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| Kendrick Lamar performing at Glastonbury 2022 |
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| Drake & Kendrick on The Club Paradise Tour circa 2012 |
I’ve taken the last few months off of writing for the site, but even amongst my own personal turmoils (physical and mental health, writer’s block, etc) the Kendrick vs. Drake War found a way to weasle in on even the darkest days. I’ve explained this WW3 event to the casual rap fans in my life (my own mother included) in so many ways these last few weeks. For those who don’t even see a connection between the two Blog Era peers in the first place, I go back to Drake bringing Kendrick on the Club Paradise Tour and giving him an interlude on Take Care. For those who just want to know about the direct shots, “Control”, Drake's CRWN interview, and the 2012 BET Cypher are Ground Zero. For people wondering why Drake is so hated in the first place, I bring up the Drake v. Meek Mill Beef which although ended in a win, it exposed the first real chink in Drake’s seemingly impenetrable Nike Tech sponsored armor. For the most curious haters, explaining how an unpaid beat and a BAPE hoodie was the first domino that created a generation transcending beef with Pusha T and all of the Cash Money Records family tree was paramount. Times like this it would be great to just have a podcast, but to be associated with all the bearded incels, washed up athletes and wannabe stand ups that have watered down the medium is something I'd rather die a slow death than do. By the time “Not Like Us” became the #1 song in the country I was cashed out. But that was then, and now not a day goes by that I don’t grin like an idiot yelling random lyrics while cooking or driving to work from all parties involved.
Reflecting back on the timeline of events the last few months led to me every couple days playing all the records from every rapper involved in this Civil War in order from “First Person Shooter” onward like a Beef History mixtape.
First Person Shooter - Drake & J. Cole
Like That - Future & Metro Boomin Feat. Kendrick Lamar
Everyday Hustle - Future & Metro Boomin Feat. Rick Ross
7 Minute Drill - J. Cole
The Apology (Live @ Dreamville Fest) - J. Cole
All To Myself - Future & Metro Boomin Feat. The Weeknd
Show Of Hands - Future & Metro Boomin Feat. A$AP Rocky
Push Ups (Leaked Version) - Drake
One Shot (AI Generated Diss) - Sy The Rapper cosplaying as Kendrick Lamar
Champagne Moments - Rick Ross
Push Ups (Final Version) - Drake
Taylor Made Freestyle - Drake feat. AI 2Pac & AI Snoop Dogg
Like That (Remix) - Future & Metro Boomin Feat. Kanye West
Euphoria - Kendrick Lamar
6:16 In LA - Kendrick Lamar
Family Matters - Drake
Buried Alive Interlude Spoof - Drake
Meet The Grahams - The Fucking Devil Himself
Not Like Us - Kendrick Lamar
The Heart Pt. 6 - Drake
BBL Drizzy - Metro Boomin
Across this entire fiasco, Kendrick wisely bided in silence, stashing records accordingly, plotting Drake’s demise like a war general. He sat above it all watching Rick Ross speak his peace, Future lounge in silence, and Kanye try to insert himself in the dogpile. J. Cole popped his head in too only to run back inside after (allegedly) ScHoolboy Q came to him at Dreamville Fest, warning Cole of the ugliness that was about to ensue. Metro, who may be the real button pusher of this whole catastrophy, was so driven by his rage he created a marketing campaign for the first ever diss-trumental. As lines in the sand were drawn amongst fans and other artists the stakes slowly raised from slick sparring jabs and memes to a full out mud slinging match once Kendrick’s longtime fiancé Whitney was mentioned on “Push Ups”. If "Like That" was a temperature check, "Push Ups" and "Taylor Made Freestyle" were the waters visibly bubbling. All bets were off. The one-two punch of “Euphoria” and “6:16 In LA” quickly put him up over the halfhearted OVO releases. In a half dozen styles Kenny sewed the seeds of paranoia within Drakes camp, and was shooting side splitting one-liners like Mitch Hedberg. The wordplay was top notch, he transitioned between gliding through the Matrix and crashing into walls at top speed. He called in to question Drake as a songwriter and a father. He called him out for ducking Pusha T, disrespecting 2Pac, for teaming up with J. Cole, for getting cosmetic surgery, for getting robbed. The waters were rumbling and spilling over the edge of the pot.
