Kendrick Lamar is the man these days. Not only is he getting all kinds of props and nominations for his work, but the young man now dons the cover of GQ magazine as one of its Men of the Year for 2013. You would think Top Dog Entertainment, Kendrick’s label, would be thrilled at the glossy publication’s choosing of Lamar, because it could potentially launch him into an entirely new stratosphere of pop cultural notoriety. Yeah, GQ can do that for a brother. However, Anthony “Top Dog” Tiffith, CEO of TDE, sees it a different way.
“This week, Kendrick Lamar was named one of GQ’s 2013 Men of the Year, an honor that should have been celebrated as a milestone in his career and for the company,” Tiffith wrote in a press release, reported by MTV. “Instead, the story written by Steve Marsh, put myself and my company in a negative light.”
He was so upset at the perceived slight that he stopped Lamar from performing at the GQ Men of the Year party and sites racism as the reason why. He says the magazine took far too many liberties comparing Suge Knight and his underhanded dealings, alleged and otherwise, to TDE.
“The racial overtones immediately reminded everyone of a time in hip-hop that was destroyed by violence, resulting in the loss of two of our biggest stars. We would expect more from a publication with the stature and reputation that GQ has,” Tiffith added.
GQ editor-in-chief Jim Nelson released his response via the company’s website. A portion of which can be found below.
“Kendrick Lamar is one of the most talented new musicians to arrive on the scene in years. That’s the reason we chose to celebrate him, write an incredibly positive article declaring him the next King of Rap, and gave him our highest honor: putting him on the cover of our Men of the Year issue. I’m not sure how you can spin that into a bad thing, and I encourage anyone interested to read the story and see for themselves.”
