[Follow Rank: Bag of IcePoints: 684.5]

Look, as an artist, especially a rapper, I love the competitive edge that exists in hip hop.  Beef has been the source of some of the greatest hip hop songs of all time: “Hit Em Up”, “No Vaseline”, “Ether”, “Piggy Bank”, just to name a few. It’s entertaining and adds a sort of edge that forces listeners to read deeper into the music than sometimes intended. Which, is kiiiind of a good thing because it’s making average listeners tune in a little deeper to the levels of lyricism and structure that exists in rap music. But I digress, I feel Kendrick took those jabs to separate himself from the ‘tripod’ that Drake and J Cole are embracing.  Though they may indeed be the ‘BIG 3′ of active living legends in modern hip hop, that competitive edge has officially kicked in for the enigmatic Kendrick Lamar.  I don’t see this as a diss, but more as a direct,’Im am THE rap God’ type of situation. The only thing I hate is that he initiated it, which gives Drake and J Cole time to strategize a freggin’ Kahmehameha. But Kung Fu Kenny and TDE with Metro Boomin is a left-field collab we didn’t know we needed. And I hate to be a plebian, but I feel lyrically Kendrick will dominate both Cole and Drake. They are masters of wordplay, punchlines, flows but in a smooth punchy way.  Kendrick is relentless lyrically-the delivery, vocal flucuations, manipulation of the english language..likes that can only be toppled by the GOAT WeezyF Baby.  But thats a discussion for another day

[Follow Rank: DropletPoints: 20.5]

Nobody can top Kendrick lyrically. I’d love to see him battle it out with Wayne.

Kendrick rips it here. I think he’s got a lot of integrity, if he’s initiating a beef he’s definitely feeling confident about it.

Future’s verse at the beginning is pretty rough.. he sounds way too high..

 

[Follow Rank: DewPoints: 10]

I was never a fan of Drake. Would probably be a good move for him to ignore it. ‘Like That’ absolutely slaps.

[Follow Rank: Frozen Foods IslePoints: 10442.75]

J Cole’s response dropped today. Haven’t listened yet but wanted to share.

[Follow Rank: DewPoints: 10]

and….. J. Cole apologized 😭

[Follow Rank: Frozen Foods IslePoints: 10442.75]

“Kendrick Lamar is the Boogieman”

[Follow Rank: Frozen Foods IslePoints: 10442.75]

Drake responds … goes hard tbh … Kendrick, your move

[Follow Rank: Bag of IcePoints: 684.5]

Stay tuned for my overall thoughts on this whole ‘rap beef” situation. It truly is deeper than rap.

But a few things:

1. Yes, Kendrick went crazy. He’s a different beast: pen game, vocal fluctuations, and a history of not being f**ed with.
2. J. Cole was FORCED to respond and his apology and the public response to it, says alot about how we treat the art
3. Competition is cool, but public opinion being the catalyst for two of the greatest in our area to diss each other before they collab is just crazy
4. leaving Drake out of this lol no disrespect but im tired of drake beefs

 

[Follow Rank: DewPoints: 10]

Agreed. The diss came out of nowhere, collab would’ve been great.

[Follow Rank: Frozen Foods IslePoints: 10442.75]

Here’s the piece that @indigxld did on the history of the rap beef, from the 1980s all the way to the latest media controversy. It’s a really great read that touches upon all this.. which has continued to unfold even further since we started this discussion.

Rap Beef: The Big Picture
https://extrachill.com/2024/04/rap-beef-the-big-picture-cole-vs-kendrick-vs-drake

And then… another diss from Drake that features AI Snoop Dogg and Tupac verses…

And… Kanye West got involved

Even Rick Ross…

This is getting pretty wild. I’m sure someone with more knowledge about the subject can drop an assessment, im just gathering the data…