Stephen A Smith Believes Drake & Kendrick Lamar Are Taking Things Too Far

The Drake and Kendrick Lamar rap beef is still ongoing. After a weekend that featured multiple songs from each artist, there have been a couple of days of silence on both fonts. Fans and onlookers who have been exhausted by the whirlwind of diss tracks and information in the beef have been able to couch up and catch their breath. Everyone seems to have an opinion on the beef. It’s the cultural event of the moment right now and has been a pretty vicious back and forth. Both rappers have alleged nefarious things about the other to varying degrees. ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith thinks it has gone too far. 

Stephen A., known for speaking his mind, had many thoughts about the direction the beef has taken. Yesterday, Stephen A. Smith took the time to address the ongoing rap feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Stephen A. said the beef has gone incredibly too far and has strayed from who is the better artist or lyricist. Stephen A. Smith explained his position on the beef on his show, The Stephen A. Smith Show.

Read More: Stephen A Smith Accused Of Snitching On Russell Westbrook, Wanted Him Suspended For “Inexcusable Behavior”

Stephen A. Smith Says Drake Vs Kendrick Beef Is Too Toxic

Stephen A. Smith says, “The shi*t ain’t cool,” when beginning his rant on the Kendrick Drake Beef. He goes on to say the personal and inflammatory accusations and mentions of pedophilia and family members have been out of line. Smith then goes on to describe his connections to hip-hop, saying he grew up in the hip-hop generation and was around the greats from NYC, where he grew up. Stephen A. describes what he believes rap beef should stick to. He believes it should be strictly on artistic and lyrical ability. Stephen A. has no time for the gossip and the remarks made by either rapper. Smith says that we don’t know if any of it is true and that it’s not our business. 

He is thankful that the beef will hopefully not turn violent. He also credits j Cole for bowing out of the feud weeks ago. Stephen A. Smith is in disbelief over the whole ordeal and cannot believe where it has gone. Ultimately, Stephen A. says the beef is making them both look bad. 

Read More: Stephen A Smith Gives His Advice To Deion Sanders’ Sons

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Seth Rogen Pinpoints The Moment Drake Officially Lost The Kendrick Lamar Beef And Marvels At How Crazy The Whole Thing Is

Seth Rogen 29th Critics' Choice Awards 2024
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Last night (May 7), Seth Rogen hosted Seth Smokes The Bowl, a Hilarity For Charity benefit event at the Hollywood Bowl. The event featured various performers, and at one point between acts, Rogen shared his take on the ongoing Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef.

Rogen started, “If you’re a rap fan, there’s some crazy sh*t going on right now.” He then gave a broad overview of the situation, summarizing by saying the two are feuding by writing “mean rhymes about each other.” When he got the point of Lamar’s “Not Like Us” and Drake’s “The Heart Part 6,” specifically how Lamar accused Drake of an inappropriate interest in underage women and Drake refuted it, Rogen said, “I would say as soon as you are asserting in a rap song that you should not be a registered sex offender, you’ve lost the rap battle.”

He added, “What’s crazy is these are not, like, personal correspondences: These are songs! These are hit songs! These are No. 1 and 2 on iTunes, like, right now! These are songs the Apple algorithm is telling my mother to listen to while working out.”

He then compared the song to Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know,” which is famously believed to be about Dave Coulier. After pointing out the relative mystery behind the song’s official, confirmed meaning, Rogen continued, “But now Kendrick is like, ‘F*ck you Drake, you’re a pedophile.’ And these are hit… people are dancing to these songs! Could you imagine going to a club and seeing a room full of people dancing to a song about you being a pedophile? Especially if you were one? I don’t know if he is, but if he was, I assume that’d be a very alarming moment in your life. ‘Oh no, they’re on to me.’”

Check out the clip above.

