Drake loves giving mixed messages. The rapper has “officially” put the Kendrick Lamar battle behind him. Per DJ Akademiks, Drake is getting back to giving fans who love him “what they love.” That being said, he hasn’t eased up on the trolling. Drizzy may no longer be in the diss record mode, but he hasn’t let up when it comes to sending subliminals K. Dot’s way. The latest is arguably his most obvious yet. Drake decided to post a photo of him wearing a Tupac shirt with the text “Only God Can Judge Me.”
Anybody with a cursory knowledge of the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar battle know the relevance that the late Tupac Shakur has for both men. Drake used Tupac’s voice to diss Lamar on the AI-assisted “Taylor Made Freestyle.” He also flaunted the fact that he bought Tupac’s personalized ring for $1 million. Dot, meanwhile, considers Tupac to be his favorite artist. He famously conversed with the “ghost” of ‘Pac on To Pimp a Butterfly (2015), and has tributed him multiple times over the years. He took Drake’s slander of the rapper to heart, and incorporated it into his number one hit “Not Like Us.” “You think the Bay ‘gon let you disrespect ‘Pac, n**ga,” he raps. “I think that Oakland show gon’ be your last stop, n**ga.”
Kendrick Lamar worked in yet another dig at Drake during his “Pop Out” show on Juneteenth. He changed the lyrics to “Euphoria” to send a message directly to the 6 God: return Tupac’s ring and the Compton king will afford him some respect. Naturally, Drake rejected the offer. Instead, he’s decided to double down on the Lamar trolling with his new shirt. “Only God Can Judge Me” is a song from Tupac’s penultimate album, All Eyez on Me, and the kind of grandiose sentiment that the 6 God would apply to his own legacy.
Drake has, admittedly, voiced his adoration for Tupac in the past. During a 2011 interview with The Boombox, the rapper claimed that he aspired to be more like ‘Pac in his own life. “He was somebody who was a free spirit and he did not care,” he opined. “He just did what he felt. I wish I could have a little more ‘Pac to my persona. I’m working on it.” Things have obviously taken a different turn for the 6 God in the intervening years.
While a huge part of the rap world has seemingly sided with Kendrick Lamar in his feud with Drake, there’s one cultural titan who isn’t letting their conflict get in the way of potentially collaborating with the Canadian hitmaker. 50, whose involvement in the vendetta has to date been limited to teasing his longtime rival Rick Ross for supposedly being attacked by Drake fans in Canada, shared a photo of himself hanging out with Drake at a club with a caption that suggested that they might be working together in the near future.
“Brain storming last night me and @champagnepapi gonna get the rolling,” he wrote. “Biggest ting on your TV.”
Of course, that prompted a bit of a backlash in 50’s comments section, with fans quoting lines from Kendrick’s infamous diss track “Not Like Us” and comparing the Toronto rapper to 50’s own onetime (possibly forever) enemy, Ja Rule. “Nah 50 he ain’t it,” wrote one fan. “That’s Kendrick’s Ja Rule.” Meanwhile, others cited 50’s connection to Dr. Dre, who co-signed Kendrick way back in the day and appeared at K. Dot’s Ken & Friend concerts to introduce “Not Like Us” — proving once again, that a lot of rap fans take this stuff WAY too seriously.
With 50 looking to expand his Power universe, perhaps the project they “brainstormed” on has something to do with Drake’s history as an actor and a producer — Top Boy crossover incoming? Now, that’s something worth getting excited about.
Fans are accusing 50 Cent of betraying Kendrick Lamar after meeting up with Drake at a party in Toronto over the weekend and teasing a collaboration. 50 posted a picture of the two together on Instagram on Sunday afternoon. “Brain [brain emoji] storming last night me and @champagnepapi gonna get the [camera emoji] rolling biggest ting on your TV GLG,” the caption reads. This suggests that 50 and Drake’s collaboration is related to television, not music. 50’s an accomplished TV producer, with his Power franchise celebrating ten years on the air last month. Drake is an executive producer on Netflix’s Top Boy revival and Euphoria. The latter is one of the most popular shows on HBO.
