Seems like the word "bitch," made it into almost every Mac Miller song we heard. That's not to say that Lamar is not guilty of objectifying women here and there, case in point the ballers anthem "Pussy and Patron," which had every pimp waving their hands in synch. (Also, what's with his obsession with Halle Berry anyways?) But it doesn't seem to be the focal point in his flow.
Lyrical Content : Kendrick Lamar
This brings us to our next big MC skill, the constructing of the lyrics. Hands down Kendrick Lamar takes this on. The dude writes some whip smart rhymes. With Janet Jackson's "Any Time, Any Place" as the chief sample on "Poetic Justice," he had the crowd completely engaged. This song, dealing with an argument with his girlfriend, allows for the hip-hop star to demonstrate his more sensitive side. He comes more earnestly with his lyrics, as opposed to Miller's which probably downs a few too many Budweisers while contemplating the verse to his next song.
Delivery: Mac Miller
This might surprise you, but the freewheeling party boy guise of Mac Miller goes down surprisingly well in a live setting. The crowd, consisting of many under 18-year-old gals in skimpy outfits, seemed to enjoy every minute of Miller's set. Even the slower numbers from his set like "Of The Soul," seemed to have the younguns' undivided attention. This is where we see faults in Lamar set. While he is a talented studio artist, producing ace product with top-tier studio engineers, when it comes to live performance, the dude is just too reliant on his DJ samples and the Auto Tune. He also has less energy than Miller does on stage. Lamar just plays it too cool. He proved to be less engaging than Miller.
Give the Crowd What They Want Factor: Mac Miller
Another one that we have to give to Miller. This slacker, backpack hip-hopper gave a through display of all his hits. Dishing out tracks from his early catalog to numbers that haven't even been released yet. Compare this to Lamar, who only gave the audience a tease of his hit with A$AP Rocky "Fucking Problems." You can't turn on the radio without hearing this song everytually, and Lamar only rolled the track out for little over a minute.
So, for those of you that are keeping score, the win goes to Mac Miller. Perhaps he doesn't have the edge that Kendrick Lamar has, but as a live performer he has the advantage. Hoodie party rap takes home the prize, well at SunFest at least.
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