The Power Circle Opens: Wale & Jay Rock Have Words Over Kendrick Lamar
It was all good three years ago…
2012 was a breakthrough year for the alliance forged between TDE and Maybach Music Group. While several records would follow, Kendrick Lamar notably appeared on MMG video single “Power Circle” from the Self Made, Vol. 2 compilation release. In the months after, K-Dot and Gunplay would make a monstrous collaboration in the form of “Cartoons & Cereal,” a song that has still yet to be attached to an album.
Today, in the closing days of 2015, things appear a bit different. After news broke surrounding Kendrick Lamar’s 11 Grammy Award nominations for this year’s To Pimp A Butterfly, a Twitter user suggested Wale tour with his fellow #1 charting peer. Wale replied to the fan that the TDE/Aftermath/Interscope Records star no longer takes his calls, equating him to Pop star Demi Lovato. The Album About Nothing creator continued, claiming that he is criticized for the very sound and movement for which his former collaborator is praised:
Cuz Wale sucks . And isn’t associated with the niggas who run music “@DJ_Valentinoo: How is @Wale not nominated ?”
— Wale (@Wale) December 7, 2015
“New black soul” unless ur Wale then it’s too many instruments and hard to understand
— Wale (@Wale) December 7, 2015
@JourdanChaTaun ain’t answered that phone since the last nomination . I get the Demi lavato treatment from him now. It’s hard out here
— Wale (@Wale) December 7, 2015
Jay Rock, who is Kendrick’s label-mate, onetime mentor, and personal friend, addressed Wale following the claims. The Watts, California MC who featured MMG founder Rick Ross on his 2011 debut, Follow Me Home, called out Wale’s estranged ties with his label and crew:
@wale I SEE WHY U NOT MMG. SMH.
— Jay Rock (@jayrock) December 7, 2015
Rock, who released his sophomore studio album 90059 earlier this year, expounded on his feelings of critics beyond Wale. According to the breakthrough TDE act, a lot of former K-Dot collaborators are perhaps speaking too openly about what doesn’t concern them:
Tired of all u suckas wit dot name n y’all mouths. Watched all yall do full interviews talkn bout another man? Aint what real ones do. — Jay Rock (@jayrock) December 7, 2015
Bro don’t even know u niggaz, and he don’t speak on you suckas. The playa way. Nigga get some success and rap world get nasty. — Jay Rock (@jayrock) December 7, 2015
2016. You either congratulating or speculating. With that being said congrats bro. @kendricklamar Don’t stop champ! #TDE — Jay Rock (@jayrock) December 8, 2015
Hours later, Wale stated he maintains a love for both Jay Rock, and Kendrick Lamar:
@Fro_Wundas @jayrock I fuck wit dot and jay Rock . They know that. However if they don’t fuck wit me .. I’m not gon be THAT dude
— Wale (@Wale) December 8, 2015
Do you feel that Wale’s claims are valid, surrounding his album merits being overlooked? In 2013, his Ambition single “Lotus Flower Bomb” was nominated for the award.
After Meek Mill and Drake’s once celebrated collaborative status shifted to tensions earlier this year, do you anticipate more of this trend in Hip-Hop?
Related: Wale Talks About Much More Than MMG Drama & A Gossipy Headline Can Capture (Video)