Kitty (f/k/a Kitty Pryde) dropped her very solid D.A.I.S.Y. Rage EP today (January 31), and the fact that it’s very solid is important, because it was a natural reflex to write her off as an online pest back when “Okay Cupid” emerged. But after two impressive releases, such a stance now seems like the bleating of stodgy hip-hop elitists. The 19-year-old refers to herself as rap game Taylor Swift, but a more apt label would be rap game Lana Del Rey. Like Lana with the Paradise EP, her latest effort improved upon her prior release while amplifying her persona. And like LDR, Kitty gets a whole lot of criticism, little of which has anything to do with the actual music.
See, the dirty secret is that this lady can rap — check out the verbal marathons on “Dead Island” or “Unfollowed” for proof — and that’s what makes the vitriol so mind-boggling. Kitty has a breathless flow that conveys sarcasm, annoyance, shame, aggression — often in the same verse and usually while sounding completely bored. This is not an easy trick to pull off! And though her vocals are light and airy, her self-deprecating lyrics are dense with pop references and hip-hop allusions. There are plenty of MCs (some of them critical darlings) who are worse rappers than Kitty. In fact, here’s 20 of them! This list is not exhaustive, but it is totally subjective and totally right. Leave your angry comments below.
20 People Who Can’t Rap As Well As Kitty:
1. Wiz Khalifa
2. Pitbull
3. Rick Ross (On his new remix of Kendrick Lamar‘s “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe,” Rozay rhymes “alive” with “alive,” people.)
4. Chief Keef
5. Diddy (Remember “Come With Me”?)
6. Flo Rida
7. Lil B (The truest example of quantity over quality. #teamjoeybada$$)
8. Kreayshawn
9. Taco Bennett
10. That girl from Karmin
11. Jay-Z, but only his “Suit & Tie” verse
12. will.i.am
13. Lana Del Rey
14. Trinidad Jame$
15. PSY, but only in English
16. Ke$ha
17. Krispy Kreme
18. Soulja Boy
19. Swizz Beatz
20. Whoever rapped on that one Bruce Springsteen song last year
What’s your take on Kitty? Tell us in the comments below, or on Facebook and Twitter.
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