Amid the viral 20 V. 1 Drake beef of the summer, Rick Ross jumped in, taking various shots at the Toronto hitmaker on “Champagne Moments.” Of course, his taunting appeared to backfire soon after, when he was attacked in Vancouver for playing Kendrick’s Drake diss “Not Like Us” at a festival. He opened up about the feud with Shannon Sharpe for Nightcap Summer Sessions from Houston this week, making it clear why he decided to respond in the first place.
“On some rap sh*t it was no conspiracies,” he began. “Rozay name was said, Rozay, I’mma jump off the porch. That’s what I do… I’mma jump off the porch and I’mma have some fun, and that’s what I did, I had some fun.” From there, Ross also explained how he decides whether or not to respond, an apparent nod to The Game.
The Game unleashed a scathing diss track directed at Ross in May, “Freeway’s Revenge,” blasting him for his past as a correctional officer, lifestyle choices, and much more. Ross never responded aside from some shady Instagram Stories, but according to him, this was a response in itself. During the interview, Ross explained that his choice to respond or not respond is determined by whether or not he has something to gain from it. “Not responding is a response when you a boss,” he added.
The Game isn’t the only person Rick Ross has yet to respond to, however. The Drake fan who attacked him in Vancouver, Icarus, mocked him for the brawl on a diss track called “White Boy” earlier this month. What do you think of Rick Ross opening up about his beef with Drake during a recent interview with Shannon Sharpe? What about his explanation for responding to Drake and not The Game? Do you agree that not responding was a response in itself? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
Drake is continuing to play the long game. The rapper has been steadily dishing out content on his 100 Gigs website. More recently, the content seems to be focused on people he currently has beef with. He posted a 2013 clip in which he praised Kanye West. Then, days later, he followed the controversial artist on Instagram. Drake did it again on August 27. The rapper decided to upload a clip in which him and his longtime producer discuss a Kendrick Lamar collaboration. A collaboration none of us knew about.
The bulk of the clip sees producer Noah “40” Shebib tinker with a beat. Drake then enters the frame and proceeds to explain how Kendrick Lamar will sound great on it. “For him, where he’s at,” Drake explained. “I know he’s gonna murder this.” 40’s response suggests that he made the beat specifically for a Drake and Kendrick Lamar collab. “When you told me Kendrick,” he noted. “It just made so much sense.” The beat in question was co-produced by Dreamville artist Omen. We know this because the beat was later used by Action Bronson on the 2013 song “Actin’ Crazy.”
The release date of the Bronsolino song helps provide a time frame for when the Drake and Dot collab was supposed to happen. The two rappers linked up for “Poetic Justice” in 2012 and “F*ckin Problems” in 2013. Issues arose later in the year, when Lamar dropped the “Control” verse and Drake threw a few subs his way on the song “The Language.” Drake’s physical appearance in the 100 Gigs clip aligns with this timeframe. It’s unclear whether Lamar ever spit a verse on the “Actin’ Crazy” beat, or if Drake even put down bars.
What is clear, though, is the chess move. Drake is very purposely putting material about Kendrick Lamar on his website. The rapper seemingly wants the battle to keep going, and is resorting to tactics that are less direct than a diss song. An internet theory is that Drake will eventually release evidence that he fed Lamar’s team the false information that was used on “Meet the Grahams.” There’s noting to support this, but we are entering new territory in terms of Lamar-related content. The next few weeks should be interesting, to say the least.
Popcaan refused to listen to Kendrick Lamar when the rapper’s music came on during a recent interview with Link Up TV. In a clip of the moment circulating on social media, he appears to be in disbelief before demanding to know where the music is coming from. He eventually requests the song be turned off and reaffirms his allegiance to OVO.
In response to one of Drake’s fan pages posting the clip on X (formerly Twitter), fans had mixed responses. Many praised the Jamaican artist for sticking up for his OVO collaborator while others were more critical. One user wrote: “Drake stans don’t even know Popcaan is OVO, they’re on here saying things like ‘wow respect’ and ‘wow Drake has the streets’ because Drake completely erased him after taking his flow.” Another added: “N****s in the comments wanna act like they listen to Popcaan cause he signed to Drake.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 09: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Popcaan performs live on the main stage during day three of Wireless Festival 2023 at Finsbury Park on July 09, 2023, in London, England. (Photo by Simone Joyner/Getty Images)
His defense of Drake comes after Popcaan recently discussed his relationship with the Toronto rapper, earlier this year. “By being around Drake and the whole connection, it gave me a lot of exposure,” he told GRAMMY.com while speaking with them over Zoom. “We have a chemistry where music is concerned and whatever we do, it’s always [about] just [doing] something great … It’s a very great link, and it’s very good for my culture as well.”
