Kendrick Lamar

DJ Akademiks Claims Drake Has A Kendrick Lamar Sneak Diss Ready

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Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar will be the hip-hop story of 2024. Nothing will come along that tops it in terms of importance or attention. It was a fun time for all involved, except for maybe Drake. That being said, the battle may not be over. DJ Akademiks has continued to hint at the possibility that the 6 God has more to say about his enemy on record. Drake has been quiet, at least by Drake standards. During a new stream, though, DJ Akademiks claimed that some K. Dot sneak disses are on the way.

Ak’s allegiance to Drake is inarguable. That being said, the hip-hop personality does appear to have an inside line to the OVO camp. His predictions and debunking of rumors has been mostly spot on. He’s not infallible, of course, but when it comes to new Drake material, he has enough credibility to be believable. He voiced excitement over the next phase of the Drake and Kendrick Lamar battle, which he called sneak dissing time. “It’s really never over,” he noted. “I can’t wait to hear the first sneak diss.” Akademiks went to share some additional information, but he caught himself. “Matter of fact,” he said, before pausing. “I won’t even tell y’all what I heard.”

Read More: Big Sean Calls Out DJ Akademiks For Pushing Rap Beef Narratives

DJ Akademiks Alludes To Unreleased Drake Music

DJ Akademiks’ excitement did make it seem like he knew something the public didn’t, though. “I can’t wait to hear the first sneak diss Drake got,” he explained. “That’s dissing Kendrick. How he positions it, that’s gonna be interesting. How does he position it…” It’s been a few months since Drake and Kendrick Lamar swapped diss tracks, but the beef appears to very much be active. Lamar is still riding high on the success of his Drake diss, “Not Like Us,” which went back to number one on Billboard. Dot’s former label mate, Ab-Soul, also tweeted about the possibility of Drake picking the battle back up.

More recently, ScHoolboy Q went after Drake’s OVO camp. The TDE artist claimed that Canadian police forced him to cancel his show in Toronto, and he vented about the sudden decision on Twitter. He said that Young Money and OVO artists have been cool in Los Angeles, and suggested that the 6 God was being sensitive. The real cause behind Q’s canceled show have since been debated. Some claim that Canadian police were behind it, others claimed the rapper canceled it himself. Time will tell if all this tension will manifest in the form of a sneak diss, like DJ Akademiks claimed.

Read More: ScHoolboy Q & DJ Akademiks Go Back And Forth After Q’s Toronto Show Is Suspiciously Shut Down

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Steph Curry Admits He’s Tired Of Hearing Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”

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Steph Curry and Kendrick Lamar are West Coast legends. They revived the NBA and hip-hop scenes, respectively, and changed both mediums forever. There was even a viral TikTok going around on July 17, in which NBA athletes were compared to rappers. Low and behold, Curry and K. Dot were the two names linked. That being said, the Chef has had enough of Lamar’s latest record. He was captured on video during Team USA’s match against Serbia, and he was not happy when he heard “Not Like Us.”

Curry can be seen walking on the court after Team USA defeated Serbia. “Not Like Us” can be heard in the background, and the superstar is immediately annoyed. “Damn with this song,” he says. “It’s not the only song in America.” Curry’s reaction is immediately counterbalanced by LeBron James, who admits that he’s still a fan of the Drake diss. “I love it,” he tells Curry. Anthony Edwards doesn’t comment on the number one single, but he can be seen dancing to it before the video cuts out.

Read More: Steph Curry Allegedly Almost Cried Because Kevin Durant Was Beating Him Out For Finals MVP

LeBron Told Steph Curry He Still Loves The Song

Steph Curry hasn’t spoken publicly about the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar battle. However, he has been referenced by Lamar on “Meet the Grahams.” The Compton rapper tells Curry to keep his family away from Drake, due to Drake’s unsavory reputation. A reputation that Lamar himself perpetuated throughout the battle. The rapper also mentions LeBron James, which makes the “Not Like Us” exchange even more ironic. “Ayy, LeBron, keep the family away,” Lamar raps. “Hey, Curry, keep the family away. To anybody that embody the love for their kids, keep the family away.”

Drake, meanwhile, has referenced Steph Curry on multiple songs. He compared himself to the Chef on “0 to 100 / The Catch Up” in 2014. He also claimed to be running up the numbers like Curry on the 2016 smash “Why You Always Hatin.” The latter was a collab with West Coast veteran YG. A veteran who was among the people who distanced themselves from Drake and supported Kendrick Lamar during the beef. YG attended Lamar’s “Pop Out” show on Juneteenth, as did LeBron James. The latter was seen rapping and dancing in the audience. Curry, however, was nowhere to be found.

