Busta Rhymes Claims Kendrick Lamar Raised The Bar With New Album “GNX”

Kendrick Lamar actualized his own praise. He called out other rappers for not giving him praise on the opener for his new album. He criticized Snoop Dogg for promoting a Drake diss, and claimed Nas was the only rapper who congratulated him for the Super Bowl Halftime Show gig. Lamar clearly felt a way about how others perceived him. The Dot praise party is in full effect now, though. Busta Rhymes had lots of positive things to say about the rapper’s new album on Tuesday.

Busta Rhymes joined the likes of Nas and Snoop in praising Lamar’s GNX album. The New York legend was blown away by the album’s combination of lyricism and catchy melodies. “King Kendrick, such an incredible body of work,” Busta explained via Instagram. “Brilliance and lyrical craftsmanship at its finest. Thank you for continuing to raise the bar!.” This is not the first Busta has evoked king imagery in relation to Lamar. He was mesmerized by the Compton rapper’s video for the 2022 song “The Heart Part 5.” He claimed Lamar was the best of his generation when it comes to visuals.

That is quite the compliment, given Busta Rhymes’ music video pedigree. Busta is regularly cited as one of the most charismatic and inventive rappers of all time when it comes to the visuals. Dot’s ambition has actually been inspired, in part, by Busta Rhymes’ classic videos from the 1990s. He said as much during a 2018 interview with Billboard. Kendrick Lamar cited Busta, as well as Missy Elliott, for their colorful and often eye-catching presentation.

“You know, just being a kid watching BET, I’d be on the phone with Dave [Meyers],” Lamar told the outlet. “You know my partner that does the videos with me. And we’d be watching Missy Elliott videos back in high school, and Busta Rhymes videos. They were always big inspirations.” Kendrick Lamar has tried to implement the same level of sophistication and appeal in his own videos. “Being a student and always appreciating somebody being willing to put full impact and full ideas not only into the songs, but when you’re watching the songs,” he concluded. Sounds like the love goes both ways.