It seems like common practice these days, but veteran rappers and their music, especially if it was popular in the 1990's or even earlier, often get dragged by the up-and-comers in the business today. Lonzo Ball saying Nas isn't real hip-hop, which angered many an "old head" earlier this summer feels like just the tip of the iceberg. Now, Kodak Black has joined in the fun, dragging Jay-Z's lyrics as a means to position rap's current sound as far better than its predecessors.
In a new Instagram post, Kodak proceeds to make a comparison between 90's rap and now, cherry-picking some repetitive lyrics from Jay's song "Money, Cash, Hoes," which appeared on his classic 1998 album Vol 2 ... Hard Knock Life. Opposite that refrain are the lyrics from his 2016 joint "Can I," which itself is off an LP that deals heavily in nostalgic imagery, calling itself Lil B.I.G. Pac and fashioning the project's cover art as a tribute (or not) to The Notorious B.I.G's massively successful album Ready To Die. Check out a screengrab of the Instagram post below.
In the caption, Kodak writes "Real Shit B Goin On .. None Of Dat Hopscotch Shit," clowning on the seemingly pedestrian lyrics that Hov offered up in that particular song, which also featured DMX on the cut. While Kodak may have at least somewhat of a point comparing the sections that he did, there are two fundamental holes in this theory. First, Jay-Z does more than just say the above-mentioned lyrics in his song - in fact, the prose get to a reasonably well-written place at one point. Below is an excerpt from the first verse of the song:
That's life's enigma, long as life's within us
We gonna sin a lot and pray that Christ forgive us
F**k it!
Ice the wrists and raise the price on these n***s
Y'all can't floss on my level!
I'll invite you all to get with us if your ball is glitter
When I go all the Harlem playas wall my picture
Second, Jay-Z has a body of work that is spans over 20 years, while Kodak Black is still mostly trying to find his sweet spot musically. Perhaps not quite the fairest of comparisons overall, but what do you think? Does the "Roll in Peace" rapper have a point or no? Sound off in the comments.
