Ab-Soul has already expressed his disappointment with XXL for their usage of “Kendrick Lamar and Black Hippy” on their recent cover. Now it’s ScHoolboy Q and Jay Rock’s turn. While backstage at Power 105.1’s Powerhouse concert in Brooklyn this past weekend, MTV caught up with 1/2 of the crew to get their opinions.
That’s so disrespectful. We didn’t go into that shoot saying ‘this is Kendrick with Black Hippy.’ We went in there and said, ‘This is a Black Hippy shoot,’ so we expect a Black Hippy shoot.
Although disrespectful, Q explains that he understands that Kendrick Lamar’s success is what catapulted the crew to the forefront and that he has to put the work in the eventually avoid K. Dot’s shadow.
At the same time, Kendrick is way ahead of us. He’s a platinum artist. I haven’t dropped my album yet, [Jay] Rock’s working on his major-label album, Ab-Soul’s working on his major-label album … We still haven’t dropped our major-label albums, so at the end of the day, he is fucking Kendrick Lamar. We’re not signed to Kendrick, but he has that impact.
If Big Sean gets an interview, they’re gonna always ask him about Kanye, J. Cole they’re always gonna ask him about Jay Z, Slaughterhouse they’re gonna always ask about Eminem. You just gotta fight your way up the ladder. Kanye, he stands alone now. I know they probably used to him all type of Jay Z questions. Now he’s put that work in, and he stands on his own, and he’s one of the biggest artists right now. Hopefully I can do that too.
As far as Jay Rock’s thoughts… it’s not phasing him as any TDE praise is praise for the group.
Personally, I never take offense to that, because at the end of the day, whether it’s just Kendrick’s name or ‘Q and Black Hippy,’ or ‘Ab-Soul Black Hippy’ — that’s us, still, because we’re all in this shit together.