50 Cent meeting with Drake angered fans of Lamar. Some of them pointed out 50’s own history of attacking those who sided with his rivals. “You can’t do Ja Rule like that and go hang with the modern day Ja Rule,” said one user. Another user mentioned Drake’s own history as an actor, saying that they “don’t want to see [Drake] in Power” after this.
Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent have shared history. The two of them collaborated on the 2013 track “We Up.” Lamar also made a cameo in the fifth season of Power as Laces, a homeless drug addict who gets shot in the head by Kanan Stark, portrayed by 50 himself. Of course, the two of them have connections to Dr. Dre and Eminem. Both signed to Aftermath Entertainment at different points in the last two decades and found massive success. The two have since departed to forge their own paths. 50 went into TV and Lamar founded the pgLang production company.
Fans have also pointed out that 50 Cent and Drake’s meetup was likely in part because of a shared enemy: Rick Ross. Ross and 50 have had beef since the 2000s. Drake and Ross’s relationship deteriorated earlier this year, with the two of them taking petty shots at each other during the much bigger battle between the former and Kendrick Lamar. Drake claimed credit for Ross’s crossover success. Ross referred to Drake as “BBL Drizzy,” alleging that Drake uses Ozempic and paid for ab sculpting surgery. Ross recently got into a fight for playing “Not Like Us” in Vancouver. Drake’s and 50’s meetup is a hot topic, and it will be interesting to see what comes of it.
If you follow Lupe Fiasco closely, you know that he tends to have some bold takes about Kendrick Lamar. The Chicago MC’s views waver on the Compton artist’s rapping abilities and musical output as a whole and they have been for some time. Fans have seen him label himself as a better writer than Kendrick (which is arguable), Logic, and most recently Drakeduring the heat of the beef. Because of this, people on the internet continuously reaffirm that the Samurai creator is a hater, and he has to disprove those claims time and time again. That was the case once again after Lupe hosted a Twitter Spaces event that eventually led some Kendrick fans to press him about where he stands.
Things seemed to escalate to this point following a debate around who can gatekeep in hip-hop. Uproxx was able to copy Lupe’s words, so here are some key points. “If you want to start who is in and who is out, a process which I don’t agree with, and I think is bulls***, if you want to do that you should have a degree… If you ain’t got that, then I don’t think that you are qualified… Just because you can rap, and you’ve sold a bunch of records… It should be stewarded by people who know what the f*** they are talking about very deeply and can write a book about it”.
Lupe & Kendrick’s Fans Go Back And Forth On Twitter
Lupe Fiasco speaks on rap culture and who has the authority to dictated it.
Kendrick fans saying he hating… people can say the same thing when it comes to Kendrick hating on Drake…let’s not do that that’s all I been seeing anytime someone say anything good about Drakepic.twitter.com/vxk1r5t7Qg
All of this and more were what got the Kendrick fan base riled up as they felt subtle shots were fired. For example, it led to the second clip, which shows Lupe and a participant go back and forth about who should be liked in hip-hop. Both guys went back and forth about why they like Lamar outside of just his music. The rapper then checked the debater about a time he has ever said he hates the TPAB MC. Overall, the fan’s goal was to get a concrete stance from Lupe about him. After the latter sensed that he accomplished that, he either removed him from the Twitter Spaces, or he left on his own.
Getting to know Lupe Fiasco through social media, beyond his music has probably been the most disappointing out of all my fav rappers. I’m more disappointed in Lupe than I am Kanye bc Lupe was suppose to be the smartest one. What is he teaching in that Hip Hop class at M.I.T???
What are your thoughts on Lupe Fiasco’s comments about Kendrick Lamar and perhaps the subtle disses via Twitter? Do you think fans have a point that he is indeed a hater, why or why not? If you think yes, why do you think he has this opinion about Dot? We would like to hear what you have to say, so leave your thoughts in the comments. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding Kendrick Lamar and Lupe Fiasco. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on in the music world.
Yesterday (July 20), Lupe Fiasco found himself in the middle of a heated debate surrounding the war of words with a host of fans online. Continue below for a full run down of has users online in an uproar.
