Drake is doing his best to move forward with new music and put his beef with Kendrick Lamar behind him. However, the hatred for Drizzy remained unabated. Despite releasing a slew of new songs over the past few months and giving the hip-hop world an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at his life through his recently released 100 Shows , Drake can’t seem to do enough in this area Anything right.
Drake haters won’t let him get away with Kendrick Lamar beef
Following his vitriolic rap battle with Kendrick Lamar, Drake announced on his Instagram Story in May that he was putting the drama behind him and moving on to “the good times” ” and “summer vibes.” After a few days of silence, Drake danced to the sultry red version of “U My Everything” in late May. The song features Metro Boomin’s popular “BBL Drizzy” instrumental, which the producer used to joke about boys who allegedly underwent plastic surgery. On “U My Everything,” Drake attempts to channel his spoofing into a sense of empowerment, with mixed results.
“I really changed a lot of girls’ lives/They wanted a new body, they hit me, yeah/BBL Drizy, they wanted a new body, they asked me for it,” Drake raps.
The song didn’t take off like Drake’s album, debuting at No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and failing to climb any further over the next few weeks. Fans also called the move “orchestrated” and mocked Drake’s apparent attempt to change the narrative.
“With all due respect, Drake’s BBL drizzle part ruined everything for me. Fuck him,” one person wrote on X.
Another added: “Petition to remove the sexy red ‘u my everything’ ruins the song.”
“No, it’s official. Drake has officially mastered the art of clichés,” another wrote. “He thinks he’s part of the joke, oh no,” another person mentioned, while another Bit wrote, “He tried very hard to appear nonchalant.”
As a result, Drake decided to abandon the feud entirely and instead look to deliver on the promise of “summer vibes.” In June, Drake jumped on the controversial song “Wah Gwan Delilah,” written by little-known Toronto rapper Snowd4y. The song, a parody of Plain White T’s 2005 hit “Hey There Delilah,” seemed to be Drizzy’s attempt at comic relief after the heated battle seemed to be lost. Many people mocked Drake’s move, accusing him of trying to cover up his painful loss to Kendrick Lamar. The memes also relentlessly attack Drake’s use of Jamaican dialect in his poetry. Fans posted photos of Drake wearing fake scares.
“What did Kendrick do to this guy?” one user asked on X.
“Drake, say it’s not so Drake,” YouTuber No Life Shaq said in his reaction video.
Even the band Plain White T expressed their dissatisfaction in the song’s reaction video. The band’s lead singer shook his head in disappointment when listening to Drizzy’s verse, and even speculated that it might be the work of artificial intelligence.
Nonetheless, Drake decided to settle the feud and have some fun. In late June, he collaborated with pop singer Camila Cabello on the songs “Hot Uptown” and “Uuugly.” The new music is included on her new album C,XOXO. Neither song entered the Billboard Hot 100, and Drizzy’s clowning was once again in full force.
“Honestly, hot uptown would be terrible without Drake,” one user wrote on X in August.
“Kendrick would sound better,” another said.
“Hot residential area Good but failed,” another user wrote, adding, “It takes more than just good music. It takes redemption. He needs respect back, and I don’t know how he’s going to get it. I’m objective. Every angle. Kendrick be opposed to Drake Ruined his brand.
By July, Drizzy tried a different approach and reopened his Honestly, Nevermind package with dance numbers like “Sideways” and “Healing” by Gordo. The response to the track was slightly better. “Sideways” debuted at No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but two weeks later, the song fell off the chart entirely.
Musically, Drake seems to have plateaued. After his unreleased song “Super Soak,” featuring Lil Yachty, wasn’t released due to sampling issues, Drizzy surprised the internet in August by releasing “100 Gigs for Your Headtop.” He promotes a website on his finsta account that contains 100 GB of new music and an extensive collection of behind-the-scenes video footage over the years. The release appears to be a drama that humanizes Drake while also giving fans and critics a glimpse into the creative force behind the hits everyone knows and loves.
Hate is not more than love
At first glance, the initiative appears to be working. Longtime fans on TikTok have been nostalgically reminiscing about some of their favorite Drake moments on “Take Care,” “Nothing Was the Same” and “Views.” Others also retweeted the video and praised it highly. One fan even said they made a mistake by hating Drake in their beef.
The mood seemed to be working in Drizzy’s favor, so on August 10th, Drake attempted to capitalize on the positive momentum by releasing three new songs to streaming that were heard at his 100th show. While it remains to be seen how each song will rank, the response to “Blue Green Road,” “Housekeeping Knows,” featuring Latto, and “It’s Up,” featuring Young Thug and 21 Savage, appears to be positive.
“That’s why he’s mine [goat emoji]”, one supporter said on TikTok before playing “It’s Up.”
While every aforementioned song he’s released is objectively a good song, there’s no denying that discord still hangs heavily over Six God’s every move. It even hangs heavy on his OVO team. PARTYNEXTDOOR is currently on tour, and every tour recap post on his Instagram has at least a few comments supporting Kendrick.
“This is why Kendrick wins,” one person commented under the post.
“The party at the party is playing with their noses now” also seems to be a popular comment, referring to a bar featured in Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” that appears to accuse PND of drug abuse.
In addition to releasing a ton of new music, Drake is also embracing humanitarianism this summer. On August 12, an article in Italian “GQ” magazine stated that Liushen and his team “mobilized” North American investors to donate more than 40 million euros to the troubled Venetian Football Club to save it from bankruptcy. While it was a heart-warming gesture, the move didn’t garner any positive attention from Drake in the U.S., as the trolling of the Canadian rapper continued relentlessly.
Not to mention, Drake officially transitioned to Texas official status on August 12, sharing a new ID and photo on Instagram. Fans have once again continued to attack him, with Soos Voca accusing him of not supporting or featuring any Houston artists during an interview with The Breakfast Club.
So is Drake’s decision to stop speaking out about beef a wise move? Ironically, even if Drizzy had commented, he would have probably received the same level of hate. It’s also worth noting that there’s an entire online community dedicated to criticizing Drizzy, downvoting every song he puts out on YouTube, and mocking him at every turn, no matter what he does. Some die-hard haters will even look back at Drake’s past songs and rip them apart. So as Drake continues to work through one of the most tense moments of his career, let’s hope that time truly heals all wounds.
