Over the last month, Kendrick Lamar and Drake have been battling it out in one of the biggest rap beefs in recent history, dropping diss track after diss track filled with pointed accusations of domestic violence, secret children, allegations of pedophilia and human sex trafficking rings. I can’t log onto any social network platform without seeing videos, people’s thoughts, or links as to where to find the latest diss track. If you haven’t heard of either two artists, you have now!
The spark to this eruption occurred in 2013 in the K-dot collaboration with Big Sean in “Control,” and it was reignited when Lamar made an appearance on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” track. Drake and Kendrick have had bad blood for quite some time. In March, Lamar had a response to J. Cole’s verse on Drake’s “First Person Shooter.” In his reaction, Lamar threw punches such as “Yeah, get up with me, f–k sneak dissing/’First Person Shooter,’ I hope they came with three switches,” before attacking the duo even more. “Think I won’t drop the location? I still got PTSD/ Motherf–k the Big Three, n—a, it’s just big me”. Those lyrics set it off in the hip-hop world, calling for Drake and J. Cole to respond.
Since then, J. Cole withdrew his “7-minute Drill” from all main streams and apologized, while Future and Metro Boomin left K-Dot to combat War all by himself against Drake. To add to the open wound, J. Cole appeared on the Metro Boomin and Future album “We Still Don’t Trust You” before going incognito and withdrawing himself completely. As a result, it seems that Drake cut ties with Cole. This feud has been trending, and fans from both sides have declared victory. The two most streamed tracks have been “Family Matters” and “Meet the Grahams,” which pushed this feud into nuclear territory.
Ultimately, this battle will never have a winner; the biggest winner will be the streaming platforms! Everything else is up to an individual’s interpretation and who they like more as an artist. I don’t see either fan base throwing up their white flags anytime soon. One thing is sure is that Drake and Kendrick represent the two artists popular enough to suck up this much oxygen. The saddest part that we should keep in mind is that these are two grown men (Almost 40) who are using women, parents and children in disgusting ways to feed their egos in an attempt to establish dominance. The biggest question that I have after hearing so many diss tracks is if Kendrick knows incriminating information about Drake, why has he withheld it until it was this advantageous? Also, why hasn’t K-Dot’s fiancee stood up for her man and denied abuse allegations? Lastly, why would Drake say, “ I never look twice at no teenager?” Should we call him Aubrey “Just a Peek” Graham? One thing is certain: my views have changed for both artists until more evidence arises regarding whether these are fictional or facts!
J. Cole will either be deemed a wise man for jumping ship or the softest rapper ever for his retreat. Will we hear his album “The Fall Off,” or did it already happen? Regardless, Cole is retiring after “The Fall Off”, Drake said he’s considering a graceful exit,’ and Kendrick is choosing himself over music. We’re ending with these 2010s legends, so enjoy this feud while you can. All three are the big three as this era comes to an end.
K-Dot is expected to drop ten more diss tracks; if he does, most likely, he will be the first rap artist to have a whole album of nuclear drops against another artist. Lamar is expected to release another album soon, with people speculating whether he is making these attacks for clout.
I believe that Kendrick hit harder and won this heavyweight title match. The crown sits atop K-Dot’s head. How Kendrick came at Drake reminded me of how Nas released the track “Ether,” where his resentment toward Jay-Z overflowed into a diss track that brought the heat! Most artists knew never to come at him in a disrespectful tone or get him that angry again. The same will be valid for K-Dot. He’s known for taking years between albums, but in just one week, he enhanced his legacy as one of the most influential lyricists of all time—my picks for the ‘Top five lyricists’ ever to touch the mic, coming soon.
Drake’s “The Heart Part 6” displays the superstar bowing out of the beef because K-Dot runs it to the ground. He didn’t need his fan base to throw the white towel into the ring; he did! “Not Like Us” was the end for me. K-Dot brought a Compton Classic out to dance all over Drake’s grave when he murdered him with the diss track “Meet the Grahams.”
These are my thoughts; the masses of Waterloo West are in agreement. We took a poll and asked the student body a few questions; here are the results:
- The most liked songs by West High are “Meet the Grahams” and “Euphoria.”
- 86.5% voted that Kendrick Lamar is their favorite artist.
- 89.2% think K-Dot is winning the diss battle against Drake.
- The favored lyric is “and it’s probably a minor” by K-Dot.
- 73% say that these songs change their perspectives on one of the artists – the main being that Drake is a pedophile. Thank you to those who participated in the poll and gave their feedback.
– Sincerely, A J.Cole fan
*Another notable beef in the industry is between Chris Brown and Quavo over who terrorizes women more. Mainstream media already declared Chris Brown the winner, and perhaps we saw a teaser of Brown crossing over to Rap.
