There’s a difference between mixing up a person’s name and mixing up a story. Some might consider it a minor difference but it does not excuse one slip-up in the face of another, especially when there are much more serious allegations that neither Drake nor Kendrick Lamar have addressed. On the former’s explosive new diss track “The Heart Part 6,” he claims that he planted false information about a daughter that K. Dot ran with on “Meet The Grahams,” doubled down on domestic violence claims and the idea that his manager Dave Free impregnated his high school sweetheart, Whitney Alford, whom Kendrick shares two children with, and alleged a clout-chasing album rollout. Finally, the Toronto MC theorized that the reason why Kendrick made predator claims is because the pgLang creative experienced sexual abuse as a child, and deflected that pain onto his enemy.
To make something clear, mocking victims is an especially nasty and diminishing tactic in rap beef, as are allegations of predatory behavior without concrete evidence. But Drake attempted to back up this angle by referencing “Mother I Sober,” the penultimate song from Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, which is where the real problem lies. What actually “happens” on this track, what did Drizzy fail to understand, and if this mistake was on purpose, what’s he really addressing?
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“Mother I Sober”
2022’s “Mother I Sober” is one of the more cutting songs on that Kendrick Lamar album, as it narrates the depths of generational trauma. In the song, Kendrick specifically details how his mother didn’t believe him when he denied that his cousin molested him before revealing that she was a victim of abuse herself. “Family ties, they accused my cousin, ‘Did he touch you, Kendrick?‘ / Never lied, but no one believed me when I said ‘He didn’t’” and “I asked my momma why she didn’t believe me when I told her ‘No’ / I never knew she was violated in Chicago, I’m sympathetic / Told me that she feared it happened to me, for my protection / Though it never happened, she wouldn’t agree” are the specific lines that detail this.
As such, Drake either didn’t really listen to the song or suggests that Kendrick Lamar lied and experienced sexual assault. “My mom came over today and I was like, ‘Mother, I… Mother, I… Mother / Ah, wait a second, that’s that one record where you say you got molested.” In the latter’s case, he’d be questioning Kendrick’s mother’s testimony, as well. This gives the following “Euphoria” bar even more weight since there’s a literal misunderstanding here: “Fabricating stories on the family front ’cause you heard ‘Mr. Morale.’” It’s important to understand that this is all a narrative game now. Still, one’s vulnerable confessions carry a much more different and earnest tone than one’s failed reading comprehension skills.
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Did Kendrick Lamar & Drake Ruin Each Other?
This comes with at least a few caveats, as does everything else involved in this beef. Both of these artists are making unverified claims against the other, and misunderstanding a song does not equate to failing to address domestic violence allegations. The difference is that when Drake claims there are no famous pedophiles and that all of these accusations against him are false, he really shot himself in the foot again by minimizing victims’ experiences as petty retribution when he should be combating that narrative on all fronts. He’s having a worst-person-off with Kendrick Lamar, especially when he specifically addresses some things and then leaves other significant points, like accusations against the OVO camp and colonizer claims, unspoken.
All in all, this is rap beef: things get disrespectful, and the only fair comparison point is judging the art and the strategy. Regardless of what’s true and what isn’t, Dot’s narrative-building by dropping versatile and relentless disses, plus his catalog and Mr. Morale‘s particular focus on accountability, have effectively diffused many character attacks against him. Drake, almost equally relentless, has been dealing with groomer accusations for years without ever addressing them significantly, and misrepresenting “Mother I Sober” on his “facts” crusade is not notable for its disrespect, but for failing to dissect and learn who his opponent is, which Kendrick succeeded in doing. They both must address the horrible allegations against them with proof. But if all the proof that the 6ix God can offer is a faulty Genius read and Twitter talking points, Kendrick Lamar keeps his hold on the narrative.
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