Popcaan Defends Drake Amid Kendrick Lamar Feud
Check out the viral clip of Popcaan coming to Drake’s defense below. It comes after Drake hinted at being ready for a “Game 2” on his Instagram Story in a since-deleted post, earlier this week. Be on the lookout for further updates on Popcaan as well as Drake and Kendrick Lamar on HotNewHipHop.
Popcaan tells the people in the room to turn off Kendrick Lamar’s music after it started playing from the radio pic.twitter.com/tV8nkQt4KM
Steve Harvey has finally fired back at Katt Williams for the bombshell criticism he leveled at him during an appearance on Club Shay-Shay with Shannon Sharpe, earlier this year. He addressed his fellow comedian while speaking at Invest Fest in Atlanta, over the weekend. In doing so, he offered to turn their rivalry physical.
“You’ll never have a hater that’s doing better than you. Always know that,” Harvey remarked to Stephen A Smith while discussing Williams. He then joked about his fighting skills before adding: “I’d knock your short ass out.” When The Neighborhood Talk posted the clip on Instagram, fans mainly took Williams’ side in the comments section.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – AUGUST 25: Steve Harvey speaks onstage during Day 3 of the 2024 Invest Fest at Georgia World Congress Center on August 25, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
“He definitely feels a way. The cursing and name calling shows it. Kat never called that man out his name but he did speak truth. Truth always gets a certain type of reaction, and this is one of them,” one user wrote. Another added: “Steve you are not winning this one man… The people love Katt and Katt did not tell a lie…”
Steve Harvey Addresses Katt Williams
As for Williams’ fiery criticism, he accused Harvey of stealing his jokes from other comedians. “The same Steve that went to go watch Mark Curry do his whole sitcom and then stole everything Mark Curry had,” Williams said. “Now Steve got a sitcom where he the principal, and he wear a suit. And then he gets this high-top fade, making all Black men think he got the best lineup in the business. And it’s a man unit. Then you ask him, ‘Why you not a movie star?’ ‘I didn’t want to be a movie star.’ This the same negro that hated on Bernie [Mac] with this same thing. You couldn’t be a movie star. There are 30,000 new scripts in Hollywood every year. Not one of them asked for a country bumpkin Black dude that can’t talk good…and look like Mr. Potato Head. There ain’t none. You have to have range.” Be on the lookout for further updates on Steve Harvey and Katt Williams on HotNewHipHop.
“I don’t want to diss you anymore,” Drake decried as his white-flag-waving moment on his final Kendrick Lamar diss, “The Heart Part 6.” Their battle was an intense and overwhelming one that fans haven’t even slightly stopped debating over. Ever since that song signaled the end of the back-and-forth, though, hip-hop culture has spent countless hours theorizing about what the Toronto superstar will do next. Thanks to some recent new activity and a potential second chapter to this saga on the way, we wanted to look back at how we got here.
Furthermore, here’s every important update you need to know about what Drake did, experienced, expressed, and allegedly took action about following the end of the Kendrick Lamar battle. Whether it’s new musical material, shady messages, unfortunate developments, rumored decisions, or accusations regarding his questionable movement, there’s a lot to get into. It seems like the 6ix God is building up towards something big in this aftermath. So let’s see if this history can help us guess as to what will come next.
The Embassy Shooting & Trespassers (May 7-9, 2024)
The Kendrick Lamar battle’s epilogue started on its worst foot to date. Unidentified suspects shot at Drake’s mansion, also known as The Embassy, in the wee hours of May 7, just two days after “The Heart Part 6” released. One of his security guards was struck in the attack and recovered in the hospital, and we never got confirmation that he was in his home when it happened. Over the next two days, authorities also apprehended two trespassers on the property in separate incidents. Despite speculation, authorities have not found any evidence that this connects to the Kendrick Lamar battle in any way at press time.
Drake Re-Lists Beverly Hills Mansion (Sometime In May 2024, Hit News Cycle On May 10)
During the aforementioned security breaches at The Embassy, news broke that Drake re-listed his Beverly Hills mansion for $88 million. News reports on this matter suggest that this occurred the week before May 10. As you’ll see below, this was not the only significant property update concerning Drizzy during this beef’s aftermath.
