Rakim Calls Kendrick Lamar Hip-Hop ‘KING’, Gets Fans Talking About Potential Team-Up

Rakim, dubbed the “God MC”, took to Instagram to heap praise on Kendrick Lamar. "I salute yu KING!!! Thnx for the illest shout I heard in a loooong time,” he wrote. “Keep up the incredible work my brother, you ain't no joke!!!! Peace and blessings to yu and yours."

His words came after the Compton rapper shouted him out on Clipse's new track “Chains & Whips.” In the song, Kendrick spits: "Let's be clear, hip-hop died again / Half of my profits may go to Rakim."

The hip-hop pioneer's proclamations in response to Lamar's shout-out point to a mutual respect between the two MCs. While Kendrick is, arguably, the biggest rapper on the planet and isn't too keen on acknowledgment from peers, he most likely feels humbled from receiving props from the greatest of all time.

But the recent comments by Rakim aren't a one-off. In an interview with Billboard in 2024, he credited Kendrick's beef with Drake with revitalizing hip-hop. “I think that it was important, because these brothers are at the top of the game, and revered hip-hop.” he said. “You know, a lot of people in that position won't accept no challenge, because they got too much to lose.”

He went on to explain how the feud between the two rappers delineated “real” hip-hop from “mainstream” hip-hop. “The battle put a lot of things in perspective, because it showed the difference between real hip-hop and mainstream hip-hop. Younger artists now know that there's a difference. A lot of them didn't even understand that,” he noted.

Rakim's recent props to Kendrick have got fans yearning for more, with social media abuzz with talk of the two joining forces in the studio. However, both artists have stayed mum about the possibility of a future collaboration.