AZ Chike recently came through with his album, No Rest For The Wicked, which has been considered to be a breakthrough for the West Coast rapper. It's his first project since the release of Kendrick's GNX, which featured Chike on the song "Peekaboo."
This co-sign from K-Dot has proven to be immense for AZ Chike's career. Going into the release of No Rest For The Wicked, there was all kinds of interest. This is especially true as some fans felt as though a Kendrick Lamar feature was inevitable.
In the end, there was no Kendrick feature to be found, and some felt as though the artist did AZ Chike dirty. However, Chike himself doesn't feel that way. He recently revealed that there was never a Kendrick verse to begin with. Meanwhile, on The Shop, AZ Chike revealed how Kendrick's co-sign not just impacted his career, but his life as well.
AZ Chike On Kendrick
"You got to know who you are before you f*** with them, and if you don't, they going to see right through you," AZ Chike said. "That's what the co-sign mostly did for me. I had to find out who I was. I had to destroy who I was and rebuild from there."
All of this just goes to show that Kendrick Lamar is an artist with lots of power. He can help make or break a career with just a few quick comments. Putting AZ Chike on "Peekaboo" worked out well for everyone involved, and now, Chike remains a prominent name in West Coast rap.
While some are going to continue to be critical of the way Lamar moves, there is no doubt that the people he's helped are grateful.
