Kendrick Lamar doesn’t come across as someone who would be in to rating other rappers on a list, and it showed in his reaction to a question from Los Angeles based morning show host Cruz. When asked if he had a “Top 5: Dead of Alive,” he paused for a moment, but then said “Yeah, I got a Top 5.

According to the Damn rapper, an in no particular order, Jay-Z, Eminem, Tupac, Biggie, and Snoop Dogg are the hip-hop artists who inspired him the most.

If I had to do a “Top 5: Dead or Alive” I would have to name Kendrick Lamar, Tupac, Scarface, J. Cole, and believe it or not B.G. because of the way he vividly tells stories in his raps. Now, I can list five more that have influenced me, and just my favorites hands down, and that would be Andre 3000, Big KRIT, Devin the Dude, Slim Thug, and Z-Ro. Honorable mention would be UGK and Outkast as a whole. I can name more, but that’s my top ten.

I’m not a fan of lists, but it’s cool to see him name those who actually influenced him, verses just his favorites. I’m sure like me, K. Dot could name 10-20 other hip-hop artists that mean a lot to him.

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