What Did Lupe Fiasco Say About Kendrick Lamar?
During an X (formerly Twitter) Space, Lupe Fiasco decided to share his thoughts on who can assume the role of gatekeeper to hip-hop culture. Many users took his statement to be a subtle jab at Kendrick Lamar. Read his remarks below.
If you want to start who is in and who is out, a process which I don’t agree with, and I think is bullsh*t, if you want to do that you should have a degree. You should have a PhD in hip-hop. If you ain’t got that, then I don’t think that you are qualified to and have the right to speak on of hip-hop. Just because you can rap, and you’ve sold a bunch of records, I don’t think at this point, and it’s to the point now that it is visceral, and it’s to the point where people are making decisions on it, and it’s hurting people and building up other people that it shouldn’t just be based on some n**** at a podcast… It should be stewarded by people who know what the f*ck they are talking about very very deeply and can write a book about it. But I’m being biased. I don’t agree with the process anyway. I don’t think we should be choosing who comes in and out and making decisions on that sh*t anyway… I think it is going to do more harm than good. And I think you are going to miss out on a lot of beautiful things because of it. I think you are going to ostracize people and like I said, there are going to be a group of motherf*ckers that you think you actually control and sh*t and its dudes doing 50 city tours who you ain’t never heard of. ‘Cause they like, ‘F*ck that dude. I’m finna do this because I love it.’ But now, they are the ‘out group,’ but they are selling more records than you and selling more tour dates than you. But you are the spokesperson for hip-hop? That don’t make no sense.
Lupe Fiasco speaks on rap culture and who has the authority to dictated it.
Kendrick fans saying he hating… people can say the same thing when it comes to Kendrick hating on Drake…let’s not do that that’s all I been seeing anytime someone say anything good about Drakepic.twitter.com/vxk1r5t7Qg
Childish Gambino raps on his new album, Bando Stone and the New World. Not as much as you’d think, though. The artist intersperses bars with sonic experiments and electronic flourishes. “Yoshinoya” is a rare exception to this. The track sees Childish Gambino drop aggressive rhymes over a trunk-rattling instrumental from producer Triangle Park. He takes aim at some undisclosed target in his verses, but fans have been quick to point out clues that suggest the target is in plain sight. The theory is that the rapper is the latest to attack Drizzy Drake.
The biggest piece of evidence to suggest that Childish Gambino is targeting Drake is in the first verse. “I put your boy in the seat. You got your biz’ in the streets,” he raps. “I wash my hands when I eat. I never hand her the key.” The use of the moniker the “Boy,” evokes the nickname that Drake has used over the last decade. Genius even posits Gambino’s wording as a means of schooling the 6 God, hence putting him in a seat (the annotation is, notably, unreviewed). The next few lines have also been theorized to be about Drake. “I don’t know no one BD,” he raps. “But they dependent on me.” “BD” is baby daddy, which technically applies to the Toronto rapper. Drake also scored a hit single in 2023 with “Rich Baby Daddy.”
Childish Gambino And Drake Have Had Issues In The Past
The rest of the song is peppered with slights and comments that could easily apply to Drake. Childish Gambino mentions finding a house “on the app,” which evokes the iconic imagery of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” diss. The rapper also suggests that his unnamed target has untrustworthy people in his circle. “They plottin’ hard when you slatt,” he spits. “Thеy got a gun in your back. This who you trust when you sleepin’ at night.” There’s even an “AK” bar. “AK not silent like knife,” Childish Gambino raps towards the back end of the verse. The reference applies to a loud firearm, of course, but could just as well apply to DJ Akademiks and the fact that he serves as Drizzy’s mouthpiece.
Childish Gambino and Drake have not had the closest relationship over the years. The latter infamously criticized Gambino’s “This Is America” during a 2018 concert in Chicago. He posted a user comment that read: “The overrated and over awarded hit song ‘This Is America’ was originally a Drake diss record.” It’s also worth noting that fans have compared Childish Gambino’s sound on the new album to Drake. Many social media users have compared Bando Stone and the New World to the 6 God’s recent releases, and there’s definitely similarities. We won’t know if “Yoshinoya” is a diss unless Gambino confirms it, but we know there isn’t love lost between him and Drake.
