drake and kendrick lamar
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When wrestling legend and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn “Heartbreak Kid” Michaels appears on social media and invites you to settle a rap feud inside the squared circle, or Saturday – When Night Live digs deep with sketches, you'll know your fight is big. It has penetrated the mainstream. The musical rivalry between Drake and Kendrick Lamar has escalated from a battle to an all-out hip-hop war for world scores. Each MC demonstrated a tough commitment to lyrical excellence, nitpicking, and some inventive combat zone strategies. These two MCs aren't content with multiple Grammys and platinum albums, they're neither rich nor lazy; they're hungry and committed to the cause of culture.
The risks are extremely high. This isn't just “I don't like you, you don't like me, let's see who can embarrass each other the most.” No, this is the highest amount for a host. When the smoke clears from this situation, there is a good chance that the winner will be crowned not only the best of the moment, but of his generation, or perhaps of all time, depending on what fans think. That's how serious this is.
No matter how you rank them, Drake and Lamar both rank as hip-hop's two most elite. Drake has dominated throughout his career in both rapping and singing the best bars and melodies. Over 15 years ago, he released a game-changing mixtape, aptly titled So Far Gone, and it's remained that way ever since. Get out of here! He's produced number one records, club bangers, underground smashes, platinum after hit, never before seen in rap. He leaves no stone unturned to charm everyone. He's dabbled in a wide variety of genres, from fellow chart-toppers to virtually unknown artists, and achieved across-the-board success almost every time. Are there any rappers like Eminem or Nelly that sold more in the era of physical album purchases? surely. But for a decade and a half, Drakes has endlessly embraced content that has been praised by fans and journalists alike. Ask yourself. When was the last time Drake didn't have a hit, or multiple hits at the same time, in the market? Since he hit the scene, he hasn't had any lulls.
Lamar has also been very successful. He was literally knighted as the West Coast's new leader by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg at a concert a few years ago. K. Dot's microphone is definitely special. He releases music that speaks to your soul. “Alright” was an anthem for the Black Lives Matter movement, which called for black culture. He is an activist both in song and on the streets. God gave him one of the most dangerous skill sets a rapper can boast, and he has honed it through his years of hard work and dedication. Lamarr has classic works in his catalog and is one of the most critically acclaimed of all time. He's won a Grammy Award and has sold out tours around the world, but the spotlight isn't his. You can't get him in the club. He does not appear in the media. And he doesn't drop music often. Lamar's last album, Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, was released two years ago and was a sequel to his Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, Dumb, so fans had to wait five years for it. I had to. Lamar also doesn't often make guest appearances between projects. Still, he is very powerful, and even if his presence in the market is not imminent, he will not lose his position for many years. When he surfaces, he quickly returns to the front of the line.
That's what makes the showdown between these giants the most high-profile matchup since Jay-Z vs. Nas in the early 2000s. Two generations of talent are not only at the top of their game, but at the top of their game. And they delivered a result unlike any matchup we've seen before.
“For me, this was the best rap battle I've ever witnessed,” radio personality Charlamagne the God said on The Breakfast Club on Tuesday. “Two of the best of a generation, in their prime. I've never seen a rap battle bring so much music. Every time one of them falls, the other answers, and the other answers, and it gets heated. I will answer.”
The Clash of the Titans has been exciting and polarizing for the most part (as of this article, there's still no clear winner, and even Charlamagne and co-host DJ Envy didn't know who was on the air) leading or debating), beautiful at a high level. Mike's craftsmanship, brutality, and at times outrageous and unsubstantiated claims by both parties are cringeworthy, but definitely exciting. Especially in the heat of the past few days, it was a real-life movie to see these two trying to fight each other in gladiator mode.
On May 3, Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar set itself apart from previous rap showdowns by delivering an outstanding performance at the fastest pace ever. It was a verbal punishment, with each MC gaining the upper hand with a seemingly devastating haymaker, only for the other to fight back with a stinging blow.
Lamar performed “6:16 in LA” early in the morning, a stunning follow-up to his brilliant 6-minute-long tirade at Drake on “Euphoria,” which was released a few days earlier on April 30th. It was a quick follow up. Late Friday night and into Saturday, Drake posted a diss of Lamar on his Instagram page, dubbed “Buried Alive Part 2” on social media. announced that a new record and video, “Family Matters,'' which utilizes Lamar's flow and rhythm from “Family Matters,'' is “now available.'' Drake's rhyme flow, wit, humor, and gut-wrenching punch line are on full display over seven minutes, and he's played with not only Lamar but also Rick Ross, A$AP Rocky, The Weeknd, Future, and Metro Boomin. He also hurled insults at him. All anyone could talk about or post was that recording and the accompanying video, just his 30-45 minutes.