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| Drake & his custom G Unit chain in the "Family Matters" video |
On the way to a friend's house I ran “Family Matters” twice, finally parsing the video in the apartment complex parking lot. On the diss he made quick work of the ancillary characters, picked his spots on where to respond to “Euphoria”, questioned whether or not Kendricks children were his or manager Dave Free’s, and even went as far to claim Kendrick as an abuser. The most Devilish tricks lies in the details of the video; invoking the spirit of the Petty King himself 50 Cent with a custom G-Unit chain, crushing a minivan similar to the good kid, m.A.A.d. city cover van, sitting in the restaurant Kendrick called him out for once being robbed in, playfully sharing Pharrell's collection of jewels like the scalp of an enemy soldier. There was even an IG video of Drake spoofing “Buried Alive Interlude”, going back over the beat and twisting his vocals to mimic Kendricks alien voice from the original version. It was a response package strong enough to shut the lights off and send the crowd home for probably 98% of all rappers. This was the real moment for Kendrick to prove if he was ready to play with The King. As someone fully bought in to Team Kendrick, even if I thought “Euphoria” had better rapping, I had to admit “Family Matters” and its video had Drake on the offensive. The water was sizzling on the stove top, and it was time to make a choice; turn the burner down or burn the whole house down.
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| "Meet The Grahams" cover art |
At a red light on the way home from the get together, I did what we all do. Popping my phone open, keeping one eye on the light, I reopened YouTube to run “Family Matters” again. At the top of my homepage was the thumbnail for “Meet The Grahams”. An image fully revealing what the rest of the “6:16 In LA” cover was hiding. The same Maybach glove, a couple illegible receipts, and pill bottles stamped with the name Aubrey Graham. One of those was an Ozempic prescription. HIPPA laws be damned, that zoom was enough for me to almost slide through the intersection. I pressed play instantly. As a card-carrying member of the Alchemist Is The Best Living Rap Producer Club, before Kendrick uttered a word I had a strong feeling who was behind the production. Crossing under green light after green light, my jaw slowly dropped farther and farther from its base position until it was dragging behind my shitty VW Jetta like tin cans on a newlyweds rented convertible. There was no rage; he barely spoke above a gravely whisper. It was a vile showing of disgust, disappointment, pity, and dismay. Not at what Drake had said about him, but at the immoral core of the life he was living behind the stained wooden doors ot The Embassy. For the first verse Lamar came as a distraught member of the community to his mortal enemy’s son Adonis, apologizing for Drake’s poor parenting skills and instead offering to come and fill the role of father to teach him self worth, discipline, and morality. Verse two started as him coming to Aubrey’s parents Sandy and Dennis as a disgruntled member of society, attempting to make clear the evil their son has brought to the world and reminding them of the role they played in creating such a “fucking horrible person” and “sick man with sick thoughts”. That same verse evolves into a blanket warning for any woman or family man that comes into Drake’s circle, cautioning them of their Canadian pals' ties to known sex traffickers. A secret daughter is the recipient of verse three (by this point my jaw had found its way to the Everglades) showing a heartbroken Kendrick again apologizing for her fathers neglect, narcissism, and addictions, eventually showing compassion as he realizes Drake is just repeating a cycle initiated by Dennis’ one-again-off-again parenting style. With his immediate bloodline addressed, a forth verse finally targeting Mr. Graham himself strolls in. Again, the disappointment is palpable, reading him for filth and suggesting ayahuasca as a cure for his addictions, ego and insecurities.