The Embassy’s Third Trespasser (May 11, 2024)
Drake’s security team takes down yet another alleged trespasser at his Toronto estate ,
The Embassy faced a third trespasser on its property in almost as many days. Guards tackled a man who reportedly didn’t cause too much trouble, and at press time, the specific details around this unprompted visit remain unknown. For that matter, the same goes for the other trespassing incidents that Drake suffered.
Via his Instagram Story, Drake let his fans know that he was officially done with his feud with Kendrick Lamar and company. “Good times. Summer vibes up next,” he captioned a picture of a lone samurai facing a massive army. Let’s see what else these summer vibes consisted of for Aubrey Graham in the months that followed.
For the first time since the battle ended, Drake popped out in public to celebrate his home city of Toronto finally getting a WNBA team. He attended a press conference at a downtown hotel in the 6ix, which also hosted Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The team will reportedly begin to play in the league in 2026.
Drake’s first post-beef musical release was on Sexyy Red’s “U My Everything” from her In Sexyy We Trust project. Most notably, it featured him rapping over the “BBL Drizzy” diss beat Metro Boomin produced to spite him. This was the first of at least a couple of instances of a narrative spin dividing fans, disagreeing over whether or not this was a compelling and flex-worthy move or a corny attempt at an Eminem 8 Mile moment, instead.
Confirmation Of $15 Million Texas Move-In (May 24, 2024)
Drake had previously announced that he finally found a house in one of his second homes in the United States: Texas. In May, we officially got confirmation that he purchased a $15 million ranch in the state. The 37-year-old even seemed to film a music video there, which may have ended up becoming the footage for his Latto collab that landed later in the summer.
Drake Pops Out At 21 Savage’s Toronto Show (May 27, 2024)
Drake’s first concert appearance after the Kendrick Lamar battle was at 21 Savage’s Toronto tour stop for his American Dream trek. There, he proclaimed that his Her Loss partner owns the 6ix, welcoming him as one of their own. Throughout this post-beef tale, 21 is definitely one of The Boy’s most firm supporters in the rap game.
One of Drake’s most divisive and clowned-upon musical releases this summer was this cut with Toronto content creator Snowd4y. As you can see by its title, it’s a cover of the Plain White T’s “Hey There Delilah” with some slang flips and intense auto-tuning. For some, it’s the silliest and most cringe-worthy thing you’ve heard this year but you can’t deny that we all needed a laugh and something more lightly cheeky. Whether that laughter is with him or at him is up to you.
Drake Becomes The First Artist To Surpass 100 Billion Spotify Streams (June 18, 2024)
Drake has surpassed 100 BILLION streams on Spotify, making him the first artist EVER to achieve this pic.twitter.com/ZjjimPJUb1
Drake continued to be one of the most dominant artists in the music industry despite Kendrick Lamar’s victory. But did anyone really expect him not to be? It was no surprise when the OVO mogul became the first artist in Spotify history to garner over 100 billion streams across all credits. Kendrick may have the streaming crown when it comes to their diss tracks, but there’s a whole catalog of hits that are miles ahead.
“HOT UPTOWN” & “Uuugly” With Camila Cabello (June 28, 2024)
After many teases and even a supposed release push-back due to the feud, Drake and Camila Cabello finally showed off their chemistry… Or half of it. “HOT UPTOWN” is a bouncy duet, but “Uuugly” is his solo interlude off of her new album C,XOXO. Fans got the “summer vibes” they were promised, and as you’ll read further down, there was even more on the way.
Drake Seems To Cosign Rick Ross Vancouver Attack (June 30, 2024)
One of the most controversial post-beef moments occurred when Rick Ross played “Not Like Us” at a Vancouver festival, prompting Drake fans to confront him about it. He dismissed them, resulting in a brawl between both entourages. Much to the dismay or approval of many hip-hop figures and other commentators, Rozay’s former collaborator liked a post on Instagram about the incident, insinuating that he was happy to see him face the consequences of playing around with his name in his country.
The day that Kendrick Lamar dropped the “Not Like Us” music video, Drake was too busy partying with a whole lot of celebrities. Many folks debated whether or not he looked defeated and aged when pictures from the bash emerged. Nevertheless, it was probably a welcome break from all the drama. Rubin would later go on to reveal some details about the event, including his decision to ban Kendrick’s aforementioned West Coast banger from playing.
