Rap War

**helge** · 23-05-2024, 11:36 PM

CULTURE

They accuse each other of everything from having small feet to being a pedophile: Understanding the Hip-Hop Feud Between Drake and Kendrick Lamar

In just a few weeks, 45 minutes of music have been released in the form of so-called "diss tracks" between the two artists.

Since the end of April, the two musicians from Canada and the United States, respectively, have alternately released new songs, where they send one after another to the other party. DR Collage: Nathalie Nystad Photo: Domine Jerome/Chris Delmas/Ritzau Scanpi

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Julie Würtz

De beskylder hinanden for alt fra at have sma fodder til at vaere paedofil: Forsta hiphop-fejden mellem Drake og Kendrick Lamar | Kultur | DR

Accusations of violence against fiancés, illegitimate children, pedophilia and even having small feet.

Nothing is too big or small in the feud that is currently unfolding between rap superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

Since the end of April, the two musicians from Canada and the United States, respectively, have alternately released new songs, where they send one after another to the other party. In fact, almost 45 minutes of 'diss tracks' have been released from the two artists in just a few weeks - often with accusations that hit far below the belt.

But what ignited the spark that ignited perhaps the biggest celebrity showdown of all time?

The slightly different debate unfolded in the studio of P1 Debate, where the arrow for journalist on Euroman Magnus Kraft pointed to Drake.

- First, Drake comes out with what in hip-hop culture is called the red button. The Atom button, which is a track called "Family Matters", he says.

- Here, Drake accuses, among other things, Kendrick Lamar of hitting his fiancée. He also says that the youngest of Kendrick Lamar's children is actually not Kendrick Lamar's, but a guy named Dave Free, who is probably Kendrick Lamar's closest collaborator, says Magnus Kraft.

This is not the first time that Drake has sent a suppository to his musical colleague. Just a few weeks earlier, the rapper released the song "Push Up," in which Drake alludes to the fact that Kendrick Lamar "only" wears a size 40 in shoes, making him a smaller man.

Whether the claims in the song have anything to do with it is doubtful, says Magnus Kraft.

"The truth has clearly been lost in this conflict.

But the truth is not always the most important thing in such a feud, according to Naima Yasin, head of the secretariat at SAGA, which is a party-neutral youth movement.

Conflict draws threads

The duel between the two hitmakers has garnered millions of reactions on social media, with fans standing ready in the digital ring corners to defend their favorite rapper.

It doesn't take more than an hour before Kendrick Lamar releases his response with the song "Meet the Grahams", where he refers to Drake's civil name Aubrey Drake Graham and denounces Drake as a bad father.

The very next day, Lamar comes out with another track "Not Like Us", which hits the top of the charts, where he sings that Drake is a pedophile.

Musically, he does something smart here, says Magnus Kraft.

- Here he enters Drake's half of the court and produces some music that is reminiscent of Drake's in sound. Drake is otherwise known for being the one who makes these club slapsticks, he says.

But the claims from Kendrick Lamar are not plucked out of the blue either, according to Naima Yasin.

But if we are to truly understand the feud between the two stars, we have to rewind time eleven years, when the two artists still had their fledgling music careers, says Magnus Kraft.

- Although the two actually work together a few times at the beginning of their careers, you can sense in interviews and also quite subtly in individual songs that there is some kind of conflict here.

In addition, the musicians differ in that Drake has since also made more pop, while Kendrick Lamar won the Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for his lyrics as the first rapper ever to use his songs to focus on social inequality in the United States.

- If you try to translate it a little psychoanalytically, Drake thinks that Kendrick Lamar is too saved, too self-important, while Kendrick Lamar probably thinks that Drake is such a flat-browed fool who just makes music to make money, says Magnus Kraft.

But it's not just what separates the two rappers, says Moses, who is a rapper and member of the group VildSmith.

- Kendrick is a representative of the street, where Drake is often called "light skin". He comes from a middle-class home where he has not struggled in the same way. That's also what Kendrick is trying to talk into, he says.

And that's exactly one of the reasons why Kendrick Lamar has a horn in the side of his rap colleague. He is not a fan of Drake not sharing the same upbringing as many other great rappers, says podcast host and head of secretariat at SAGA, Naima Yasin in P1 Debate.

"It's not that Drake can't be black. The question is what advantages he has from his "whiteness". What privileges does he get, and what are the privileges that the other rappers don't get? It's not about the color of his skin.

Lamar runs with the winning title

Although the fronts have been drawn sharply between the two stars, there is no doubt who has garnered the most likes in the sensational feud.

- The answer is quite clear. It is Kendrick Lamar who has drawn the longest straw, says Magnus Kraft - despite the fact that he himself is a Drake fan.

He thinks it's hard to say what Drake should have done differently.

- Should he stick to only one particular genre of music and only look one certain way throughout his music career? I don't think that's the right way to go," says Magnus Kraft.

Still, he believes that Drake has excelled in the feud with Kendrick Lamar.

"What speaks to Drake's credit is that he has more than Kendrick Lamar responded to what has been said. As I read it, Kendrick Lamar has recorded a bunch of tracks in one go, and then changed a few lines here and there. That is also why he can be published so quickly, says the journalist.

Although Drake has since said that he will no longer release any more for the rap battle, rapper Karen Mukupa doubts that the hatchets have really been put to rest.