Forget King Of New York, Mr. Kendrick Lamar Lands "Rapper Of The Year" Title

West Coast rapper Kendrick Lamar can pop his collar extra hard as reports claim the Aftermath Records stud has earned "Rapper of the Year" accolades from popular men's magazine GQ.

In its new GQ Men of the Year issue, K. Dot receives the honor over notable hip-hop acts like Kanye West, Jay Z and Lil Wayne.

Kendrick Lamar: Rapper of the Year Every member of rap's Mount Rushmore dropped new albums in 2013--Kanye, Jay Z, Drake, Eminem--but it was another MC altogether who stole the crown, and he did it with just a handful of verses: Kendrick Lamar, the latest--and possibly greatest--rapper to come straight outta Compton. (GQ)

A few weeks ago, Bad Boy Records CEO Diddy applauded Kendrick for the positive contributions he has made in music.

"When I was coming up, I always stated I was a king because I knew who I was. That's like knowledge of self. So with [Kendrick] being a king, he's a king, Jay's a king, Ye's a king but there are some cats that are not kings. You got to be a prince sometimes before you can be a king," Diddy explained in an interview. "Kendrick is deserving of his crown because he took hip-hop and put it on his back so crazy and has given birth to a whole type of real hip-hop generation that we needed to come back and it came from a cat that was, ironically, from the West Coast. He went back to the essence of what hip-hop is about." ("Big Boy's Neighborhood")

Recently, "Rap God" Eminem showered the self-proclaimed "King of New York" with co-signs.

"What he's doing right now, it's pretty f*cking incredible," Eminem says of Lamar, sounding genuinely excited. "He seems like this kid that's just full of life and happy to be here. The impact he's had over just the last couple of years. it's been really fun for me to watch." (Billboard)

Back in September, rap star Kanye West boasted about his admiration for Lamar.

"[The upcoming tour with Kendrick?] Yeah, it's one hundred percent, it's one hundred percent. I'm just looking forward to the opportunity to speak to this brother as much as possible. That, those conversations are going to be more than I even said right here. Because he's one of our future messengers. You know? And I'm going to give him those jewels." (BBC Radio 1)