We haven’t talked about them for the most part, but Drake had a lot of social media posts possibly referring to the beef in its aftermath. Among the most controversial was a picture of him wearing a shirt that read “Rap Is A Joke.” Whether this was an intentional message or just a shoutout to that brand, fans still thought that they were questionable words from a rap beef loser.
If you needed proof that Kendrick Lamar and Drake fans alike turned every little irrelevant thing into a discussion about the battle, look no further than this. When The Embassy flooded due to a torrential storm, the hate and love flowed almost as quickly as the muddy water crept through his doors and windows. We don’t really know the extent of the damage that this caused, but it was still a textbook hater moment on fans’ behalf during this battle’s aftermath.
ScHoolboy Q caused an uproar online after claiming that Drake was partially but nonetheless directly responsible for his canceled show in Toronto. For what it’s worth, Roddy Ricch spoke on not being allowed back into Canada weeks before, and SiR also had his show canceled in the city weeks after. While Q was the only one to accuse OVO directly, none of these accusations or incidents actually link back to that camp at press time. Perhaps we will never know what caused these travel issues.
One of Drake’s biggest hip-hop supporters during and after his beef is 50 Cent. They linked up to party in Toronto over the summer after Fif’s various praises of Champagne Papi’s beef performance. The G-Unit mogul even teased that they would work together on something, which led many fans to blast 50 for betraying Kendrick Lamar in their eyes, as they’re both a part of Dr. Dre’s music career family tree.
Kai Cenat Leaks Lil Yachty Collab “Supersoak” (July 23, 2024)
At Lil Yachty’s request, Kai Cenat premiered an unreleased collaboration between the Let’s Start Here artist and Drake titled “Supersoak.” Yachty would go on to explain why the team-up would probably never come out, and his brief unfollow of his “Another Late Night” partner’s IG account made many fans think that they have some beef of their own going on. Although that’s probably an unlikely and misinterpreted possibility. For those unaware, the Concrete Boy had spoken on the Kendrick Lamar beef and sparked much criticism from OVO Stans as a result. Also, as we will find out later, it seems like “Supersoak” no longer features the Atlanta creative, making this leak and the subsequent narrative quite hard to get a grasp on.
“Sideways” & “Healing” With Gordo (July 26, 2024)
Drake’s next musical release comprised of two tracks on producer Gordo’s (formerly Carnage) album DIAMANTE. They recall some of the work that they did together on 2022’s Honestly, Nevermind, engaging in some breezy house sounds and gentle vocal melodies. More summer vibes had arrived, and fans were quite appreciative of the results.
Ebro In The Morning held some very interesting claims, with its titular host and Peter Rosenberg hinting at Drake’s next move. Apparently, he has an album with Conductor Williams on the way, although the “Wick Man” artist himself never confirmed this or hinted at it. They previously collaborated on the fan-favorite “8AM In Charlotte.”
PARTYNEXTDOOR Collab Album Announcement At PND’s Toronto Show (August 2, 2024)
However, one collab album that Drake did announce was a PARTYNEXTDOOR team-up. They revealed the news at PND’s Toronto show, which means that many OVO die-hards’ dreams will come true very soon. The 6ix God suggested that it will come out when it’s colder outside, so maybe it will come out this fall, winter, or early in 2025. We will see.
Mustard Claims Drake & Gordo Tried To Sabotage His Album (August 4, 2024)
Mustard told Akademiks he believes that Drake told Gordo to drop his album the same day as his on purpose, because of the Kendrick beef
“that n*gga Drake is doing sh*t behind the scenes… f*cking with people… thats why I know what Yachty is saying is cap…”
When Mustard dropped his Faith Of A Mustard Seed album, Drake fans clowned his relatively low sales. But the West Coast producer behind “Not Like Us” thinks that the Toronto lyricist told Gordo to drop his album on the same day to negatively affect these numbers. Ironically, DIAMANTE sold less than FOAMS, so this is just speculative animosity.
Arguably Drake’s biggest move since the Kendrick Lamar battle was his massive “100 GIGS” content drop via his Instagram and a new website. This included three IG-only loosies, old footage, alternate album covers, merch designs, and a whole lot more. As far as the footage itself, a lot of it showed the songwriting and recording process behind unreleased or beloved tracks, behind-the-scenes concert footage, and casual vlog clips from The Boy’s earlier days. This lent extra context to some of his big hits, showed off his personable interactions with industry peers, highlighted his team’s roles, and captivated fans with its access into his world.