Drake’s NOCTA x Nike Hot Step 2 “White” Releasing Tomorrow

Drake’s influence extends beyond music into the realm of fashion with the upcoming release of the NOCTA x Nike Hot Step 2 in a sleek “White” colorway dropping tomorrow. Amidst the buzz surrounding his rap battle with Kendrick Lamar, Drake continues to make waves in the sneaker world. The collaboration with Nike showcases his distinct style and commitment to quality. The NOCTA x Nike Hot Step 2 boasts an all-white colorway that exudes sophistication and versatility. With its clean aesthetic, this sneaker is a timeless addition to any wardrobe. The yellow bottom adds a pop of color, elevating the design and making it stand out.

As anticipation mounts for the release of the NOCTA x Nike Hot Step 2, sneaker enthusiasts eagerly await the chance to own a piece of Drake’s signature style. With its sleek silhouette and bold colorway, this sneaker is sure to become a coveted item among fans and collectors alike. Drake’s partnership with Nike under the NOCTA label continues to redefine streetwear fashion, blending performance and style seamlessly. With Drake at the helm, NOCTA has quickly become synonymous with innovation and excellence in the fashion industry. The NOCTA x Nike Hot Step 2 is a testament to Drake’s influence and vision, offering a fusion of style and functionality.

Read More: Air Jordan 4 WMNS “Seafoam” Receives First Look

“White” Nike Hot Step 2 x NOCTA

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Image via Nike

These sneakers boast a clean yellow sole and white midsole with chrome accents. The uppers are crafted from white athletic material with additional overlays. Complete with white laces and a subtle Nike Swoosh, this sneaker flaunts a cohesive all-white color scheme. It’s a timeless look that’s sure to captivate sneakerheads.

More Photos

Kicks On Fire reports that Air Jordan 4 WMNS “Seafoam” will be released in the spring of 2025. Also, the retail price of the sneakers will be $215 when they drop. Further, make sure to let us know what you think about these kicks in the comments below. Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the most recent updates and news from the sneaker community. We’ll make sure to offer you the newest products from the most notable brands.

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Image via Nike
Drake
Image via Nike

Read More: Air Jordan 6 “White/Fire Red” Coming 2025 Spring

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Drake’s Air Jordan 4 “Splatter” PE Exclusively Revealed

Drake’s Air Jordan 4 “Splatter” PE has caused a stir since its exclusive reveal. The rapper has been in the spotlight lately, especially with his recent diss track rap battle against Kendrick Lamar, sparking widespread conversation. Amidst the buzz, Drake’s collaboration with Jordan Brand has garnered attention for its unique design and exclusivity. The Air Jordan 4 “Splatter” PE features a sleek black base, serving as a canvas for the eye-catching red and white splatters adorning the side panel and heel. This distinctive splatter pattern adds a touch of flair and dynamism to the classic silhouette, making it stand out from the crowd.

Drake’s collaboration with Jordan Brand continues to push boundaries and set trends in the sneaker world, solidifying his influence both in the music industry and the realm of fashion. With its striking design and Drake’s stamp of approval, the Air Jordan 4 “Splatter” PE is sure to become a coveted collector’s item. As fans eagerly await any updates on its potential release to the public, the buzz surrounding this exclusive collaboration only continues to grow.

Read More: Air Jordan 4 WMNS “Seafoam” Receives First Look

“Splatter” Air Jordan 4

The shoes feature a red and grey rubber sole, with a white midsole. The uppers of the sneakers are constructed from a black base, with white underlays that are visible through the mesh side. Splatter details are on the sides and back, with red and white pain splattering. Also, the Jordan Jumpman is on the tongues and heels. Finally, Drake’s OVO Owl is on the insoles, in gold.

Unfortunately for sneaker fans, this Drake’s Air Jordan 4 “Splatter” PE will not be available for purchase. This is strictly a “Player’s Edition” and there are no plans for the public to wear this pair on the court. Further, make sure to let us know what you think about these kicks in the comments below. Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the most recent updates and news from the sneaker community. We’ll make sure to offer you the newest products from the most notable brands.

Read More: Air Jordan 6 “White/Fire Red” Coming 2025 Spring

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Jay Rock Clowns Drake Fans Amidst Rap Battle: “Y’all 69 God Lost!”