Read More: Steph Curry Opens Up About Klay Thompson’s Future With The Warriors

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ScHoolboy Q Blasts OVO For Not Allowing TDE Artists In Toronto

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ScHoolboy Q is not happy. The TDE rapper was slated to perform in Toronto, but was allegedly kept from doing so. In response to this last-minute decision, Q hopped on Twitter and criticized the Canadian city for discriminating against his label. He not only accused Toronto of keeping TDE artists out, but hinted at some larger problems between the label and Drake’s OVO crew. ScHoolboy Q also alluded to there being consequences if this so-called sensitive behavior continued.

The Twitter rant took place on July 17. ScHoolboy Q made it clear that he was angry over the cancelation of his show, and called out Canadian police directly. “THey just canceled by sHow in Toronto,” he wrote. “Canadian police don’t want nobody from TDE performing.” The real bombshell, however, came in the subsequent tweet. Q claimed that everything was good between TDE and Drake’s parent label, Young Money. He claimed that Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith was actually hanging out with Birdman and Weezy recently. “Top was just wit Wayne and Baby smH,” he angrily typed. ScHoolboy Q also noted that OVO artist PARTYNEXTDOOR played at the Palladium in Los Angeles without any trouble.

Read More: ScHoolboy Q Expresses Excitement For The Future Of LA Hip Hop

ScHoolboy Q Warned OVO To Tread Carefully

After venting about the various ways in which the beef has been settled, ScHoolboy Q got aggressive. He made it known that if TDE had plans to do something to Drake and OVO, they would have done it already. “If we wanted to get y’all we would’ve just did it,” he tweeted. The last part of the message took on a more ominous tone, with the rapper seemingly warning OVO of potential problems to come. “Now wHen sumbody get Hurt don’t cry…” he concluded. ScHoolboy Q was never involved in the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef, but he made it clear which side he was on from day one.

He voiced his support for Lamar, his former label mate, on social media. He also performed alongside the rapper at the legendary “Pop Out” show on Juneteenth. ScHoolboy Q and Dot rapped “Collard Greens” together. Q was also one of the people who posed for the iconic black-and-white photo taken at the end of the concert. Hopefully TDE and OVO are able to set their differences aside and allow touring on both sides, without things getting ugly.

Read More: ScHoolboy Q Couldn’t Believe Donald Trump & Joe Biden’s Golf Debate

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Steph Curry And LeBron James Playfully Discuss Whether Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Is Played Out

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LeBron James rapped Kendrick Lamar’s verse from Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” during the Los Angeles Lakers’ pregame warmups on March 31. Three months and three Drake diss tracks later, James is still Team Kendrick.

On Wednesday, July 17, Lamar’s “Not Like Us” played while James and Steph Curry warmed up before USA Basketball’s exhibition game against Serbia ahead of this month’s 2024 Paris Olympics. In a video circulated by Complex on X (formerly Twitter), Curry can be seen expressing semi-joking, semi-serious annoyance to hear Lamar’s ubiquitous Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper yet again. “It’s not the only song in America,” Curry said, smiling and laughing. James shrugged and appeared to say, “As much as I love it, we’ve got to get something else.”

Lamar would probably love to release another Drake diss track. The only surer bet than USA Basketball winning Olympic gold might be Lamar having several Drake diss tracks in the vault, ready for deployment at any given moment. But for now, “Not Like Us” is the soundtrack to Lamar’s victory lap.

Curry and James are far from the first athletes to weigh in, as DeMar DeRozan appeared in the “Not Like Us” video, and Serena Williams incorporated the song into her ESPYs opening monologue. The longevity of “Not Like Us” has been pretty incredible, but it seems at least some players are a bit tired of hearing it in every arena.

Did Big Sean Diss Kendrick Lamar In His ‘On The Radar’ Freestyle?

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Hip-hop’s summer of beef continues?

At least, some fans think it does after Big Sean freestyled for the On The Radar Radio show. See, over the course of his verse, Sean drops several bars that some have interpreted as shots at Kendrick Lamar. Kendrick, of course, just wrapped up his vitriolic beatdown of Drake; however, in doing so, he and the Canadian kinda stepped on Big Sean’s new album rollout.

Sean was already tangentially involved in the “Big Three” fiasco via his new song “Clarity,” and a leaked, scrapped version of Kendrick’s 2017 song “Element” seemed to give Sean reasons for wanting to strike back. “N****s looking for engagement like they got they knee bent / I gotta better things to do than find someone to beef with,” he says in the verse.

