The conflict has been brewing for years but has exploded in recent days. Rap giants Drake and Kendrick Lamar exchanged insults and accusations in new songs, creating a moment of tension in the music scene.
These “fights” between heavyweights are part of hip-hop culture. And he is already well known in the industry and among his fans: Drake, the rapper who earned the most money last year, and Kendrick Lamar, one of the biggest names in rap, already awarded the Pulitzer Prize, do not get along.
While previous wars of words revolved around the rivalry over who is the bigger star, this time the two artists went much further in the lyrics of the songs released in recent days.
“Drake, I heard you like them young”, says the American rapper in the song “Not Like Us”, which talks about “certified pedophiles”.
The origin of “beef”
Drake and Kendrick Lamar started out as friends, with Lamar collaborating on the Canadian’s second album, “Take Care”, in 2011, and even opening for Drake’s concerts. Club Paradise Tour, the following year.
But at the end of last year, Drake released his eighth studio album “For All the Dogs”, and that’s when the war broke out. In the song “First Person Shooter”, rapper J. Cole refers to a “big three”, the three biggest in rap, including himself, Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
“The big three of us started a league, but right now I feel like Muhammad Ali”, he sang.
Lamar was not very pleased with the comparison and in March of this year, in a song by Future with Metro Boomin, he says he is “just him”, comparing himself to Prince and comparing Drake to Michael Jackson.
“Prince lived longer than ‘Mike Jack’”, he says in the song.
Drake did not leave Kendrick Lamar unanswered and, two weeks later, released “Push Ups”, in which he states that Lamar “does not belong to any ‘big three’ and criticizes his participation in songs by artists like Taylor Swift or Maroon 5.
On May 3, Kendrick Lamar responded and released “Meet the Grahams”, referring to Drake’s real name (Aubrey Drake Graham), and stated that the Canadian has a secret 11-year-old daughter.
On social media, Drake mocked the subject brought up by his rival, with the following phrase: “Can someone find my hidden daughter and forward her to me?”
In less than 24 hours, Kendrick returned “to the charge” and released “Not Like Us”, accusing Drake of being a “certified pedophile”, in reference to his 2021 album “Certified Loverboy”.
Last Sunday, Drake said that it was his team that created the false rumor that he had a hidden daughter.
“You have to learn to fact-check things and be less impatient”, he joked.
Drake’s bodyguard shot
Drake’s bodyguard was seriously injured when he was shot this Tuesday morning outside the rapper’s mansion in Toronto, Canada.
According to France Press, this morning “several individuals in a vehicle opened fire” at the security guard, who was outside the residence.
“I can’t say if Drake was home at the time of the shooting, but I can say we are in contact with his team,” Toronto police investigator Paul Krawczyk told the press.
The police, who did not have a description of the suspects or the car being sought, said that the victim “was still in critical condition in the hospital” in the middle of the afternoon on Tuesday.
For several decades, rap has been marked by “clashes” between its biggest names, like the one that pitted legends Tupac Shakur and The Notorious BIG in the 90s.
This dispute ended in violence and tragedy, in a scenario of war between gangs and murders.
Tags: Beef Drake Kendrick Lamar involves shooting war rappers escalates
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