The hate is real. Kendrick Lamar put on a diss record masterclass over the last seven days, with three diss tracks and a rollout that completely stomped on his opponent’s. Drake rapped incredibly well on his responses, but the momentum is with Lamar, and his former TDE label mates are celebrating. Jay Rock got on X (formerly Twitter) on May 7 to let fans know who won the battle. He also took time out to make fun of Drake fans who were trying to dig stuff up on Lamar and his camp.

Jay Rock didn’t mince words. He not only clowned Drake fans for crying about their favorite rapper losing, but he referred to the rapper by the nickname Lamar gave him on “Not Like Us.” The 6 God has been dubbed the “69 God,” at least on the West Coast. “Don’t be mad at me y’all 69 God lost,” Rock tweeted out. The Watts emcee then turned his attention to the fans who have been going through old tweets from the TDE camp. Metro Boomin underwent a similar fan investigation on X, and wound up looking pretty bad considering the questionable nature of some of his old tweets.

Read More: DJ Akademiks Claims New Drake-Kendrick Lamar Diss Was Delayed After Shooting

Jay Rock Claimed That Drake Fans Are “Reaching”

Jay Rock knows the Drake fans are looking for similar dirt on him and the rest of Lamar’s old label. He isn’t worried, though. “Lol old a*s tweets y’all digging up and still can’t read or comprehend,” he added. “14 year ago tweets y’all reaching for the stars lol.” This is not the first time Rock has voiced support for K. Dot during the battle. He praised his Black Hippy brother on X after the release of the first Drake diss, “Euphoria.” “Now this ain’t no AI,” he assured fans. “See I know Kdot!” He also updated fans on the score of the battle after Lamar dropped “Not Like Us.” “4-0 we already know,” he added.

A quick scroll through Jay Rock’s X timeline proves that he’s been team Dot the entire time. That being said, the rapper did delete the tweet about the “69 God” hours after posting it. It’s ironic, given that the Drake fans he alluded to are looking for messages that might get deleted. Jay Rock is also recording his new album, which is tentatively titled Eastside Johnny. A proper release date hasn’t been given, but Rock has confirmed that it will drop some time in 2024.

Read More: Kurupt Warns Drake And Kendrick Lamar About Ongoing Rap Beef: “Stop It”

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UMG Denies Intervening In Drake And Kendrick Lamar Battle

Never has a rap battle been saddled with so many conspiracy theories and false leads. Drake and Kendrick Lamar has not only had to contend with fake diss songs, but they’ve spread information about the other person without providing concrete evidence. The misinformation spree continued on May 7. Drake’s record label, UMG, was accused of stepping in and putting an end to the battle because the rapper was “losing.” A document surfaced online with a list of steps UMG has taken to end things.

The document in question claimed that UMG asked The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar to end their battle with Drake. It detailed Zoom meetings with the artists’ respective labels, and claims that UMG was losing money over Drake’s pedophile allegations. “Drake is losing the beef in UMG’s eyes,” the document read. “So from UMG’s perspective, the sooner than this beef ends the better.” It didn’t take long for real UMG reps to speak out and state that none of these actions have been taken.

Read More: DJ Akademiks Relays Message From Drake After Shooting: “He’s Okay”

UMG Has No Plans To Interfere With Drake And Kendrick Lamar

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by DJ Akademiks (@akademiks)

UMG, which is short for Universal Music Group, issued a denial to TMZ. The label has never considered getting involved in the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar battle. “Kendrick and Drake’s beef is between them and completely separate from the business side of things,” TMZ reported. “And UMG just doesn’t think it’s their place to step in either way.” It’s easy to see why UMG is staying clear. The label is reaping the benefiting from the battle with historic streaming numbers.

Drake and Kendrick Lamar will draw over 250 million streams in the United States this week. This means that the handful of releases between will make up a staggering 20% of all streams on the Billboard Hot 100. Firstly, Drake, UMG’s artist, managed to land a top 20 single with “Push Ups.” Secondly, the music video for his follow-up diss, “Family Matters,” trended number one on YouTube. It’s since racked up an impressive 17 million views. If anything, UMG would benefit from the battle continuing to unfold. Drake may have had another diss prepped to drop on May 7, but a shooting outside of his home led to a delay.

