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Kendrick Lamar’s “Control” verse has been the most talked about verse in hip-hop.

Due to clearance issues, Big Sean was unable to put the gritty hip-hop track on his sophomore album Hall of Fame, so the “10 2 10” rapper exclusively premiered “Control” on Hot 97’s Funkmaster Flex show.

On the No I.D.-produced track, Kendrick Lamar raps for 3-minutes, taking aim at his fellow colleagues and some artists he called his friends. But that wasn’t the only reason his verse caused chaos in the hip-hop community. Inspired by Cali rapper Kurupt’s “New York New York,” Kendrick also claimed the title of the “King of New York” – due to New York City’s lackadaisical role in hip-hop over the past few years.

Many rappers who were name-checked shrugged off the fiery lyrics and charged it to being “part of the game,” while other artists who weren’t mentioned took offense to Kendrick’s bold statement. Over the past few months, dozens of relevant and irrelevant rappers and members of the NBA community weighed in on Kendrick’s controversial verse, and we’ve rounded them all up for your viewing pleasure.

Check out how Kendrick Lamar’s “Control” verse became the most talked about verse in hip-hop and all of the responses it garnered below.

Big Sean premieres the “Control” verse on Hot 97’s Funk Flex show on August 12, 2013. 

Kendrick’s entire “Control” verse:

Tell Flex to drop a bomb on this shit

So many bombs, ring the alarm like Vietnam in this shit

So many bombs, make Farrakhan think Saddam in this bitch

One at a time, I line ‘em up and bomb on they mom while she watchin’ the kids

I’m in a destruction mode if the gold exists

I’m important like the pope, I’m a Muslim on pork

I’m Makaveli’s offspring, I’m the king of New York

King of the Coast, one hand, I juggle them both

The juggernaut’s all in your jugular, you take me for jokes

Live in the basement, church pews and funeral faces

Cartier bracelets for my women friends, I’m in Vegas

Who the fuck y’all thought it’s supposed to be?

If Phil Jackson came back, still no coachin’ me

I’m un-coachable, I’m unsociable Fuck y’all clubs,

Fuck y’all pictures, your Instagram can gobble these nuts

Gobble dick up ’til you hiccup, my big homie Kurupt

This the same flow that put the rap game on a crutch

I’ve seen niggas transform like villain Decepticons

Molly’s a prolly turn these niggas to fuckin’ Lindsay Lohan

A bunch of rich ass white girls lookin’ for parties

Playin with Barbies, wreck the Porsche before you give ‘em the car key

Judge me ’til the monarchy, blessings to Paul McCartney

You called me a black Beetle, I’m either that or a Marley

(I don’t smoke crack motherfucker I sell it)

I’m dressed in all black, this is not for the fan of Elvis

I’m aimin’ straight for your pelvis, you can’t stomach me

You plan on stumpin’ me? Bitch I’ve been jumped before you put a gun on me

Bitch I put one on yours, I’m Sean Connery

James Bonding with none of you niggas, climbing 100 mil in front of me

And I’m gon get it even if you’re in the way

And if you’re in it, better run for pete’s sake

I heard the barbershops be in great debates all the time

Bout who’s the best MC? Kendrick, Jigga and Nas

Eminem, Andre 3000, the rest of yall?

New niggas just new niggas, don’t get involved

And I ain’t rockin no more designer shit

White T’s and Nike Cortez, this is red Corvettes anonymous

I’m usually homeboys with the same niggas I’m rhymin wit

But this is hip hop and them niggas should know what time it is

And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big KRIT, Wale

Pusha T, Meek Mills, A$AP Rocky, Drake

Big Sean, Jay electron’, Tyler, Mac Miller

I got love for you all but I’m tryna murder you niggas

Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you niggas

They dont wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you niggas

What is competition? I’m tryna raise the bar high

Who tryna jump and get it? You all better off tryna skydive

Out the exit window of 5 G5’s with 5 grand

With your granddad as the pilot he drunk as fuck tryna land

With the hand full of arthritis and popping prosthetic leg

Bumpin Pac in the cockpit so the shit that pops in his head

Is an option of violence, someone heard the stewardess said

That your parachute is a latex condom hooked to a dread

Slaughterhouse rapper Joell Ortiz responds to Kendrick’s “King Of New York” line:

“Maybe that’s why you left me outta that shit/maybe that’s why the slaughterhouse ain’t get dissed/ or maybe I’m not on your on your radar/ you feel like you ain’t gotta acknowledge my clique/ either way I personal train this b, you gotta get ripped/  rich rappers cant respond with all the dollars you get, gangster rappers can’t retaliate with hollows and clips/you fashion rappers wear the kind of  jeans that hardly can zip/ so zip it I got this shit, real hip-hop in this bitch.”

Legendary NBA Coach Phil Jackson responds to Kendrick’s name check: 

“Who the fuck y’all thought it’s supposed to be?

If Phil Jackson came back, still no coachin’ me

I’m un-coachable, I’m unsociable, Fuck y’all clubs”

Comedian Kevin Hart’s rapping alter ego Chocolate Droppa responds with this hilarious video:

Atlanta rapper B.o.B. responds with “How 2 Rap.” 

“I hear underrated so much, you would swear it was my name/ Ain’t no rappers on my list/ Come holler at me when you’re done riding each other’s dick/ 25 millions singles worldwide/ I guess I’ll take another hit/ Matter fact I find this rap shit boring/ Man, I’m over it.” 

Lupe Fiasco responds to Kendrick with “SLR 2 (Kendrick Lamar Response).”

