Even as elitist hip hop’s golden child, Kendrick Lamar is as imperfect as any other skilled lyricist.  Black Thought lacks the ability to be personable while Nas lacks a dependable ear for selecting beats.  Lamar has a key chink in his armor that even the most impractical stans fans fail to acknowledge, despite mounting evidence of otherwise.  Kendrick Lamar lacks the versatility of say, Drake, to blend in on records outside of the hip hop culture.

His guest appearances should be restricted within the realm of hip hop records because he has not shown the ability to effortlessly merge with other genres, rhythm & blues most commonly, while maintaining his lofty standards as an emcee.  Robin Thicke’s sophomore single “Give It 2 U”, off his last Blurred Lines LP, is just one of the many instances Lamar has shown he lacks the flexibility to meld with the tonality of other genres and extend his brand in the process.

Kendrick’s rapid fire barrage of bars sticks out like a sore thumb on the synth pop number.  Flow wise, he holds his own, but lyrically, he is beyond his element: “I’m looking for you with a flashlight/ I wanna feel what a real fat ass like/No injections/ I learned my lesson/I walk it like I talk it, this pedestrian”.  A memorable quotable for some, not so much for someone with Lamar’s lyrical credentials.

His tackling of Alicia Keys’ “It’s On Again” only brightens the spotlight on his deficiencies when intermingling with other genres.  Once again, he is outside of his element, but vocally this go round.  He channels Maybach Music’s resident bullhorn Meek Milly, aggressively screaming over “Again’s” rock engrossed introduction.  Despite his aggressiveness, Lamar has a soft spoken voice and the thunderous production drowns out an otherwise competent verse. His appearance is meant to captivate audiences before Keys’ supple vocals sashay over the mid tempo pop number, but it completely misses the mark.

For all of his talent, Kendrick Lamar struggles to find his footing as a guest of any artist not a rapper. The synapses continue misfire, whether referencing a year or two after his breakthrough (Emeli Sande’s “Next To Me [Remix]”) or his present day superstar status (on “Backwards”, alongside Tame Impala, for example).  He has become the resident flavor of the month in a number of musical circles, due to his hip hop standing, but his abilities as an emcee continue to not mesh well with the visions of artists beyond his safe haven.  While he struggles, Drake flourishes and continues to cash in and the notion that it is he who is hip hop’s brightest star and frontrunner to lead its next generation in a landslide.