So last month, a feud began between the industry’s so-called “Big Three” — Kendrick Lamar, Drake and J. Cole, with Lamar Guest appearances on “Like That” take direct aim at Drake and J. Cole. With Future and Metro Boomin’s new album “We Don’t Trust You,” fans are eagerly awaiting the rap battle they’ve been doing for a long time.
A potential showdown between Lamar, Drake and Cole could be the culmination of three rap heavyweights who have dominated their respective genres, as fans rage against the genre’s greatest artists Endlessly discussed, it received numerous accolades, rave reviews, and heated debates.
“The past few weeks have been the most exciting times in hip-hop in a long time,” said music journalist and author Sowmya Krishnamurthy. “This is the first time we’re seeing three artists at the top of their game and truly pursuing the crown.”
But what happened after Lamar’s verse wasn’t exactly a classic hip-hop beef, with J. Cole walking back his response and Drake limiting himself to cryptic hints so far. Now, Rihanna’s costar A$AP Rocky has weighed in on Drake. Here’s how to make sense of it all.
Lamar’s lyrics on “Like That” referenced Drake and Cole’s 2023 song “First Person Shooter,” in which Cole calls the three rappers the greatest rappers in the industry. “Our Big Three is like we started a league, but now, I feel like Muhammad Ali,” Kerr said.
Lamar profanely dismissed the idea, concluding: “That’s my greatness.”
But he saved most of his venom for Drake, seemingly comparing himself to Prince and Drake to Michael Jackson, noting that “Prince has outlived Michael Jackson,” and citing of Drake’s latest album, “For All Dogs,” with the line: “‘Before all your dogs'” were buried/That’s a K with all those 9’s, he’d see “Pet Sematary” “. “
Rob Markman, a music journalist and vice president of content strategy at lyric annotation service Genius, said Lamar is drawing a line in the sand. “Kendrick is the aggressor here. [His] It seems you can’t just say you’re the greatest. You have to prove it. The world we live in is not a world where you can say whatever you want. This is hip-hop. “
On April 5, Cole dropped the surprise album Delete Later , which includes the song “7 Minute Practice,” in which the North Carolina native hints that Lamar writes, on average, every 30 months “A good rap verse” and he despises other artists getting attention in his music. Cole also criticized Lamar’s critically acclaimed albums “To Pimp a Butterfly” and “Mr. Lamar.” Morale and the Great Progressives,” calling the first boring and overrated and the second a “tragedy.”
Many listeners thought this angle was a major misstep.
“The problem is [verse] Kendrick has a great record,” Markman said. “The whole thing about battle rap: … it’s not all necessarily true. But when you’re most successful, it’s when you take some truth and twist it to your advantage, and you get the public support. I think that’s what Cole is trying to do here,” Markman said. “I think it was a mistake.”
Cole seemed to agree. While on stage at Dreamville Music Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Sunday, the rapper walked back what he said on the track, explaining that the reaction he’s seen to the song “doesn’t fit with my spirit.” , disturbing his sleep and peace of mind.
“That’s the lamest, stupidest thing,” Kerr said. He also told fans that he would update the song or remove it from streaming services (as of this writing, it is still available).
“J. Cole once famously said that he failed Nas in a song years ago, and he failed hip-hop with that move,” Krishnamurti said. “It’s disappointing that as an athlete who understands healthy competition and sportsmanship, as well as being a true lover of the hip-hop art form, he would release a diss record and then withdraw it 48 hours later.”
Drake has yet to release a song in response to Lamar, but many fans have speculated that comments he made on stage and on social media were directed at the “Compton” rapper. “I’m…head high, back straight, ten…toes down,” Drake told the crowd during a March 23 tour stop in Sunrise, Florida. [nobody] on this earth [mess] Live with me. ” (Of course, he used more profane terms.)
A few days later, he shared a post on Instagram with the caption: “They would rather go to war with me than admit that they are their own worst enemy.”
Drake is no stranger to rap battles, having previously hung out with big names like Meek Mill, Pusha T and rapper Ye.
