21 Savage’s manager Justin “Meezy” Williams has denied that the Atlanta rapper mocked Kendrick Lamar in a leaked Drake song “It’s Up.”
Drizzy shared the track on Tuesday (August 6) as part of a 100GB dump of previously unreleased content, leading to speculation that 21 was targeting Kendrick.
In the song, the Slaughter Gang boss also features the currently incarcerated Young Thug, who raps: “Did a few songs, thought he was hot now / Kicked his ass, thought he was ‘Pac’ now.” “
Team 21 was quick to debunk rumors that the Compton rap star was the target of the lyrics.
Akademiks relayed the news during his Rumble live stream, saying, “I talked to the 21 people. 21 wasn’t dissing Kendrick, okay? […[ That is not at Kendrick Lamar at all.”
Ak then read out a text from Meezy which clarified that 21 was not jumping into Drake’s beef with K. Dot: “He said, ‘That is definitely no shot at Kendrick.’ He literally said, ‘That shit would make no sense ’cause Kendrick got more than one hit or whatever.’”
21 Savage’s manager confirms 21 did not diss Kendrick Lamar in the new song ‘Its Up’ leaked by Drake today
“that definitely aint no shot at Kendrick”
– via Akademiks livestream / @Megameezy1https://t.co/GbDrHtGNzwpic.twitter.com/kNDchHI8r1
— SOUND (@itsavibe) August 7, 2024
Despite touring with Drake and releasing a number of collaborations including the joint album Her Loss, 21 Savage has largely refused to be drawn into Hip Hop’s recent civil war that saw the 6 God on one side and the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Future, Metro Boomin, Rick Ross and A$AP Rocky on the other.
21 recently got into a playful back and forth with longtime collaborator Metro over the feud.
The super producer jumped into the comments of 21’s Instagram Live and jokingly called him “OVO Savage,” while also writing: “I JUS KNOW U GOT A OWL TRAMP STAMP,” referring to the owl logo of Drake’s OVO brand.
After catching wind of the light jabs, 21 kicked Metro off his broadcast and said: “Oh, you was talking shit, bitch? Get off my Live […] I have to stop this n-gga.
He then shouted, “Metro, shut your ass up, play some drums, n-gga,” referencing the viral line from Drizzy’s diss song “Push Ups.”
21 Savage, who is close to Drake and Metro Boomin, has previously spoken out about high-profile feuds between the two, but he refused to take sides.
“Oops, yeah, don’t talk about no fucking beef on my fucking live stream,” he told his followers in another Instagram Live after receiving a flood of comments about the rivalry. “Metro is my brother, Drake is my brother. They’re going to figure it out eventually.