Snoh Accusations Of Revenge Porn Surface (August 9, 2024)
original post got taken down: Drake joined this stream with a streamer called “snoh” the streamer makes girls flash their private parts without them knowing they’re being recorded Drake praised her on stream and paid for her streaming equipment pic.twitter.com/ApbKQLIWDI
Around this time, though, some very concerning accusations regarding Drake surfaced. His association with (and praise and support of) Kick streamer Snoh caused many fans to raise their eyebrows since she faces accusations of coercing minors into exposing themselves and recording revenge porn. Given all the harrowing claims that became massive angles in the Kendrick Lamar battle, this is among the more concerning Aubrey updates in the feud’s aftermath.
After a lot of social media hype, Drake’s 100 GIGS cuts finally made it onto streaming: a Latto collab, a solo cut, and a Young Thug and 21 Savage team-up. They landed at 85, 63, and 28 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100, and held at least a few bars that fans thought hinted towards more leftover disses against his many rap rivals. As you’ll read very soon, this became even more apparent thanks to what came out a couple of weeks later…
Fuerza Regida Member Claims Drake Is Starting A New Record Label (Hit News Cycles Around August 12, Interview Published July 18, 2024)
Fuerza Regida says Drake has started a new label called ‘’PFL’ and has a 1 album deal with Mexican artist Chino Pacas
In mid-August, Drake fans looked back at Bootleg Kev’s interview with Jesús Ortíz Paz of Fuerza Regida and found some very interesting claims. Paz, also known as JOP, claimed that the 6ix God started a new record label called PFL in collaboration with the Mexican group’s label and Chino Pacas. Perhaps we will hear The Boy over some corridos soon.
“Buffalo Freestyle” With Benny The Butcher Drops & Disappears (August 23)
Benny the Butcher and Drake’s “Buffalo Freestyle” Has Been Removed From Streaming
In other music-related news, Benny The Butcher finally dropped his long-awaited Drake collab “Buffalo Freestyle” on his Buffalo Butch, Vol. 1 EP. However, the track disappeared from streaming services very quickly, seemingly due to a UMG copyright strike. As such, it seems like the Griselda affiliate was right in once assuming that it would never see the light of day, although we don’t know the reason why at press time.
Drake updated “100 GIGS” in even more dramatic fashion, with another new three-pack (including the aforementioned and Lil Yachty-less “Supersoak”) and loads of new content. Some of these new clips, such as Kanye West at OVO Fest 2013 and J. Cole buying Born Sinner CDs with his “First Person Shooter” partner, were already in the public discourse. Most importantly, these new tracks – including a Playboi Carti collab – contained even more obvious and pointed “sumbiminals” against the many rappers that formed part of 2024’s rap feud.
Drake Claims He Will “Win Game 2” In Beef With Kendrick Lamar & Co. (August 25)
new posts by Drake’s finsta account alluding to Round 2/Game 2
a picture of ‘A Better Tomorrow’ 1987 movie
and the iconic 2004 Pistons Rasheed Wallace interview
“yall put it on the front page, back page, middle of the page… we will win Game 2”
Most recently, Drake posted a video of Rasheed Wallace saying that his team will “win Game 2,” sending fans into a frenzy at the thought of another battle with Kendrick Lamar and company. While he deleted this IG Story soon after, the message was clear. We still don’t know exactly how specific Drake wants to go, or what “100 GIGS” could lead up to. But one thing is clear: he doesn’t just want to stick around. Champagne Papi wants to dominate the conversation and make his connections to the entire rap world very clear. To see what else comes in this boastful timeline, stick around on HNHH.
Everyone is guessing as to what Kendrick Lamar will do next. Moreover, various sources have claimed that he will drop something very soon, while others allege that these are misleading reports. Either way, it’s more likely than not that, whenever Kendrick does return with new music, he won’t really have much of a reason or desire to rehash anything about his Drake beef. The battle is over, and he can easily stick to his victory for now. What’s more is that fans believe this thanks to a recent tweet from K.Dot’s childhood friend Lil L, also known as Euro Luxxk. “Nah we leaving the Canadian alone everybody just working at this moment so just stay tune[d],” he responded to a fan on Sunday (August 25).