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| Kendrick & Havoc of Mobb Deep at the '17 BET Awards |
With still no proof coming to light of secret daughter existing, does “Meet The Grahams” lose any of its effectiveness? Not one bit. You could remove verse three altogether and you’d still be left with the most terrifying diss record rap has ever seen. Murder and torture are things we as humans categorize under the “things that happen most commonly in the shadows” category. “Hit ‘Em Up”, “No Vaseline”, “Ether” all were finishing moves that leaned into the darker sides of human emotion; disgust, spite, hatred, anger. There’s a hole lot of high octane emotiveness involved in those sentiments. But Kendrick didn’t have to yell and scream like he did on “Euphoria” or “Like That” or even “Control” to rock the world this go ‘round; he came with open arms of compassion and sadness to his enemies blood relatives to do it. It’s more sinister than the unrushed pace of Michael Meyers coming after you. It’s more petrifying than The Joker's laugh echoing down your street. It’s the rap equivalent of the scene in Midsommar when Jack Raynor’s character discovers the body of his friend hanging from the rafters of a chicken coop. The endless sun beaming through the wood panels, and the technicolor flowers placed across the body only makes the discovery of his mutilated friend, still breathing as the hens use him for feed, that much more gruesome. Fitting somewhere right above any Prodigy verse from Mobb Deep's Hell On Earth, but still second to Immortal Technique's infamous “Dance With The Devil”; it’s the most bone chilling rap performance in history. Any DJ working a Halloween party that doesn’t find a way to combine this record to “Thriller” is doing a disservice to anyone in earshot of thier set.
In boxing, styles make fights. The same goes for rap beefs. Drake has been a cerebral crowd pleasing heavyweight, breaking down his enemies with club records and sticky barbs that live on as IG captions and bumper stickers. Nobody knew what to expect from Kendrick, because no one had ever said Candyman until now. He's a Gemini style fighter. He moves in twos, Track A being a charged up breakdown of what's already on the table, while Track B is a cold hearted and calculated reveal of something new. That something new may only be understood by he and who he's lined up against, but the reveal is icey and unforgiving. It forces the question; "are you really sure you want to do this?". Now A or B doesn't represent order, but simply just shows the many ways you can skin a rapper. Top dogs have been beaten out of their throne, but none have been dragged in the street and curb stomped quite like this. The war was won with a damning Track B. "Meet The Grahams" was a funeral to the image of one of raps all time greats. And after any funeral, must come a repass. "Not Like Us" soundtracked that repass, and still blares out of 1 of every 15 car speakers at any given moment. It's become "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead" for the millions of people who had been waiting in the rafters for the end of the Drake Dynasty. It couldn't be more distant from "Meet The Grahams" in tone, energy, and style. It's the perfect Track A. Comedic, compact, and oh so Los Angeles. The spirit of the late Drakeo The Ruler (along with E-40 and *checks notes* Sada Baby?) act as irrefutable inspiration. From the cadence to the lingo, the most influential rapper in LA of the last decade conjoins with Kendricks superhuman writing and execution to make the most popular song of the Streaming Era. It wasn't enough to make a song that forces you to dance on Drakes grave, the song had to go on to break every record for singles that once held his name. There's a seperate conversation to be had about how we as a people can still two-step at a wedding to alligations of pedophilia pointed at someone who has known ties to the underworld of sex trafficking, but hey, who am I to rain on the parade.
We'll never see another war of this magnitude in our lifetimes. It's just not possible. The competitive spirit of two rappers who at their core still believe in the competitive nature of the genre got us here. A 12 year build of GRAMMY wins, combative interviews quotes, sales records, gossip headlines, classic albums, behind the scenes slick talk, and sold out international tours between two of the most adored vocalists of a generation (pop, rock, rap or otherwise) finally blew its top for an entire Spring. 5+ minute songs with multiple beat switches from the biggest producers in the world. There were leaked reference tracks proving again that Drake's pen is guided by many hands. Coded verses stuffed to the brim with a lifetime of quotables. It's Dave Chappelle's Playa Haters' Ball fully realized. It's enough to make a grown fan cry. It was enough to make Drake wave the white flag on "The Heart Pt. 6". All songs considered, it's enough to crown Kendrick Lamar as the best rapper alive every month until the sun burns out.
