Kendrick Lamar's “N95” Ghostwriter Rumors Debunked, CJ Francis Speaks Out

BYCole BlakePublished on April 15, 20245.7K Views

British Summer Time Festival - Florence And The Machine

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 02: Kendrick Lamar performs as part of British Summer Time Festival at Hyde Park on July 2, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/Redferns)

The ghostwriting accusation seems to have been put to rest.

Rumors that Kendrick Lamar used a ghostwriter for his song, "N95," have been debunked by the rapper who is at the center of the drama, CJ Francis. Taking to his Instagram Story, over the weekend, he denied any involvement in the making of the track. He wrote: “I had nothing to do with that song. Nor do I have anything to do with it being posted online.”

The drama started when a user on social media made the claim while sharing a snippet of Francis rapping over the “N95” beat. “Quentin Miller associate CJ Francis IV ghostwriting for Kendrick Lamar. This is his demo of N95 (2022). I’d say this is a collab, but his name isn’t on the credits [ghost emoji],” they wrote. Soon after, a screenshot of a 2022 tweet from the user @ItsNotHarold began circulating that read: “My boy CJ Francis IV wrote on the Kendrick project man I’m so f*ckin gassed for my boy!!!! He one of the most talented people in the world bro this sh*t is so next level!!!”

Kendrick Lamar Accepts Best Rap Album Grammy For "Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers"

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 05: Kendrick Lamar accepts the Best Rap Album award for “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers” onstage during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

The drama comes as Lamar and Drake have been feuding in recent weeks. Lamar kicked things off with his verse on Metro Boomin and Future's "Like That," last month. On the song, he complained about being considered in the same tier as Drake and J. Cole. Drake finally responded with the unofficial track, "Push Ups," over the weekend, although it was leaked and not put out by the Toronto rapper himself.

CJ Francis Clears Up Controversy

Check out CJ Francis' comments on the situation above. Be on the lookout for further updates on Kendrick Lamar and Drake on HotNewHipHop.

[Via]

About The Author

Cole Blake

Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.