Read More: TV Anchor Calls Drake A “Raper” Instead Of “Rapper” On Accident

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Did Drake’s Label Ask Kendrick Lamar To End Their Rap Beef?

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Could the long-brewing feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar finally be coming to an end? Over the course of the past few weeks, Drake and Lamar have dropped several diss tracks aimed at each other. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse, after Drake’s bodyguard was reportedly shot near Drake’s Toronto home.

Neither Drake nor Lamar have commented directly on the matter, however, neither party has dropped a diss track since the incident. Many fans are wondering if the labels have since gotten involved, asking to end the beef.

Did Drake’s label ask Kendrick Lamar to end their rap beef?

A screenshot of a supposed blind item went viral on Twitter today (May 7), alleging that Universal Music Group had reached out to Lamar and his pgLang brand, as well as The Weeknd, asking them to end the feud, and to walk back comments calling Drake a pedophile.

https://twitter.com/Phil_Lewis_/status/1788005367428854154ce

The supposed blind item noted that Drake, Nike, and other parties involved were losing a lot of money, as Drake was losing the beef.

However, TMZ has said there is no truth to this blind item, and that the claims are entirely unfounded.

TMZ reported that sources close to the matter — who, evidently, are knowledgeable of how labels works — had not gotten involved, and likely, wouldn’t get involved with matters like this.

But given recent events, it seems as though continuing the feud would be in poor taste.

TV Anchor Calls Drake A “Raper” Instead Of “Rapper” On Accident

Drake is having a bad week so far. The rapper has more likes than dislikes on the YouTube video for his latest Kendrick Lamar diss, “The Heart Part 6.” He also had a shooting take place at his Toronto mansion on May 7. The rapper was not injured in the shooting, but a member of his security team was shot in the chest. Drake’s dangerous encounter was covered extensively by local Canadian news. The problem is, when it came time to reference him, the anchor reporting the story made a colossal slip up.

The report was made on Eyewitness News ABC7. The footage was uploaded to the network’s YouTube channel, and the flub can immediately be heard. The anchor attempts to set the scene of the shooting before throwing it to field reporter Darla Miles, but he stumbles when it comes time to describe what Drake does for a living. Instead of noting that Drake is a professional “rapper,” the anchor mistakenly says that he is a “raper.” “Lots of questions tonight,” he stated. “About a security guard who was shot outside the mansion of the raper… rapper, I should say, Drake.” Oof.

Read More: DJ Akademiks Relays Message From Drake After Shooting: “He’s Okay”

The NBC Anchor Immediately Corrected Himself

It’s a deafeningly awkward moment to witness. Especially when one considers the accusations that have been thrown at Drake over the last few weeks. Kendrick Lamar has built most of his diss campaign on the notion that Drake is a pedophile who traffics young women. He rapped about it on “Meet the Grahams,” and he doubled down on the accusations with “Not Like Us.” The latter is especially damning, with lines about Drake having sex offenders in his OVO camp and hitting an “a minor” cord.

To be clear, Drake has denied these accusations outright. He addressed them on his aforementioned response, “The Heart Part 6.” He said that Lamar was lying, and dismissed the Compton rapper’s claims as “false” information. “You would be a worthy competitor if I was really a predator,” he says during the outro of the song. “And you weren’t f*ckin’ lying to every blogger and editor.” Lamar has not yet provided evidence to support his claims. Regardless of the truth, the fumble by the ABC news anchor is not going to benefit Drake in the court of public opinion.

Read More: DJ Akademiks Claims New Drake-Kendrick Lamar Diss Was Delayed After Shooting

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Kurupt Warns Drake And Kendrick Lamar About Ongoing Rap Beef: “Stop It”

Kurupt was in the trenches. He was part of Death Row Records when the East and West Coast were going at it in the 1990s. He knows what real animosity looks like, so his perspective on the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar battle is welcome. It is, after all, the biggest battle since Biggie and ‘Pac exchanged blows. Kurupt kept it West Coast with which rapper he prefers, but he also issued a warning to both parties, assuming they plan to keep things going.