While Kendrick Lamar’s thrashing of Drake may have taken top billing so far this summer, it’s not the only feud the Compton rapper has been involved in — or, at least, that’s what some fans want to believe. While Kendrick was whacking owls and dragging the good name of OVO through the Hub City mud, another blog era veteran, Big Sean, was quietly releasing new singles as he prepared to release his sixth studio album (and first in four years), Better Me Than You.
This sucked for Sean, whose new releases got overshadowed by all the commotion — a common theme for the Detroit rapper, who arguably deserved to be mentioned in the same tier as Drake and Ken at one time, if only because his output matched theirs for both quantity and quality for a while. But when he wasn’t being drowned in the deluge of new diss tracks, his own releases were being interpreted as bids to insert himself into the beef, with mentions of the so-called “Big Three” turning into sneak disses in the minds of fans who were by now primed to demand bloodshed (metaphorically speaking).
Starting with the kickoff of Big Sean’s album rollout, “Clarity,” fans seemed determined to find jabs in Sean’s lyrics. “I think where I lack most as an artist is consistency / I just haven’t had the energy to compete with enemies / Or y’all so-called ‘Bigger Three’,” he rapped. While more reasonable readings would consider this Sean’s generous assessment of his own career — that he could have been bigger with a more consistent release schedule — others saw an eagerness for war with his more popular counterparts, especially when, just two days later, Kendrick dropped “Like That” with Future and Metro Boomin, declaring, “Motherf*ck the Big Three — it’s just big me.”
This might not have seemed like that big of a deal, but before either track came out, an old version of Kendrick Lamar’s 2017 DAMN. track “Element” leaked online, revealing a scrapped verse that dealt with apparent friction between the two rappers. “Big Sean keep sneak dissin’, I let it slide / I think his false confidence got him inspired / I can’t make them respect you, baby, it’s not my job / You’re finally famous for who you date, not how you rhyme,” Ken spat acidly on the old verse. While that version of the song never made it to retail, well… everything is forever on the internet (unless you wrote a post for MTV.com)
So why all the animosity to begin with? To find the answer, you’ve got to go back into blog rap lore about 10 years, when Big Sean was preparing to release his album Hall Of Fame. During the rollout, Sean shared a promotional single called “Control” on which he and Kendrick teamed up for a display of lyrical virtuoso that turned into something else entirely thanks to Kendrick’s penchant for playing with fire. As he would later do on “Like That,” Kendrick utterly stole the show on “Control,” naming names of those artists he considered his peers — and competitors — inviting them to catch his fade if they dared.
“I’m usually homeboys with the same n****s I’m rhymin’ with,” he allowed. “But this is hip-hop, and them n****s should know what time it is / And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Wale / Pusha T, Meek Millz, A$AP Rocky, Drake / Big Sean, Jay Electron’, Tyler, Mac Miller / I got love for you all, but I’m tryna murder you n****s / Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you n****s / They don’t wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you n****s.” The results were entertaining, but ultimately unsatisfying for those who wanted to see some high-level rhyme combat. It seemed like every rapper on the internet couldn’t help dropping a “response” — except for the ones Kendrick actually named.
Look, you can only get so far battle rapping. That’s been a truth of hip-hop since the ’80s. And you don’t get that big if you aren’t focused on making the best music and being about your business. So, it’s not surprising no one answered the call. However, Big Sean, who arguably suffered the worst from the verse (“Control” was cut from the album due to sample clearance issues) since he was basically “Renegaded” on his own track. He’s prickled a bit when asked about it; in 2017, he denied being “washed” by Kendrick on the song — an accusation he’s had to refute numerous times since then — although he denies being salty about it.
So, between getting overshadowed on “Control” — and in his career in general — by Kendrick and Drake, then Kendrick’s original “Element” verse taunting him for perhaps being understandably miffed about the situation, Sean does have reason to want to prove himself against Kendrick once and for all. That’s why fans think that, like with Drake, Kendrick has long-brewing friction with the Motown native that they could both be itching to resolve. And it’s why fans took Big Sean’s On The Radar freestyle admonishment about “finding someone to beef with” as a slight of Kendrick rather than its actual intended target: Sean’s former benefactor, Kanye West.
