Ye - formerly Kanye West - is advising all rappers to stand down from battling Kendrick Lamar outside of one circumstance. West sat down with Justin Laboy for their The Download interview released on Tuesday (Feb.

Kanye West doesn’t believe there is a rapper who can beat Kendrick Lamar in a rap battle, except for him. Kendrick Lamar cemented himself as one of the G.O.A.Ts in hip-hop with his eloquent attack on Drake in his anthemic record Not Like Us.

If you rap against Kendrick, you will lose. This man does this. You know in Street Fighter, you get Chun-Li, you get a certain kick, and no matter what, you can’t beat that thing [laughs]? If you rap against Kendrick

Kendrick Lamar is a 20-time Grammy Award winner, and he could be adding more to that tally later Sunday night (Feb. 2). Lamar's "Not Like Us" won in the best rap song, best rap performance and best music video categories during the 2025 Grammy Premiere Ceremony ahead of Sunday night's prime-time telecast.

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.