So, does this theory hold water?

Not according to DJ Hed, who has become something of an unofficial authority on most things K. Dot for rap fans on Twitter. After calling a tweet noting the supposed diss “cap,” Hed followed up with a cryptic explanation. “I talked to Sean. The bar was ‘I got better things to do then find someone to beef with.’ And it was not for Dot. Bar was directed at a different Gemini.”

Now, I’m not a big astrology guy, but sources (Google) tell me that Kanye West would also fall under that description. He’s also had plenty to say about his frayed relationship with Big Sean during his appearance on N.O.R.E.’s Drink Champs podcast in 2021, calling signing the Detroit rapper the “worst thing I’ve ever done” and accusing him of being a shill for the Democratic Party, which… oy vey.

Kanye’s comments certainly would fit the “reaching for engagement” bill, as well as trying to “find someone to beef with” for Kanye trying to enter the Drake/Kendrick feud unasked (and failing miserably, by the way). Meanwhile, some of the other lines fans have identified seem like Dhalsim from Street Fighter-level stretches.

So, for now, until Sean himself says otherwise, it’s unlikely he’s dissing Kendrick. And for what it’s worth, no one wants to see part two of this nonsense, because if all that West Coast solidarity might go out the window over Jhené Aiko, what was any of it even for?

Drake And Kendrick Lamar’s Feud Is Officially ‘Jeopardy!’-Famous As It Was Just A Clue On The Show

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Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s feud has been one of the biggest pop culture events of 2024 so far: Lamar’s “Not Like Us” is a No. 1 hit (again), the song was mentioned at the ESPYs, and now, the beef has reached Jeopardy! status.

One of the categories in the Double Jeopardy! round from last night’s (July 16) episode was called “Diss-track-tions,” and the $800 question was, “In May 2024, these 2 competitors went back & forth with tracks like ‘Family Matters’ & ‘Meet The Grahams.’” A contestant correctly said, ‘Who are Kendrick Lamar and Drake?’

Per J! Archive, the category also referenced beefs between Eminem and The Game, Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G., 50 Cent and Cam’ron, and Nas and Jay-Z. Contestants managed to answer all of the clues correctly. J! Archive also notes last night’s episode was taped on May 23, at which point all of the songs currently associated with the Drake/Kendrick feud so far had been released (but before the “Not Like Us” video dropped).

Meanwhile, the feud has mostly died down and it seems Drake has more pressing issues to deal with at the moment. Toronto just got hit some some extreme weather, which has left Drake’s mansion in the city absolutely filled with water.

Big Sean Calls Out DJ Akademiks For Pushing Rap Beef Narratives

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What a difference a freestyle makes. Big Sean has made a point of staying out of rap beef in 2024. The artist has a reputation for being well-liked within the industry. Even when he gets criticized by others, like his former label boss, Kanye West, Sean seems to take the high road. This is what made his On the Radar freestyle such a surprise. Big Sean dropped some combative bars over a classic Timbaland beat, and the internet theorized that he was targeting Kendrick Lamar. It made sense, given how many times Dot has targeted Sean on record.

This theory proved to be false. DJ Hed claimed that he talked with Big Sean about the freestyle, and the bars were aimed at a different Gemini rapper. Then, the Detroit rapper decided to set the record straight. He tweeted that he was merely going at his haters on the freestyle. “Y’all going with so many narratives, I’m talking to da haters,” he wrote. “Who just keep finding something to point out they don’t like about me.” Big Sean went on to lament the fact that he had to explain his bars. “It’s not even worth explaining tho,” he added. “Ima just focus on the music.”

Read More: Big Sean Cites Being On Eminem’s “Tobey” As A “Full Circle” Moment

Big Sean Shot Down Any And All Beef Rumors

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by DJ Akademiks (@akademiks)

The venting then moved over to Instagram. Big Sean commented on a DJ Akademiks post suggesting he was target Dot and tried, yet again, to clear the air. “Ak you know I f*ck wit you,” he wrote in the comment section. “But I’m laughing cause you know that tweet n the video don’t got nothing to do with each other lol.” The tweet that Sean alludes to was posted earlier in the day. “N f*ck these b*tch a*s n**gaz,” he wrote. “Every one of them.” It’s easy to see why fans interpreted the tweet as being connected to the combative On the Radar freestyle. That said, the rapper implies that Akademiks knew information that the the rest of us didn’t.