Furthermore, this is especially interesting because of what Drake has to say about all this. His new “100 GIGS” drops referenced his feud with a lot of rappers this year quite often, and he even posted and deleted an Instagram Story that proclaimed he will “win Game 2.” As such, there’s a chance that the 6ix God wants to take Kendrick Lamar down and boast about his success and status despite Kendrick’s attempts to obliterate him. Still, this could also just be a flex to his many haters and rap game opps, not an actual indication that he wants revenge of some sort.
Then again, we won’t really know until it happens, will we? We’re still culturally reflecting on the battle, whether it’s HBCU band tributes to “Not Like Us” or endless Twitter debates and memes that just won’t stop. As such, a lot of Kendrick Lamar and Drake fans wouldn’t want either of them to beat a dead horse.
Meanwhile, that West Coast banger keeps breaking streaming records, and Kendrick Lamar is still ever-present in many fans’ rotation. Many of his die-hards point to these facts as reasons why he probably won’t re-engage in the Drake beef, at least outright. We wouldn’t rule out a celebratory or subliminally general bar or two, and it will be hard to hear Mr. Morale’s boastful rap game lyrics without thinking of his Toronto rival. Regardless of the outcome, we can’t wait to find out.
DJ Vlad and Marlon Wayans do not like each other. They may seem like they exist in two different worlds, but they can’t seem to stop arguing. At least, until now. Hell froze over for DJ Vlad on August 26. The hip hop personality decided to step back and reassess his comments about Marlon Wayans. He decided to apologize to the comedian during a recent interview with DJ Akademiks. He went as far as to say that he respected Wayans as an entertainer, and explained how their beef came to be in the first place.
First, context. During an interview with Aries Spears, DJ Vlad claimed that Marlon Wayans had been difficult to work with. He alleged that Wayans asked for $40K to appear on the Vlad TV channel, as well as 30% of future revenue from his episode. DJ Vlad considered both requests to be absurd. DJ Vlad and Wayans proceeded to exchange insults via social media when the latter caught wind of the trash talk. “You unprofessional my guy,” the comedian tweeted. “If you don’t like the number keep it moving. You look BAD. You should fall back. Mad at a black man stating his number? And now you go public and use your platform to try to drag me. I never in my life dealt with this silly negotiating tactic.”
Vlad admitted he acted unprofessionally during his new interview. “Honestly, at the end of the day, it was just a business negotiation,” he stated. “I could’ve kept it to myself. I overdid it.” Vlad then said that he would be open to working something out with Wayans in the future. “I do actually respect [him],” the DJ added. “That was the reason I approached [him] in the first place.” DJ Vlad also provided some of the reasoning behind his initial frustration. He felt as though Marlon Wayans failed to realize how big Vlad TV is, and didn’t take the negotiations seriously as a result.
DJ Vlad cited other hip hop personalities like Big Boy and Charlamagne Tha God as people that Wayans seemingly had more respect for at the time. That said, he has moved on from his initial resentments, and is eager to bury the hatchet. “My bad Marlon, I apologize,” DJ Vlad concluded. “It’s all good. I think most people just want to respect each other and I think it could have been handled a little differently.” Maybe we will get to see Wayans on Vlad TV one of these days.
Meek Mill is always up to something. The Philadelphia rapper can always be counted on to say or do something that makes fans scratch their heads. Meek Mill decided he want to showcase his freestyle skills on August 26 by spitting a verse over “Family Matters.” Then, a few hours later, Meek Mill came back with another freestyle. Instead of being over a Drake diss, however, the rapper decided to flip the script. He spit over the beat to Kendrick Lamar’s diss, “Euphoria,” instead.
Meek Mill played the “Family Matters” freestyle in a car, which made sense. The rapper decided to get a little more adventurous when it came to “Euphoria,” though. Meek decided to walk through a department store and rap along to his recorded freestyle in public. He documented the whole thing on his Instagram Live. He also provided some context in the form of a written caption. “I did Kendrick and Drake beats for practice,” he explained. Meek Mill is no stranger to rap beef. Especially when it comes to the 6 God. He has weighed in on the Drake and Kendrick Lamar battle via social media, but his overall sentiment was a little confusing.
Meek Mill avoided choosing sides, then proceeded to big up his own battle skills in the process. He also shed light on his PR situation, for some reason. “My PR has been off for a year,” he tweeted back in May. “When I’m gone they will give it up! Ima just keep grinding! [The] boy and Kendrick have their own lanes and qualities they great at also!” To be fair to Meek, he may be ahead of the game, rather than behind it. While “Family Matters” and “Euphoria” are months old, Drake has been hinting at a second round of the battle.
