a fire in the game that was needed.”

Diddy further commented on today’s Hip Hop as he referred to the genre as being “too soft” in regards to the quality of work being put out.

“That boldness is what Hip Hop is about,” said the Forbes Cash King. “Hip Hop done got a little bit too soft. You know what I’m saying? And it’s not even about beef. It’s about the quality of work. Some of the quality of work is just not up to par.”

The Bad Boy Records founder was one of many artists present at last month’s taping of the BET Hip Hop Awards, which aired on October 15. During French Montana’s “Ain’t Worried About Nothin” performance, the rapper placed a crown on Diddy’s head in a gesture that seemed to acknowledge Kendrick’s “king of New York” mention on “Control.”

Diddy addressed his crowning and went on to state that Kendrick was also worthy of his crown thanks to his ability to put Hip Hop on its back.

“For me, it was just a regular day,” said Diddy, when asked about being crowned. “Because I am a king and I feel that there’s a king in all of us. People use the word ‘king’ too loosely and too lightly. And you have to be ready to be a king. You have to be ready for that responsibility. I’ve earned my crown…You have to be a prince sometimes before you can be a king. And I think that Kendrick is deserving of his crown cause he took Hip Hop and put it on its back so crazy. And is giving birth to just a whole type of real Hip Hop generation…He went back to the essence of what Hip Hop was about. Us challenging us to be the greatest.”

In addition to calling out his fellow emcees on “Control,” Kendrick caused a minor uproar after stating that he was the “king of New York” as he rapped, “I'm Makaveli's offspring, I'm the king of New York / King of the Coast, one hand, I juggle them both."

In an Instagram post, which followed the release of “Control,” Diddy appeared to poke fun of Kendrick’s “king of New York” mention, but also added this caption to his image: “Kendrick got y'all niggas takin y'all time now! This is good ! What y'all gonna do now? Haaaaa lol lets go!”