To further emphasize the fact that he’s got no beef, Big Sean recreated an iconic LeBron James meme. “Smiling through it,” he wrote on his IG Story. “Can’t believe this is my life.” The rapper is in a good place after revealing that he quit drinking. “I stopped drinking in 2022 cause that sh*t was just f*cking me up,” he said via IG Live. “It’s a depressant so if you dealing with any anxiety like me — I always be thinking about what I gotta do. How I gotta do it, what’s next et cetera.” He’s in a much better place, and this place evidently, has no room for beef.

Read More: Big Sean’s Verse On “Mercy” Is More Impressive Than You Think

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Big Sean Dissed A Gemini Rapper, But Claims It’s Not Kendrick Lamar

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Big Sean had a controversial Tuesday. The rapper dropped off a freestyle for On the Radar, and while he skated, his flow took a backseat to his bars. Sean sent shots at an unnamed rapper, taking them to task for relying on beef to get attention. “N**gas looking for engagement like they got they knee bent,” the Sean Don raps. “I gotta better things to do than find someone to beef with.” Fans assumed the target was Kendrick Lamar, given the complicated history between both artists. Evidently, it’s someone else.

DJ Hed took to Twitter shortly after the freestyle was released to set the record straight. He claimed he talked to the rapper about his subliminals, and their intended target. “I talked to Sean,” DJ Hed wrote. “The bar was, ‘I got better things to do then find someone to beef with.’” The hip-hop personality then clarified that Big Sean and Kendrick Lamar do not have a problem. “It was not for Dot,” he added. “Bar was directed at a different Gemini.” If what DJ Hed says is true, than the rest of Sean’s freestyle isn’t aimed at Lamar, either.

Read More: Big Sean’s Verse On “Mercy” Is More Impressive Than You Think

DJ Hed Claims That Big Sean Clarified The Confusion

Sean Don clearly has someone in his crosshairs, however. DJ Hed confirmed as much when he stated that the rapper was going after another Gemini. The bars: “Difference is I’m an activist and you drink actavis and I’m back acclimated” definitely reeks of disrespect. There’s also the unreleased verse that Big Sean teased on Instagram on July 15. Once again, bars seem to be aimed in the direction of the gemini who is not K. Dot. A quick roundup of the rappers who’s birthdays fall between May 20 and June 20 turns up a few potential candidates. We seriously doubt the rapper is going at the neck of Ice Cube or Iggy Azalea or flute convertee Andre 3000.

A rapper who does seem like a logical candidate, though, is Kanye West. Sean was signed to West for the majority of his career. He was one of GOOD Music’s biggest hitmakers during the 2010s. In recent years, however, West has disparaged Sean in the media. During a 2021 appearance on Drink Champs, West claimed that signing Sean was the “worst thing” he’d ever done as a label boss. Sean admitted that he was hurt by the comments. To make matters worse, the rapper was owed $6 million from his label deal when all was said and done. Kanye West might not be the target, but he’s the most likely candidate.

Read More: Big Sean Builds Hype For New Album By Teasing Alchemist Collab

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Big Sean Seemingly Disses Kendrick Lamar In Aggressive New Freestyle

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Big Sean is officially in album mode. The rapper dropped a teaser single a few months back. He also teased a bunch of new songs on Instagram Live, assuring fans that they will get to hear the full versions on the album. Sean’s latest move, however, may prove to be his most attention-grabbing. The rapper did an On the Radar freestyle on July 16, and appeared to throw multiple shots at Kendrick Lamar. The two have been less than friendly for over a decade, but he appears to feel a particular way about Dot’s recent behavior.

Big Sean doesn’t mention anybody by name. He does, however, make reference to someone who uses beef to draw more attention to themselves. This is something Kendrick Lamar has been accused of doing throughout his battle with Drake. “N**gas looking for engagement like they got they knee bent,” he raps.
“I gotta better things to do than find someone to beef with.” Sean also takes aim at the activism of this unnamed target. He seemingly claims that he does more for the hip-hop community than this other rapper ever did. “Difference is I’m an activist and you drink actavis and I’m back acclimated,” he adds. “And Imma need my cut off top it’s decapitated.”

Read More: Big Sean’s Verse On “Mercy” Is More Impressive Than You Think

Big Sean Disses A Rapper For Capitalizing On Beef

To be clear, Big Sean has claimed that there’s no bad blood between him and Kendrick Lamar. Fans think the rapper has been targeted multiple times since the release of “Control,” in which Lamar called out Sean on his own song. As recent as 2023, leaked K. Dot verses have seemingly been targeted at Sean. The Detroit superstar addressed the alleged subliminals during a 2020 episode of Pull Up. “This whole Big Sean, Kendrick beef was going on,” he told host Joe Budden. “It was something I wish I would have spoken up about because there was nothing.”

