Fans Debate Whether Kodak Black Is As Lyrical As Kendrick Lamar After A Comedian’s Tweet Insisting He Is

This may sound harsh, but it’s meant with absolutely no malice: Lil Duval is a menace and he must be stopped. Whenever the comedian tweets comparing various figures in hip-hop, complete chaos breaks out among rap fans on Twitter as they end up debating the merits of his off-the-cuffing (and likely trolling) analyses for days on end. Previously, he noted similarities between the music video styles of DaBaby and Ludacris, prompting a days-long discussion that led to the rappers themselves weighing in.

This week, though, he made an even more surprising assertion, comparing two rappers who couldn’t be more different on the surface: Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar and the frequently problematic Kodak Black. “Kodak really up there with Kendrick lyrically but y’all don’t wanna hear it tho,” he tweeted yesterday morning. It didn’t take long for Rap Twitter residents to get riled up, chiming in with arguments both for and against Duval’s statement.

The two rappers do share some commonalities. Both were selected for XXL‘s Freshman Class (Kendrick in 2011, Kodak in 2016), and both frequently address the harsh conditions young Black men often face in the US, from poverty and violence to the institutionalization of the prison system. However, they’ve also had wildly different trajectories; while Kendrick has gone from government assistance in Compton, California to be one of hip-hop’s most critically-acclaimed and commercially successful artists (see above, re: Pulitzer), Kodak has faced a number of legal issues and pop culture controversies for everything from illegally purchased guns to sexual assault.

Kodak himself seemingly weighed in as well, writing in a comment about the post on Instagram, “I understand it be controversial Shit behind me but I’ll appreciate it if y’all just worry bout me Fa my talent & not da other shit on social media !!! Thank You”

Check out more responses to Lil Dvual’s unexpected comparison below.