The Toronto rapper posted an Instagram Story of Rasheed Wallace proclaiming: “We will win Game 2.” Fans didn’t have to do too much deep diving to know that he was alluding the Kendrick Lamar battle. Drake took the Instagram Story down shortly after, though, which confounded just about everybody. Meek Mill may have more diss songs to freestyle over, if the 6 God makes good on his quasi-cryptic post.
Drake and Kanye West continue to baffle fans. They are two of the biggest rappers of all time. They have openly talked about the impact that they have had on each other’s careers. And they can’t seem to figure out if they’re friends or enemies. It seemed like there was no chance that Drake and Kanye West would patch things up in 2024. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Drake started following the Chicago rapper on Instagram. No hoopla or fanfare, but the gestures was so notable thats fans quickly took notice.
There were signs that something was going on. Kanye West performed a staggering, seventy plus song set in South Korea last week. The rapper ran through all of his classic hits, including “I Wonder.” Before he performed “I Wonder,” however, West decided to dedicate the song to his former enemy. “This one for Drake,” he told an understandably confused crowd. Drake didn’t comment on the shout out, but he did include Kanye West in his ongoing “100 Gigs” project two days later. The 6 God posted unreleased footage of himself talking about Kanye West after they performed at 2013 OVO Fest.
In what felt like a very pointed inclusion, Drake gush about Kanye West to his team. “Yo, that was crazy! That’s real rap sh*t,” the Toronto rapper explained. “We don’t communicate with each other enough and sometimes when we get on that stage, it’s an outpouring of emotion.” Drake admitted to feeling a sense of competition with Kanye West, but he also conceded that he’s an enormous fan. “I’m the biggest Ye fan. Period,” he asserted. “Sometimes I feel like I can’t like it because I gotta go against it. But that sh*t tonight was almost therapeutic.” It does really seem like both men are reconsidering their relationship at the moment.
The concert shout out, the footage, and the Instagram follow are a far cry from where Drake and West were at just a few months ago. It’s worth noting that Kanye West was so anti-Drake that he decided to elbow his way into the Kendrick Lamar battle. He dropped a remix to “Like That” in which he attacked Drizzy and his business dealings. He went voiced excitement for the “elimination of Drake” during an accompanying interview. Again: all that happened in April. Maybe we will get Drake and Kanye West music after all.
Lil Wayne and Drake are one of the great rap duos of the 21st century. They have made countless hits together. Drake’s career wouldn’t have been the same without Lil Wayne, and Drake elevated Wayne’s Young Money label to heights previously thought unknown. The relationship between these two is very special to fans. Which is precisely why we were all so relieved on August 26. Lil Wayne reposted a link to one of Drake’s new songs. A minor gesture on the surface, but a seeming confirmation that everything is good between the rappers.
Drake dropped three new songs on August 23 and Lil Wayne reposted the single “No Face.” No emojis or additional text, but this is the first time the rappers have acknowledged each other in weeks. It’s been a touch and go period for Drake when it comes to his industry relationships. The Toronto star has fell out with seemingly every other big name in the game, with a few notable exceptions. Lil Wayne appeared to be one of these exceptions. He tried to spin the meaning of Kendrick Lamar’s diss “Not Like Us” during a show, and wound up just confusing fans. Then, Wayne started linking up with some of Drake’s enemies. He rapped alongside Rick Ross on the DJ Premier song “Ya Don’t Stop.”
Then, Wayne was seen rocking an XO chain. XO, of course, being the label and brand of another 6 God opponent, The Weeknd. The biggest head-scratcher for fans, though, was Weezy’s verse on the Cordae song “Saturday Mornings.” There were lots of subliminal digs littered through Wayne’s verse and many theorized that Drake was the target. “You standing on business, I’m a business man,” he raps. I’ma GOAT, n**ga you a sacrificial lamb. You a Teddy bear, n**ga, a Teddy Graham.”
Barring any major revelations, Lil Wayne’s repost seems to debunk the theory that him and Drake are on the outs. Weezy actually defended the rapper as recently as January. During an episode of the Richard Sherman Podcast, Wayne posited that the Drake hatred stems from colorism. “He red, he light-skinned,” he stated. That’s just American history… How I know is because I’m not light-skinned. I hated on all light-skinned dudes in school. So yeah, it’s American history, man.”
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