5 Current Rappers To Watch (And 5 To Forget)

2. Worthy Of Your Attention: Kendrick Lamar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-ejyHzz3XE If you throw rhymes around the city of Compton, and you do it well, you may just wake the rap industry behemoth Dr. Dre from his corporate slumber. He may just rumble down from his ivory tower, scoop you up and tuck you under his wing - an enviable place to hitch a ride, seeing as it was under Dre's watchful eye that some of the biggest names in the genre have been given the creative room, guidance and massive marketing clout to become stars in their own right. Compton-born and bred rapper Kendrick Lamar did just that, and soon Dre had the industry a'flutter with news about his new protégé. Unlike Dre's previous "next big thing" The Game (who turned out to be a rather inconsistent loose cannon), Lamar played the part of crown prince to perfection - his debut on the Aftermath imprint was the rap record of the year, and he's been gathering momentum ever since. An incredible storyteller, Lamar's restrained but heartfelt delivery echoes the deepest shades of the hood, shining light on the cracked veneer of a lifestyle that he didn't choose but was forced to deal with. Flirting with melancholy, frolicking somewhere between darkness and buried optimism at times, Lamar digs and scratches at his past with a liquid cadence and confidence rarely seen in the game.