Kanye West Accuses Music Industry of Replacing Him With Kendrick Lamar, But Fans Believe Ye Is 'Too Consumed by Ego & Jealousy'

Kanye West has taken to X to air out the music industry for attempting to erase him while putting Kendrick Lamar in his place.

The rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye, has spoken out on social media, expressing his opinion that the industry is deliberately ignoring his work and pushing Lamar. This was in response to a viral video that claimed bots were used to boost the views of Lamar's new "Luther" music video.

In one of the tweets that he has since deleted, West argued that the whole industry was working to undermine him as part of a conspiracy to destroy him.

"Look man when I was dropping Graduation I had the whole building behind me too. That's the way this profession is," the "Donda" rapper tweeted in a since-deleted post on X below via XXL.

"He got 24 Grammies. They are strategically trying to erase what I did and earned with ni**as that won't even be remembered 100 years from now. I'm by faaaarrr the most important artist of our lifetime. Everyone that works with the Super Bowl and Grammies can suck my d**k forewvvveeeerrr ni**a."

A History of Tension with Kendrick Lamar

This isn't the first time Ye has targeted Lamar. He has been frustrated with Lamar's success since February as the "Like That" rapper hints at his place in the music game. In March, West made headlines when he expressed disdain for Lamar's collaboration with Playboi Carti on Carti's "Music" album.

"I DONT LIKE KENDRICK LAMAR'S MUSIC," West tweeted at the time. "HE RAPS VERY GOOD BUT I DIDN'T NEED TO HEAR HIM ON CARTI ALBUM."

A few days later, West continued his rant, referring to Lamar's track "Not Like Us," a Grammy-winning diss aimed at Drake. West wasn't shy about his negative feelings, typing, "I HAAAAAATED NOT LIKE US."

West's comments were far from isolated, as he doubled down on his criticism of Lamar in late March. "I hated this so much," he wrote in reference to a 2023 performance by Lamar at a Louis Vuitton event during Paris Fashion Week.

Fans React to Ye's Accusations

Reactions from fans and critics have been polarized on Ye's comments. On social media, many have voiced their concerns that Ye's continued rants disparaging Lamar may be the result of an unhinged ego and even jealousy.

Another fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter:

Others are of the opinion that West is simply acting according to type; some speculate that the anger is apparently repressed rage stemming from difficulty dealing with his paradigm shift in hip-hop and the industry beyond it.

Although some continue to defend West's pioneering artistic legacy, they also believe that what the artist has done in recent months could end up overshadowing the work he built.

Tags

Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar