Drake and Kendrick hate each other. Who are they, you might ask? Aubrey Drake Graham is a Canadian artist, one of the biggest sellers of hip-hop albums in recent years. Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is a California rapper and author from Compton. His work is particularly respected for the genius of his writing and poetry. But there you have it, the two artists hate each other. After years of little digs here and there, an epic musical duel took place this weekend. Summary of the current season. On March 22, Kendrick Lamar reveals Like Thata song in which he responds to Drake and J. Cole that he is better than them: “Motherf. k the big three, n… a, it’s just big me. » The Internet is on fire.
A 6 minute rant
On March 25, Drake took advantage of a concert in Florida to respond that no one can match him and on April 19, he released the song Push Ups, the first “diss track” (small technical point: in rap, a diss is a subgenre in its own right, a traditional style exercise which consists of ferociously attacking another rapper or group). He continued a few days later by publishing Taylor Made Freestyle. He has to delete it because Tupac’s family, whose voice he copies, threatens to file a complaint. But tensions rose and on April 30, Kendrick Lamar released a six-minute diatribe with Euphoria, filled with references and personal attacks against the Canadian rapper. For the Internet, Kendrick has already won the duel but three days later he does it again and leaves 6:16 in LA. A few hours later, Drake tries to respond with the song Family Matters but, 37 minutes later, Kendrick Lamar finishes it off with Meet the Grahams And Not Like Us the same day. On the Internet, the entire hip-hop community is in turmoil. Fans dissect each verse of each track to identify the attacks, the more or less subtle references contained in their respective pieces.
A denunciation of cultural appropriation
One thing seems indisputable, musically and lyrically, Kendrick is the clear winner. Fundamentally too, Kendrick Lamar criticizes Drake for what he represents, an outsider who benefits – in the sense of appropriation and enrichment – from the hip-hop industry. In addition to denouncing Drake’s suspicious behavior with minors, Kendrick Lamar accuses him of colonizing hip-hop culture, of playing gangster when he does not come from this culture, when he does not know the realities that he raps. And fans debate, engage in deep discussions about appropriation, hoarding, artist responsibility, authenticity, and even identity and racism. We can expect other episodes but in the best possible way, Kendrick Lamar has already destroyed Drake. And some should take example from these rappers and resolve their conflicts through art.