When the aforementioned 2023 leak surfaced, Big Sean again took the high ground. “Ain’t no diss,” he told TMZ. “If it was a diss, it would have been a diss… If it was a diss, it would have been another diss.” Sean has said all the right things with regards to his relationship with Lamar. That being said, the Drake beef has transpired since Sean last spoke about his Compton peer. It’s possible Sean’s feelings about Lamar have shifted since the release of “Euphoria,” “Meet the Grahams,” and the rest of the Dot disses. It definitely seems like there’s more to unpack between the two rappers.

Read More: Big Sean Builds Hype For New Album By Teasing Alchemist Collab

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10 More Rap Video Games For Fans Of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Game

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Apparently, no owls were harmed in the making of Kendrick Lamar’s hilarious video game version of “Not Like Us,” but fans are having a blast bopping the birds in the Whac-A-Mole-esque browser game for the past few days. For what it’s worth, the little “Wop”s that pop out when you make contact is an adorable touch.

Kendrick isn’t the only rapper whose had their music turned into a memorable digital mayhem, though; he’s actually the latest in a long line of rappers with games tied to their songs — a list that includes superstars like Future, Kanye West, and more. Sadly, some of the simple, browser-based games have gone offline after their initial releases, since they were timed to help promote specific projects.

But over the years, there have been big studio-produced games that put fans in the shoes of their favorite MCs to do everything from shooting hoops to brawling in the streets. Here’s a list of 10 more rapper-approved video games to feed your fix for beats, rhyme, and extra lives.

50 Cent: Bulletproof

A third-person action shooter in the vein of genre classics like Max Payne, this PlayStation 2-era revenge story was widely panned for having bad gameplay. While it proved 50’s early interest in expanding his G-Unit empire, it also betrayed a lack of care in how it did so.

Chance The Rapper: SuperMe

The story behind this game’s creation is more endearing than the game itself, thanks to its simple gameplay. However basic it is, though, it’s cool that Chance worked with Chicago’s public school system to encourage kids to learn to code.

Doja Cat Website for Planet Her

While not technically a game, per se, the 16-bit pixel art style for the interactive redesign of Doja’s website circa Planet Her made it very game-like. That you also navigated a tiny avatar of Doja through the titular world makes it all the more a shame it’s not accessible anymore.

Earthgang: Mirrorland

Pixel artist Ali Graham has had a lot of fun turning popular hip-hop moments into cute, 8- and 16-bit animations on Instagram. Atlanta rap duo Earthgang tapped him to make a full-blown side-scrolling adventure platformer for the release of their 2019 album, Mirrorland.

Future: I Won

Probably the grossest game on the list (although its attitude toward women isn’t exactly an outlier in either games design or hip-hop), this basic game is a bit like a ring toss, only the targets are scantily clad digital women, and the rings are chain necklaces. Yeesh.

Kanye West: Lil Ye Adventures

Although technically not officially endorsed by Kanye himself, this one’s almost too good not to include. Another of Graham’s creations, this one is based on Graham’s first cartoon avatar, a child-like version of Kanye from when he was way less problematic.

Metro Boomin: Heroes & Villains

Aside from the games no longer in circulation, this one may very well be one of the hardest to obtain. A promotional product hyping his 2022 album Heroes & Villains, this dungeon crawler was released in limited quantities as a physical Game Boy game. I can’t exactly speak to its quality — despite having a copy, I haven’t actually owned a Game Boy since like 2003.

Nicki Minaj: The Empire

A lifestyle simulator might have seemed like a home run for Ms. Minaj’s first foray into mobile gaming, but its dated format is a relic of several outdated ideas about women in gaming (and its developers’ lazy assumptions that Nicki’s audience would be primarily women).

Def Jam Vendetta, Fight For NY, and Icon

Like a video game version of a posse cut, these games collect a roster of rapper to beat the hell out of each other in martial competition. The first one was a groundbreaking delight, the second is a damn classic, and the third tossed out a winning formula, effectively killing interest in the format. This is my semi-annual request for someone to figure out a way to do a new one of these with contemporary rappers (in the style of Fight for NY, not Icon).

Rap Jam Volume One

An utterly legendary release, likely thrown together to compete with the popularity of the NBA Jam franchise, Rap Jam has the distinction of being the first game to bring together a collective of real-life rappers — ’90s staples like Coolio, House of Pain, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, and Yo-Yo — for an unhinged basketball game that flouted the rules. It was developed by Motown during another one of the label’s ill-fated attempts at branching out, and while its name might suggest that there were more of these, its unimpressive quality meant that it was also the last of its kind.