About 30 minutes later, Lamar came right back and said, “Let's meet Mr. and Mrs. Graham.” There, he aired further dissatisfaction with his own advice, speaking directly to Drake's parents, son Adonis, and a mysterious love child that the Canadian claims he kept secret for 11 years. Keeping his foot on the pedal, Lamar returned less than 24 hours later with a ferocious tenacity and insult-filled banger, “Not Like Us.” and accused them of being cultural vultures). Produced by DJ Mustard, the record was an immediate and powerful hit, a new West Coast anthem that had already transcended borders. It even broke the Spotify record previously held by Drake.
Not only have social media posts shown crowds of people, including athletes and celebrities, walking around to the song, but cable network TNT also played the song during an NBA playoff game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets. It flowed.
“I just gave you the mustard.” [Lamar] It’s the perfect canvas,” says Bootleg Kev, a nationally syndicated radio host who broadcasts on Real 92.3 in Los Angeles. “He was criticizing Drake, but he was paying homage to the West Coast. It was part of his flow, [reminiscent] Drakeo, Lil Vada's felt like a way to pay homage to a lot of the shitty stuff going on in LA. It's a banger. I have never seen LA so unified. This may justifiably spark a national renaissance of West Coast music. It's a West Coast thing, it's an LA thing, but it's on trend. Elon Musk is talking about it. This song is setting streaming records and we're playing it on the radio. ”
Despite Lamar's powerful volley of shots, Drake refused to be knocked out. He countered on May 5 with The Hurt Part 6, a title play-off to Lamar's previously released The Hurt Part 5. Drake's record not only downplayed Lamar's claims that he had sex with underage girls, but also revealed a diabolical plot twist. In other words, someone in his camp fed someone in Lamar's camp false information about his alleged daughter, and as a result, they fell prey to falsehoods about the incident. A passage from “Meet the Graham Family.'' Drake also doubled down on his own claims that Lamar was abusive.
Certainly we have enough material to marinate, so for now both opponents are back in their corners.
Oddly enough, Drake and Lamar were pretty cool over a decade ago. In 2011, Drake asked Lamar to appear on his Take Care interlude, “Buried Alive.” In 2012, Drake appeared on Lamar's masterwork Good Kid mAAd city via his hit song “Poetic Justice,” and Lamar served as the opening act for Drake's Club Paradise tour. The two also guest-starred with 2 Chainz on A$AP Rocky's “Fuckin' Problems.”
Despite the great vibes, the energy between Drake and Lamar changed forever the following summer, 2013, following Lamar's viral verse on Big Sean's “Control.”
“I'm always a homeboy with the same n—-s that rhymes,” Lamar declared. “But this is hip-hop, they're supposed to know what time it is/And it's Jermaine Cole, Big Klit, Wale/Pusha T, Meek Mills, A$AP Rocky, Same goes for Drake/Big Sean, Jay Electron. Tyler, Mac Miller/I love you all, but I'm trying to kill you…”
Lamar chalked it up to just good sportsmanship, but it ruffled quite a few of his colleagues' feathers, to say the least. But nothing really escalated that far. But actually, from there, the actual name-calling between Drake and Lamar went dormant. If you read between the lines of rap, Drake and Lamar have been pointing subliminal daggers at each other for years. In 2015's “King Kunta,” Lamar mocked “rappers with ghostwriters” in response to Meek Mill and others' accusations against Drake. About how he used a hired gun to write his acclaimed lyrics. Still, Lamar's problems never surfaced. Drake sometimes had his hands full with lyrical conflicts, especially with Meek Mill and Pusha T.
Last October, Drake and J. Cole collaborated on “First Person Shooter,” with Cole calling himself, Drizzy, and Lamar the “big three” of rap, and the song debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100. obtained the rank.
A few months later, in late March, Lamar appeared on Future and Metro Boomin's “Like That” and declared that Drake and Cole were not buddies in No. 1 Smash, igniting a feud with Drake. Ta. “It’s just me being big,” he said, noting there is no Big 3.
Cole first retaliated with “7 Minute Drill,” from his April 5 surprise release, Might Delete Later. The song was released on Friday to much fanfare, but by Sunday Cole was on stage at the Dreamville Festival, where she apologized for having written the song. By the following week, the song was removed from “subject to removal.”
While Cole was ready to step down, Drake was also ready to join in, dropping “push-ups,” mostly aimed at Lamar, but also of his greatest and most consistent collaborator. It was also directed at one person, Rick Ross (The Bose dissed Drake's “Champagne Moments” to applause two hours later).
On April 19, Drake released “Taylor Made Freestyle”, in which he publicly asked Lamar where his arguments against “push-ups” were and scolded Lamar for taking too long to respond. Drake even featured AI-generated voices of Tupac and Snoop Dogg. Lamar returns relentlessly with “Euphoria” on April 30th.
With some DJs like Bootleg Kev predicting 'Not Like Us' to be the song of the summer, this historic spat may be heating up instead of cooling down.