Popularity vs. Reputation: Why Kendrick and Not Lil Wayne?
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Truth Frazier
Four days ago, September 8, rapper and artist Kendrick Lamar announced he is to be performing at the New Orleans 2025 Super Bowl. K. Dot fans were amazed and excited to see one of their favorite rappers perform at the championship but were taken aback when a wave of Lil Wayne supporters began posting in anger.
Although Weezy and Kendrick Lamar have worked together in collaboration many times and aren’t on bad terms, publicly at least, the unexpected post caused the fans to begin to pit against each other.
Wayne fans make the argument that New Orleans is his hometown, and that he is and was one of the biggest rappers in the country for many years. They say that he’s been one of the most influential rappers of the 21st century and built up many artists’ careers. Even rappers that have been signed to his label or collaborated with Lil Wayne have been posting about their opinion on the rapper not being able to perform in his hometown.
Nicki Minaj tweeted, “Denying a young black man what he rightfully put into this game for no other reason but your ego. Your hatred for BIRDMAN, Drake & Nicki got you punishing Lil Wayne?!?!!! LIL WAYNE!!!!!!!!!! THE GOAT?!!!!!!!!!!! Nola what’s good,” the day the announcement gained traction. Following Nicki and popular pop culture social media pages, rapper Drake also posted pictures of his younger self with Wayne. He did not put text over the pictures explaining the meaning but it’s anything but difficult to read between the lines.
On the other hand, Kendrick fans disregard Wayne’s background and roots with the argument that K. Dot is the most popular rapper at the moment. With the infamous and recent rap beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, Kendrick’s sales and views have been skyrocketing at insane rates. The melody of his top charting diss track, “Not Like Us,” has become recognizable across the country and possibly globally. With the impact Kendrick Lamar has already had within the 2010’s, fans argue that he has just as much reason as Lil Wayne to be on the stage the night of the Super Bowl.
As for the two rapper’s actual words, Kendrick had no input on the argument. Lil Wayne recently came out with the statement, “It broke me,” when asked about the halftime show snub. He expresses his feelings of hurt and says that he ‘blames’ himself. “That hurt, it hurt a lot… I thought there was nothing better than that spot, on that stage, on that platform… I thought there was nothing better than that stage in my city,” Weezy says.
Kendrick hasn’t said anything particularly on the subject but he dropped a song in the midst of all of the discussion and heartbreak of Wayne fans. Given that this action only angered Weezy fans even further, the viral snub is still predominant across the internet.
