The Game has relinquished his self-appointed “best rapper from Compton” crown to Kendrick Lamar.
Game appears to pass the title to K.Dot on “Whatever,” the intro track to his new mixtape Gangsta Grillz: E.M.N.T – The Credits, which dropped Friday.
“If I ain’t the best rapper from Compton, it gotta be Kendrick. And if Kendrick the best rapper, tell him step up and end it,” he raps. “I’m in the stairs clapping hands for the man I’ve offended / Can’t go to war against a n***a that I gave my appendix.”
The acknowledgment is surprising, given the bold proclamation Game made back in December during an appearance on Club Shay Shay with Shannon Sharpe, where he confidently crowned himself Compton’s top lyricist.
“I’m definitely the best rapper from Compton,” Game told Sharpe when asked if he was still the hometown king. “Can’t nobody out-rap me, man. Anyone who knows will know. No one can do what I can do. No one has my skill set. Not only do I have the ability to rap circles around people, I’m also with all the bullshit too if it came to that.”
When Sharpe reminded him of Compton heavyweights like Ice Cube, Game responded bluntly: “I love Cube, but Cube can’t out-rap me.”
Last June, The Game released his own list of the top 100 rappers from Los Angeles in response to Complex's list that was published at the time. His own list included 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Kendrick Lamar, and himself while other LA heavyweights such as Kurupt, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Nipsey Hussle, Y.G, Warren G, will.i.am rounded out the Top 25.