Childish Gambino shocked the hip hop world on Sunday night when, in an unprecedented move, he launched into a scathing freestyle in which he declared himself to be “the best rapper, definitely top five” and asserted that he intended to kill a handful of his notable peers in… Huh. Why can’t I get excited about this? It has all the makings of a story I’d be interested in? Why does it feel like this has already been done? Oh, right.
When Kendrick did the “Control” verse it was exciting because you could tell that he actually felt that he was the best, and it didn’t seem to be too much of a stretch. In this case Gambino’s just yelling things. He’s doing his best Kendrick impression and it’s a pale imitation.
Also, let’s talk about the part where Gambino says that he’s “the best rapper” and then quickly adds “definitely top 5” It’s like he said the first line and then thought to himself maybe that’s a bit strong. I’m definitely not the best. But I still gotta appear confident. I’m probably in the top 5, right? Yeah let’s go with that.
So, the fact that Childish Gambino is declaring himself the best rapper aside, this whole thing just makes him seem so needy and desperate for attention. If Kendrick hadn’t already done this, I might pay more attention. But probably not. I’m going to deduct 30 point from Gambino for biting Kendrick’s bit so hard and still failing so badly at it.