But there’s one other reason that they want to see a battle between the two: Because Big Sean could very well be one of today’s few upper echelon rappers who could hold his own in a rhyme fight with Kendrick Lamar. Drake got served. J. Cole bowed out. There are few other MCs at Kendrick’s level of mainstream popularity and commercial viability fans believe has the motivation or the skill to stand toe-to-toe with the Hub City native. Now, whether that’d be in Big Sean’s best interest is debatable; the scales are already tilted in Kendrick’s favor, Sean’s reputation as a rapper is respected but far from ironclad, and as Cardi B once said, “beef is bad for business.” But that won’t stop fans from clamoring for the next battle.
Everybody from the West Coast was at Kendrick Lamar’s “The Pop Out” show, but Wack 100, who manages another legend who wasn’t there, The Game. Speaking with Vlad TV, Wack revealed why he wasn’t in attendance.
“I’m one of those where if you not on me about it, I’ll forget,” Wack 100 said. “I was in my studio, reconstructing my studio, stressing out over one of my podcast stands. I go looking for the guy and he told me the show was over at 8 o’clock sharp. I totally forgot, that’s when I hit Game.”
He would state The Game was at home with his lady as she was pregnant.
Big Sean seems like a nice guy. By all accounts, the rapper is well-liked and respected throughout the industry. There are seemingly only two rappers who don’t like him, but both have gone out of their way to steal his shine. Kanye West dissed Big Sean in a Drink Champs interview, and one of his fans leaked the rapper’s new album. Kendrick Lamar, meanwhile, has allegedly dissed the rapper on multiple occasions. To make matters worse, Lamar has a habit of overshadowing Big Sean’s releases. And social media is worried it’s going to happen again.
Sean Don announced that his new album, Better Me Than You, would be dropping August 9th. It was an exciting development, and a smart one given the recent leaks. The rapper released an official trailer for the album, which teased an unreleased beat. The feedback was positive, with many rooting for Sean to score a major comeback. Some, however, looked at Kendrick Lamar’s track record. Kendrick Lamar was the one who stomped on the release on Sean’s “Precision” single by dropping the “Like That” the same exact day. Then there was “Control” in 2013, which drew so much online attention for Lamar’s verse that it overshadowed the album it was supposed to be on. Never mind the fact that Dot calls Sean out on his own song.
Even when Kendrick Lamar is not stepping on Big Sean’s rollouts, he remains a talking point. The latter dropped a freestyle on July 16, and it went viral because listeners though he was dissing K. Dot. DJHed had to clarify that Sean was not, but by that point, the narrative had taken over. It’s also worth noting that Kendrick Lamar has an album rumored for release in August. The jacket Lamar wears in the “Not Like Us” video has an 8/8/2024 pendant, which many believe to be the official release date. If true, then Big Sean would once again be outdone by his Compton peer.
Keep scrolling to read social media reactions to the Kendrick Lamar release date theory. Do you think Lamar will steal Big Sean’s thunder? Will the albums wind up competing for the top spot? Let us know in the comments, and check back later for more music/pop culture news updates.
One thing for sure that NBA great Steph Curry and Drake will definitely agree on. Both the Canadian rapper and the living legend on the NBA are both tired of Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “They Not Like Us” aimed at Drake.
While Team USA was prepping for a pre-Olympics exhibition with Serbia in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday afternoon when Curry decided to get his feelings about the most famous diss record of all time off his chest.
At about the ten second mark, Curry yelled, “Damn with this song! It’s not the only song in America.”
To the contrary of Curry’s opinion, LeBron James commented that he actually loved the song.
storming last night me and @champagnepapi gonna get the 
rolling,” he wrote. “Biggest ting on your TV.”
that’s all I been seeing anytime someone say anything good about Drake
DAO
(@MalcomEhx) 
Who Dat Boi Jay 