“The only opposition is new shit/these new n*ggas rapping like they two, then they acting like they you/ man, that’s whewww shit/ what happened to the game / n*ggas think they japping cause like rapping like they Wayne / rapping like they Chainz/ I ain’t matching them and platinum, but I’m rapping like I’m flames/ Like smackin’ them in the back of him and my antonyms is on ‘cain/ And my heroin is on metaphors and my metaphors is on brains.”

Philly rapper Cassidy responds to Kendrick. 

Bad Boy rapper King Los responds to Kendrick’s “Control” verse, but takes a different approach.

Underground rapper Ransom responds to Kendrick. 

NY Knicks player Iman Shumpert responds to Kendrick:

Papoose responds to Kendrick:

“Kendrick, Kanye and Drake they act feminine/ Wear a lot of clothes you usually see women in,” he spits before theorizing: “You only blew up ’cause you contribute to the feminization of the black man.

Joe Budden releases “Lost Control (Kendrick Lamar Response):” 

Nas responds to Kendrick Lamar’s “Control” verse at Hennessy Art Event: 

“My reaction is “wow.” I love hip-hop right now.”

A$AP Rocky responds to Kendrick’s “King Of NY” line:

“I feel like that King Of New York sh*t…you smoking crack…you crazy.”

No I.D. says Big Sean’s “Control” beat was meant for Jay Z:

“I told him I felt like he needed to do some straight, hardcore Hip Hop records. Sometimes we focus so much on selling records that we leave some artistic points uncovered…I had this beat.  I had actually done it for Jay, right before I let Sean hear it. I said, ‘You should take this beat. I think it would be great for you to show up on one of these beats. Forget money. Forget everything.’”

Jay Electronica says he wanted Big Sean’s “Control” for his album: 

“It was me and Big Sean, we had verses on there. And when he told me it wasn’t on his album, I was gonna use it for my album…then he told me, before the day it came out Kendrick put a verse on it, he gonna put it out.”

Kendrick Lamar responds to “Control” controversy for the first time:

“I think that’s a case where I maybe had to dumb down my lyrics just a little bit. The irony of that line is that the people that actually understood it and got it was the actual kings of New York. We’ve been down with them this past week, and them understanding that it’s not about actually being the King of whatever coast, it’s about leaving the mark as great as Biggie as great as Pac.”

Drake responds to Kendrick’s verse during an interview with Billboard: 

“I didn’t really have anything to say about it. It just sounded like an ambitious thought to me. That’s all it was. I know good and well that Kendrick’s not murdering me, at all, in any platform. So when that day presents itself, I guess we can revisit the topic.”

Meek Mill releases “Ooh Kill ‘Em” Freestyle, which mentioned Kendrick’s “Control” verse:

Kendrick Lamar responds to Meek Mill’s “Ooh Kill ‘Em” Freestyle: 

“I been doing this sh*t for years…I mastered this sh*t. I have no time for irrelevant n*ggas or new n*ggas. There’s one n*gga in particular that needs to realize that there’s ‘levels’ to this sh*t. I’m motherf*cking king Kendrick!”

Nelly says Kendrick Lamar’s verse didn’t “shake up” hip-hop:

“I wouldn’t say Kendrick shook up hip-hop. He did his thing, but I don’t think it was a shake up. We’ve had Tupac and Biggie killings – that’s a shake up. East Coast, West Coast war – that’s a shake up. Somebody spittin’ a hot 16 or a hot 24 – and it was dope – I don’t think that’s a shake up.”

Russell Simmons discusses the impact of Kendrick Lamar’s “Control” verse: 

“Rappers are always competitive. That was a very good line, that was a stomach punch to everybody…There’s a lot of dope artists… I wouldn’t call him the King of NY just yet.”

50 Cent speaks on Kendrick Lamar’s verse:

“He’s saying there’s no ‘kumbaya my lord,’ where everybody is not sitting by the campfire being friends. The competitive energy, that’s necessary for hip-hop. That’s what it is,” he continues. “We can smile and take pictures, but then you know that the next presentation the person’s gearing up for is supposed to shake everything. If yours ain’t right, bye bye.”

J. Cole’s initial reaction to Kendrick’s verse:

“That’s rap, man. That’s rap music. That’s a part of the game. It’s natural. It’s fine.”

J. Cole went on to address Kendrick with 16 bars on Justin Timberlake’s “TKO (Black Friday Remix):”

“Everybody and they mama gassed/ Even my mama asked what I’ma do/ Decisions, decisions/ In case this is war then I’ll load up on all ammunition/ If a ni**a want problems my trigger’s on auto/ I’ll make sure that nobody miss ‘em”

Nicki Minaj responds to Kendrick leaving her off his “Control” name-checks:

“I’m probably in the top five of the niggas he did mention, so go and do your motherfucking research. But, I also feel like he maybe one of those respectful gentlemen that probably felt like ‘I don’t want to say a female’s name.’ Or maybe he just don’t think the kid is ill. But the kid knows the kid is ill, so I don’t need to be on anybody’s dick.”

“I’m the queen of New York. I’m the king of New York. Let me tell you why. Platinum albums. Albums plural. Number one in five motherfucking countries, nigga. Don’t play with me. You better respect my motherfucking gangsta, bitch. When you got an album that goes number one in Japan, the UK, Australia, America and Canada at the same motherfucking time, then you can speak my motherfucking name.”

Eminem discusses Kendrick Lamar’s verse:

“It’s hard to say because he fucking destroyed that verse, but it’s fucked up because everyone tells you what he did before you get a chance to hear it. My initial reaction was “Holy shit” and then it was “Wow, that was smart as fuck.” He did it in such a smart way. You really can’t get mad because he’s saying what every MC is thinking or should be thinking. You know what I’m saying? ‘I want to destroy the competition. I want to fucking kill everybody.’”

PHOTO CREDIT: Wenn, Getty, Instagram

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