He is (1) an amazing artist who does deserve the success and recognition he has, who has (2) a LOT of fans for whom he is their only venture into his genre. That’s fine. It doesn’t make them bad people or make it any less okay for them to be fans of his.
okay so to summarize, kendrick is: 1) One of the greatest ever 2) Only your favorite if you listen to the billboard top 100
Do you want me to acknowledge that there are fans for whom Kendrick is their number one that also listen to other rappers? Because that is true. I acknowledge that, easily. I just also happen to meet a LOT of people who don’t listen to much outside of him. It’s fine, either way.
okay but by your own confession you "WILL assume"
Yeah, because it happens enough at this point that I notice it. This person doesn’t listen to much rap ≠ this person is a fake fan of this artist ≠ this person’s taste is bad. If anything, it means I sometimes get to recommend some artists they may end up loving as well.
okay so if what you intended to convey is that you're making an impact-neutral, nonjudgmental assessment of someone's listening history based on pattern recognition, what makes this a "dangerous opinion"?
Because I stand by what I said, and people clearly dislike that I said it.
why do you think they dislike it?
It definitely sounds gatekeepy to say Kendrick has a lot of fans who only listen to him out of his entire genre, even if gatekeeping is not my intention. It’s just a pattern I recognize, as you said. He’s extremely famous. It happens when you’re that famous.
And it really is a testament to Kendrick’s abilities that he is such a complex and conscious lyricist who has also managed to accumulate the broad appeal that he has.
yeah, and to his producers abilities
Yep.