“Drake is battle-tested. Drake is very strategic,” Markman said. “He doesn’t just pull out anything.”
But Krishnamurti said he was also known for playing on the edge. “There are a lot of high-profile issues, especially with Pusha T, that we are still waiting for a response to.”
Rumors are swirling as to when we might hear from Drake. “As far as I know, both sides have been in the booth and out,” media personality and former rapper Joe Budden shared on his podcast on Wednesday. “What I’m hearing from both sides is that it’s nuclear.”
An alliance may be forming on both sides of the hip-hop world. Lamar’s diss was recorded by Metro Boomin, who has also feuded with Drake and Future (a frequent collaborator of Drake’s). Some fans suggested that Rick Ross shaded Drake after he posted a video of himself smoking a cigar while listening to Lamar’s verse.
“It’s almost like Marvel’s ‘Captain America: Civil War,’” Markman said. “You have superheroes on one side and you have superheroes on the other side, and there’s going to be a conflict.
On Friday, another big name joined forces to take on Drake: A$AP Rocky, who appears on Future’s song “Show of Hands” and Metro Boomin’s second album in three weeks, “We Still Don’t Trust You.”
Drake and Rihanna (with whom Rocky has two children) once dated, and Rocky’s lyrics seem to reference that history (men’s “feelings for women, what, are you hurt or something?”) as well as Del Rey Son of the Gram (“I Crush”) Before you were born, son, Flacko hit it first, son. ”), his existence was not revealed until 2018 during Drake’s highly personal showdown with Pusha T.
What are everyone else saying?
Kerr’s apology speech sparked a flood of jokes, memes and trending comments on social media from fans who felt they had been denied the chance to play a big game. Even brands like Spotify have joined the fray, posting billboards across New York City that read: “Hip-hop is a competitive sport.”
Fans said Cole’s retraction went against that idea. “What happened to hip-hop?” lamented many users on X (formerly Twitter). “I hope J Cole is happy to know the irreversible damage he did to hip-hop last weekend…” another user wrote.
Some commenters remain hopeful about Drake’s response.
During a live broadcast on Monday, DJ Akademiks said his exchange with Drake seemed to confirm that the rapper wouldn’t go the same route as Cole. “Please don’t apologize and don’t do anything weird,” said the academician, who sent a message to Drake. The rapper allegedly responded: “I can’t believe you would stop and say something like that to me. You must not know me.”
Other voices in the hip-hop community also weighed in.
Charlamagne Tha God, host of the syndicated radio show “The Breakfast Club,” said he respects Cole’s decision to withdraw from the feud.
“As a rap fan, I understand how disappointed many of you are in Cole,” he said. “But the person I am, deep down, understands that I am a spiritual being living a human life and have nothing but respect for what J. Cole did. Today, many of us speak with pride and Egos take over and we let these idiots on social media, who we don’t even know, peer pressure us into saying things we don’t even want to do.”
Meanwhile, gangster rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight, who is serving a 28-year sentence for manslaughter, slammed Cole on a recent episode of his “Collect Call” podcast.
“J. Cole, you should say what you mean and mean what you say,” Knight said. “To be the best, you gotta beat the best. It’s a contact sport. As we used to say, if you don’t want to be a gangster rapper, do R&B. West Coast, stand up. This It’s a win.”
Knight’s comments recall the rap feud between East Coast and West Coast artists in the mid-1990s. Tensions centered on a feud between superstar rappers Christopher Wallace and Tupac Shakur. Christopher Wallace (aka Biggie Smalls) signed with Diddy’s New York label Bad Boy Records, while Tupac Shakur From Death Row Records, a Los Angeles label owned by Knight.
Songs like Biggie’s “Who Shot Ya?” and Shakur’s “Hit ‘Em Up” are classic diss tracks. But the feud ultimately ended with both rappers being killed in drive-by shootings within six months.
These days, beef isn’t that far gone. “As long as it advances the art, as long as it’s documented, as long as no one gets hurt in real life, as long as you don’t get into a Biggie and Pac situation, I think competition is for us,” Markman said.
