(L) Kendrick Lamar. Photo by Greg Noire (R) Drake. Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images
Much has been made of how “dark” things have gotten between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. I disagree — I’m old enough to remember a few SpaceGhostPurpp disses, or Remy Ma taking Nicki Minaj to task for supporting her brother, a convicted child rapist — but they’re certainly the two biggest rappers I’ve seen take things this far into the mud.
After the release of “Push Ups” three weeks ago, I said this beef had “dramatically escalated” even knowing things had only just started; still, I never expected anything close to the havoc unleashed since. Both rappers have released several songs since then, and the unsubstantiated allegations contained within them — of domestic violence within the Lamar household and pedophilia in the OVO camp — are genuinely shocking. Perhaps if things had ended on Friday night with “Family Matters” and “Meet The Grahams,” maybe hip-hop fans would be having a serious discussion of these claims.
The release of “Not Like Us” on Saturday has prevented any of that from happening, at least for now. Ignore for a moment the Angelenos two-stepping to this song in the club, and Gavin Lux walking out to the song at Dodger Stadium — hometown bias, right? “Not Like Us” has streaming wunderkind Kai Cenat twisting his fingers (badly), and TNT played a snippet during its broadcast of the Timberwolves-Nuggets playoff game Monday night too. It’s even in the Yankees’ pregame mix, along with “Meet the Grahams.” This beef was already going supernova (I saw an older Caucasian gentleman tweeting about Drake “stealing” “Hotline Bling” from DRAM on Monday morning) but following the 2015 example of “Back to Back,” Kendrick is aiming for inescapability.
It should go without saying that using allegations of sexual violence as a “gotcha” to score points in a rap beef is deeply misogynist, objectifying survivors and commodifying their trauma. Kendrick tapped Kodak Black on Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers pretty much exclusively to try and make some weird point about cancel culture; Drake started posting “free Tory Lanez” as part of some fucked up vendetta against Megan Thee Stallion. These are not two men who care about women’s rights.
It should be underscored that neither rapper is producing any receipts. This doesn’t even reach the level of “believe survivors;” we are talking about two grown men in their late 30s trying to win a popularity contest on social media by saying actually the other guy hurts women and children more. That said, Drake is definitely on the back foot thanks to the resurfacing of a clip of the Canadian rapper kissing a 17-year-old on stage in 2010, not to mention his longtime friendship with Baka Not Nice, his bodyguard who pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman in 2015.
Nevertheless, the pair are acutely aware of the career-ending possibilities these rumors portend. “Fabricatin’ stories on the family front, cuz you heard Mr. Morale,” Kendrick rapped wearily on last week’s “euphoria” (was it really just last week?); Drake previously addressed “weirdos in my comments talking ’bout some Millie Bobby [Brown]” on “Another Late Night” off October’s For All The Dogs.
Drake readdressed this controversy on Sunday’s “The Heart Part 6,” although his response was less than convincing. “If I was fucking young girls, I promise I'd have been arrested / I'm way too famous for the shit you just suggested,” doesn’t exactly ring true in a post-Diddy society (or at any point in human history, really). Still, I’m willing to entertain the notion that Drake is simply so insulated from the real world he believes the criminal justice system actually works like Law & Order SVU.
It’s possible that with their money, influence, and access, Kendrick and Drake have unearthed dirty laundry the other has strived to keep private. And they could also be lying their asses off trying to ensure their opponent is dead before anybody has time to ask too many questions. We may find out soon, or never.
What’s more troubling is our reaction. The collective glee in Drake’s demise doesn’t reflect any sort of justice or comeuppance. I say this because I keep seeing Lil B fans approvingly repost a 2015 tweet of Kendrick thanking Lil B, ignoring how the beloved underground rapper is alleged to have solicited inappropriate photos from underage female supporters. I say this because I’ve seen multiple Instagram clips of Michael Jackson dancing soundtracked by “Not Like Us.” Child sex abuse is horrific and more widespread than most would like to believe, but the current state of this rap beef feels like a 24 hour marathon of To Catch A Predator, a nominally altruistic show that frequently harmed criminal prosecution of sex offenders due to tainted evidence and poor journalistic ethics. You can see strains of that show’s vigilante ethos in the enduring popularity of true crime: I just watched Ty Dolla $ign and some YouTuber go after alleged child predators on stream yesterday. Is shaving a guy’s head after screaming at him really keeping the community safe, or just farming clicks? Does it change your mind if you can dance to it?