Kurupt went on the Bootleg Kev Show on May 7 to discuss the battle. Fans got to watch as Tha Dogg Pound rapper heard Lamar’s “Not Like Us” for the first time, and he was a fan. “It really was banging, though,” he said. He also quoted Dot’s bar about Drake striking an “A minor” cord. The rapper quickly switched gears, however, and talked about the downside of having two major rap artists taking shots at each other. “This is why this is not healthy, my n**ga,” he told the podcast host. “Anything can happen. Drake could fall and break his toe and ‘Oh that’s what you get for f*cking with Kendrick.’ Don’t do that.”

Read More: Disturbing Metro Boomin Tweets Resurface Amidst Drake Battle

Kurupt Tells Drake And K. Dot To “Fight” Or End It

Kurupt was then informed about the shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Toronto mansion. This led to him doubling down on his previous statement. As far as he’s concerned, a rap battle is not worth the danger that Drake and Lamar may be putting themselves in. “This sh*t’s real, cuz,” he noted. “Life is precious, my n**ga. So if y’all ain’t gonna fight, stop it…”

Kurupt advised both Drake and Lamar to keep it on record, and cited Murda Mook and himself as prime examples. “This ain’t funny,” he added. “When I went to war, I wanted to fight. It was real! When ‘Pac and Biggie was into it, it was real. This sh*t ain’t real.” There’s noting to tie the shooting at Drake’s mansion with the rapper’s current battle, but the timing does have fans suspicious. The shooting did, however, get in the way of another diss release, according to DJ Akademiks.

Read More: DJ Akademiks Relays Message From Drake After Shooting: “He’s Okay”

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DJ Akademiks Claims New Drake-Kendrick Lamar Diss Was Delayed After Shooting

Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar has become the biggest rap battle of the 21st century. Part of the appeal, at least at first, was that fans were confident the two artists would keep their attacks on wax, and not resort to real-world violence. Well, things took a turn for the worse on May 7, when a shooting broke out at the home of the 6 God himself. A member of Drake’s security team was shot in the chest and subsequently rushed to the hospital. The shooting not only forced fans to step back and consider the risks both artists are taking, but delayed what was supposed to be another day of dissing.

DJ Akademiks gave some revelatory context to the shooting during a recent Twitch stream. He revealed that a new diss song was set to be released on May 7, but the shooting has resulted in an indefinite delay. “There was supposed to be some new music today,” Ak told viewers. “I’m not saying from who nor am I gonna confirm from either party that we’ve really been interested in.” The general belief is that Drake was going to drop again, given that Akademiks has had the inside scoop on OVO releases. That being said, the Toronto rapper was the last person to release a diss song.

Read More: Drake Trolled With Disrespectful GoFundMe’s Amid Kendrick Lamar Beef

DJ Akademiks Didn’t Say Who Was Planning The Diss

Unless he was planning on a back-to-back approach, Kendrick Lamar was the next one up. Akademiks didn’t give any clues as to which rapper was eyeing May 7 for a release date. He did, however, confirm that the shooting is what led to it being shelved. “The plan of releasing got foiled today after some really serious news came out,” he added. “If you guys don’t know, there was a shooting at Drake’s house this morning.” The internet personality said the incident is being referred to as a “drive-by.”

DJ Akademiks also relayed a message from Drake. He confirmed that he talked with the rapper shortly after the shooting went down. He also assured fans that the “Family Matters” rapper was safe. “I have spoken with Drake, and he’s okay,” he said via Twitch. “You know, he said he’s good. Nothing more than that, nothing less.” A new release date has not been set for the alleged diss. If violence continues to be an issue for Drake and Kendrick Lamar, there’s a chance the entire battle will be laid to rest.

Read More: Kai Cenat Denies Drake Blocked Him After He Criticized Latest Diss

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