Kendrick Lamar Accused of Copying Philadelphia Rapper’s Play

Kendrick Lamar has been called many things -- but a biter? No, never. Although K.Dot delivered a provocative performance at the 2016 Grammy Awards, one Philadelphia rapper feels that he may have copied some elements of his musical play.

The Grammy night performance of “The Blacker the Berry” and “Alright” featured the Compton rhymer chained as he performed his songs in a jail cell with actors performing African dances. Kendrick then ended his performance with a freestyle whose lyrics recalled Feb. 26, 2012, the day Trayvon Martin was killed.

All of it looked way too familiar to Philadelphia rapper Dice Raw. A former affiliate of the Roots crew, Dice was watching the performance and couldn't believe his eyes.

The "Clones" rapper believes that Kendrick lifted some elements of his musical play The Last Jimmy, which is about a musician trying to break free from the shackles of an unjust criminal system. The play also featured African dances and spoken word.

“I thought Kendrick’s performance was good, I was watching/not watching, until I got a phone call asking me what I thought,” Raw told Philly.com. “Oh yeah, the prison thing. That’s a point. Then the gold cages onstage, yeah -- that’s another coincidence. Are those musicians in cages? OK. African dance in the middle of that montage — another coincidence, too."

Dice Raw, whose real name is Karl Jenkins, went on Twitter to applaud Kendrick's performance but to let Top Dawg Entertainment know that somebody may have led him astray.

"Thanx for helping the Brothers But you ripped The Last Jimmy Off hiphop musical/mass incarceration," he tweeted. "I know Kendrick don't know he bit my play but the person who told him to do that dose[sic]. I'm not mad @kendricklamar fightmassincarceration."

Raw’s publicist Sandra Sims told Philly.com that the rapper's attorneys immediately got in touch with Lamar’s representatives, “just to let them know that we knew. This is a legal situation and legal people need to be in charge of it.”

So far, TDE has not responded to Dice Raw's allegations. You can watch a preview of Raw's play, The Last Jimmy, below.

But what do you think? Did Kendrick Lamar copied Dice Raw's play? Tell us in the comments below.