Kendrick Lamar Ghostwriter Claims Debunked Following Alleged ‘N95’ Demo

Allegations
that

Kendrick
Lamar
secretly
used
a
ghostwriter
to
help
him
craft
“N95”
have
been
denied
by
the
rapper
at
the
center
of
the
controversy.

Over
the
weekend,
an
alleged
demo
of
the

Mr.
Morale
&
The
Big
Steppers
track
performed
by
CJ
Francis
surfaced
online,
with
a
user
on
X
claiming
it
was
a
reference
for
Kendrick
and
that
Francis
was
uncredited
for
his
work
on
the
song.

“Quentin
Miller
associate
CJ
Francis
IV
ghostwriting
for
Kendrick
Lamar.
This
is
his
demo
of
N95
(2022).
I’d
say
this
is
a
collab,
but
his
name
isn’t
on
the
credits
[ghost
emoji],”
the
user
claimed.

The
post
was
accompanied
by
a
brief
snippet
of
Francis
rapping
over
the
“N95”
beat
and
using
a
similar
cadence
and
lyrics
as
Kendrick’s
version.

There
was
also
a
screenshot
of
a

2022
tweet
from
the
user
@ItsNotHarold
that
said:
“My
boy
CJ
Francis
IV
wrote
on
the
Kendrick
project
man
I’m
so
fuckin
gassed
for
my
boy!!!!
He
one
of
the
most
talented
people
in
the
world
bro
this
shit
is
so
next
level!!!”

However,
Francis
denied
that
he
was
ever
involved
with
the
song,
writing
on
his
Instagram
Stories:
“I
had
nothing
to
do
with
that
song.
Nor
do
I
have
anything
to
do
with
it
being
posted
online.”

Quentin
Miller
associate
CJ
Francis
IV
ghostwriting
for
Kendrick
Lamar.
This
is
his
demo
of
N95
(2022).
I’d
say
this
is
a
collab,
but
his
name
isn’t
on
the
credits.
????

pic.twitter.com/BtevQZ0n5M

—
King
Jared
(@certifiedjared)

April
13,
2024

CJ
Francis
clears
up
rumours
of
him
ghostwriting
N95
for
Kendrick
Lamar❌

pic.twitter.com/ru2FRp75PC

—
Debating
Hip-Hop
(@DebatingHipHop_)

April
15,
2024

The
original
social
media
post
also
received
a
community
note
which
said
Francis
“is
known
for
rapping
over
instrumental
remakes
from
YouTube
&
pretending
he
made
demos
for
popular
songs.”

A


Reddit
thread
also
debunked
the
claims,
pointing
out
that
“N95”
originated
in
2019
as
a
collaboration
between
Kendrick
Lamar
and

Baby
Keem
that
was
ultimately
scrapped.

Kendrick
reportedly
later
merged
two
different
songs
to
create
the
basis
for
“N95”
before
settling
on
the
final
version
of
the
song
in
2022.

The
beat
on
the
snippet
of
the
alleged
demo
is
also
mastered
and
sounds
exactly
like
the
final
version
that
ended
up
on

Mr.
Morale
&
The
Big
Steppers.

related

news

Jadakiss
Wants
To
Ask
J.
Cole
‘What
Went
Wrong’
With
Kendrick
Lamar
Diss
Track

April
15,
2024

The
since-debunked
ghostwriting
drama
cropped
up
just
as

Drake
—
who
is

no
stranger
to
ghostwriting
allegations
himself
—
responded
to

Kendrick
Lamar
on
wax
after
he
dissed
him
on

Future
and

Metro
Boomin‘s
“Like
That.”

On
the
leaked
track,
titled
“Push
Ups,”
the
6
God
taunts
his
longtime
rival
over
his
stature,
album
sales
and
pop
collaborations
while
claiming
he
is
being
extorted
by
his
former
label
boss,
TDE
founder
Anthony
“Top
Dawg”
Tiffith.

“You
won’t
ever
take
no
chain
off
of
us/
How
the
fuck
you
big
steppin’
with
a
size
seven
men’s
on?/
This
the
bark
with
the
bite,
n-gga,
what’s
up?/
I
know
my
picture
on
the
wall
when
y’all
cook
up/
Extortion
baby,
whole
career
you
been
shook
up/
‘Cause
Top
told
you
drop
and
give
me
fifty
like
some
push-ups,
heugh!”
he
raps.

He
also
seemingly
references
Kendrick’s
wife
and
baby
mother

Whitney
Alford:

“I
be
with
some
bodyguards
like
Whitney/
Top
say
drop,
your
little
midget-ass
better
fuckin.’”

On
his
initial
diss
which
reignited
their
years-long
feud,
Kendrick
spit:

“Fuck
sneak
dissin’,
first-person
shooter,
I
hope
they
came
with
three
switches/
I
crash
out
like,
‘Fuck
rap,’
diss
Melle
Mel
if
I
had
to/
Got
2TEEZ
with
me,
I’m
snatchin’
chains
and
burnin’
tattoos,
it’s
up.”

Kendrick
also
declared
supremacy
over
other
rappers:

“Think
I
won’t
drop
the
location?
I
still
got
PTSD/
Motherfuck
the
big
three,
n-gga,
it’s
just
big
me.”