Ye is the only person who could take down Kendrick Lamar in a rap battle, he claimed on Tuesday’s (Feb. 4) airing of “The Download.” During his sit-down with Justin Laboy, the Chicago rapper compared his fellow Gemini to Chun-Li from Street Fighter.
“If you rap against Kendrick, you will lose,” Ye said in reference to the “Alright” hitmaker’s earlier feud with Drake. He added, “This man does this. You know, in Street Fighter, you get [to select] Chun-Li, get a certain kick, and no matter what, you can’t beat that thing?”
“If you rap against Kendrick Lamar… like Joe Budden said, ‘Never rap against Kendrick Lamar.’ If you rap against Kendrick Lamar, it’s a difficult task, but perhaps it’s something,” Ye continued before adding, “I’m a psycho genius, so you know, it could be [me].”
Elsewhere in the conversation with Laboy, Ye agreed that Lamar “killed” Drake during their beef, which spawned tracks like “Push Ups,” “Family Matters” and “Not Like Us,” among others. “Yeah, for now,” the Donda creator responded. “You can’t ever count out Steph Curry. That man might get 200 points in one song.”
Interestingly, Ye has never really gone bar for bar with another rapper. Some may remember him taking shots at Drake and J. Cole on 2024’s “Like That (Remix),” but neither of them fired back on wax.
Ye and Lamar were both nominees at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 2). The artist and designer’s “CARNIVAL” was in the running for Best Rap Song, but it ended up losing to “Not Like Us.” The diss track also won Best Music Video, Best Rap Performance, Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
Musically, fans can look forward to BULLY, Ye’s next studio album, arriving on June 15. The day also happens to be his eldest daughter, North West’s 12th birthday.