Rap Genius

Kendrick v Drake, modern poetry, and "I HATE DONKEY KONG!!!"

I’m late to the party, but I’ve been listening to these Kendrick Lamar v. Drake diss tracks and they’ve got me fired up. There’s something silly about two grown men playing out a conflict by saying insults in songs, where the impact of the insult depends on the popularity of the music rather than the veracity of their claims. There’s also something ironic about the most successful modern-day poets being hardened hyper-masculine black men from lower-class families, while poetry is stereotypically an elitist, white, and effeminate pastime. Those who dislike hip-hop might initially balk at the notion of rap lyrics as poetry, but it’s hard to deny the complex and multi-layered meaning in the words. The beef with Drake brought Kendrick enough clout to land the Superbowl halftime show

For example, “6:16 in LA”, a song released by Kendrick in his beef with Drake. The song is an introspective prayer where Kendrick asks for blessing and strength for the upcoming conflict. Lyrics aside, the name itself is rich with meaning. The song itself was released at 6:16 AM, and is a reference to Drake’s series of songs titled “(Time) in (Place)”. For example, “8am in Charlotte”, “6PM in New York”, “5 AM in Toronto”, etc. The title may also be a reference to the bible verse Jeremiah 6:16, which says:

Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.

This crossroads metaphor is analogous to Kendrick’s internal conflict about whether or not to dive into a messy conflict with Drake. Kendrick is reassured by his faith that, as long as he his fighting the good fight, that he is making the right choice. “6:16” may also be a reference to June 16th, Tupac’s birthday. The late Tupac played a key role in the conflict, as Drake released a song that used an AI-generated impersonation of Tupac, which triggered a lawsuit by Tupac’s estate. As a west coast rap legend, Tupac is Kendrick’s spiritual predecessor. June 16th in 2024 is also the date of father’s day. Kendrick prides himself on being an active father and insults Drake for being an absent deadbeat dad who cares more about his music than his children.

Kendrick’s knockout punch, “Not Like Us”, is both a banger and replete with rich wordplay. “Not Like Us” attacks Drake’s posse as mooches, drug abusers, and pedophiles. Drake himself is accused of cultural appropriation and sexual predation. Other black celebrities are named to back up the accusations, including Lil Wayne, 2Chainz, and Serena Williams. To be honest, most of the references went over my head until I read all the lyric annotations on genius.com (formerly “rap genius”), a website where fans annotate song lyrics with their complex meanings.

Rap Genius is probably the most popular space for poetry analysis today. I felt inspired to make my own contributions by dissecting a song that falls into my particular domain of expertise, Super Smash Bros Melee. “I HATE DONKEY KONG!!!” is a song that expresses rage at the character Donkey Kong and analogizes hatred of Donkey Kong as racism against blacks. The song makes some nuanced references to gaming pop culture, from Duke Nukem to NoFluxes to a traumatizing Call of Duty level. I felt compelled to create this literary analysis to break down the lyrics.

I should add that the song is not pleasant to listen to. Though I do think it successfully captures the feeling of an angry gamer who is raging at their opponent’s character choice.