The person who coined the phrase, “all you need is love,” didn’t meet Kendrick Lamar. Although the “Euphoria” rapper receives more than enough praises from fans and peers alike, users online have joked that he’s currently running off of his pure hatred of Drake.
Today (June 22), Kendrick was spotted in his hometown Compton, California, reportedly filming a music video for “Not Like Us.”
Despite being filmed in the public, details surrounding the video shoot have remained under wraps. However, if it is anything like his June 19 show, you should expect to see tons of guest cameos from across industries, including the song’s producer Mustard, Kendrick’s former Black Hippy collaborators (Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and Schoolboy Q), basketball stars LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and DeMar DeRozan, plus so many others.
Of course, none of this has been confirmed, but that hasn’t stopped folks from wishing for it. Users online have also speculated that YG is set to appear in the visual after he posted clips with controversial podcaster Bobbi Althoff in the city.
As of today, the video’s release date hasn’t been shared with the public. But given the speedy turn around of the song, it won’t be vaulted much longer.
Yesterday marked one month since hip-hop fans received the last entry in Kendrick Lamar and Drake’srapid fire rap beef that took a turn for chaos starting at the end of April. That last entry was Drake’s “The Heart Part 6,” which references Kendrick’s long-running freestyle series. Since that diss was released, fans and critics alike crowned Kendrick Lamar as the winner of the rap as he also went on hit No. 1 with “Not Like Us.” It remains to be seen if either rapper will toss out another diss, but it seems likely that it won’t be Drake after he removed all his Kendrick Lamar disses from his Instagram page.
Fans noticed that Drake quietly removed the diss songs, which include “Push Ups,” “Family Matters,” and “The Heart Part 6,” from his Instagram page on Wednesday. The move also came with a new post and cryptic message. “The only yes man around me is my Rolex dealer,” Drake wrote under pictures of himself in his Toronto mansion. It’s not the first time that Drake deleted a song during his beef with Kendrick. Back in April, Drake was forced to remove his “Taylor Made Freestyle,” which featured AI rap verse from Tupac and Snoop Dogg, after the former’s estate issued a cease & desist letter that threatened to sue Drake for using Tupac’s voice without permission.
Coincidentally (or maybe not), Drake deleted the Instagram posts the same day that Kendrick Lamar announced “The Pop Out — Ken & Friends” concert with pgLang and Free Lunch at LA’s Kia Forum on June 19, aka Juneteenth. That performance could add another page to Kendrick Lamar-Drake rap beef story.
The latest acts to join the fracas are Cardi B and BIA, who spent the weekend trading shots in what appears to be the latest iteration of 2024’s Rap Beef-ocalypse. Here’s a timeline of their beef, so you can get caught up and explain to your friends, family, and co-workers just what the heck is going on.
July 2023: BIA Releases “Fallback”
Like most feuds in hip-hop, this one started off seemingly innocently enough. “Fallback” wouldn’t be considered a diss track by most — in fact, in the second verse, BIA specifically says, “I’m havin’ no beef, these bitches won’t say my name” — but in hindsight, it’s the song fans point to as the lit fuse for everything that came after.
Here’s where things begin to get spicy. Fans noticed that Cardi’s first single of 2024 interpolated Missy Elliott’s 1999 hit “She’s A Bitch” — the same song that BIA sampled on “Fallback.” Now, this wouldn’t normally be notable — lots of hip-hop songs sample the same classics (for instance, Bob James’ “Nautilus” is one of, if not the most-sampled song in hip-hop) — but for Twitter stans, this was tantamount to a declaration of war. Cardi’s combative rhymes on the track certainly helped the perception along for fans who look for hidden meaning in well-established hip-hop tropes.
However, where once upon a time, those conspiracy theories were confined to the insides of superfans’ heads, these days, those fans have direct access to the artists themselves. Alerted to the similarities between their songs, BIA subtweeted Cardi with a string of woozy face emojis. Cardi herself appeared to respond with a tweet of her own, writing, “Bitches make a fool of themselves every single time.”
May 2024: Cardi B Appears To Directly Diss BIA On GloRilla And Megan Thee Stallion’s “Wanna Be” Remix
Cardi seemingly delivered on her promise to “show ya something when I release this song” on the remix of her frequent collaborators GloRilla and Megan Thee Stallion’s new single “Wanna Be.”
“Guess I’m a teacher since you wanna sub me / She did what? Had no idea / Thought she was on the shelf, Ikea / Hope she talk like that when I see her / B*tch, please, don’t nobody wanna be ya,” Cardi rhymes in her verse, with the final two words strong resembling the pronunciation of BIA’s name. Meanwhile, her reference to being “on the shelf” seemingly takes a dig at BIA’s relative lack of chart success since her breakout 2020 single “Whole Lotta Money,” which was a viral hit on TikTok and climbed to the No. 16 on the Hot 100. Since then, only “London” with J. Cole has reached the Hot 100, peaking at No. 62.
June 2024: BIA Claps Back With “Sue Meee”
Absolutely no ambiguity here. BIA goes in on Cardi in her new track released on Sunday. In the song, BIA accuses Cardi of the usual shortcomings (seriously, can y’all find some new stuff to talk about? YAWN.), including the rumors that she and her husband Offset spent the duration of their marriage cheating on each other and that she uses ghostwriters. “Do I beef with you or do I beef with Pardi?” she taunts on the song-ending bridge. “You been scrapping projects since 2019.”
The song’s title, meanwhile, came from an Instagram Live stream in which Cardi threatened legal action against BIA for insinuating she’d ripped off “Fallback” for “Like What.” In the caption of an Instagram post teasing the track, though, BIA wrote, “Sue me? That’s not hip hop .”
We’ll see if Cardi responds either way; she noted after her confrontation with Nicki Minaj in 2019 that beef is “bad for business.” But if it inspires her to finally get around to dropping that long-awaited follow-up to Invasion Of Privacy, I can’t say it’d be completely bad.
So, what exactly did BIA say on the record? Continue below for more information.
What Did BIA Say About Cardi B On Her Diss Song “Sue Meee?”
Before BIA even rapped, she subtly shaded Cardi with stock audio, referring to Cardi B previously recording and sharing private telephone conversations online, reportedly including their exchange.
In the record’s opening, BIA, claimed that Cardi cheated on her husband Offset, speculated about her alleged gang affiliation, and subtly mentioned her best friend Star Brim.
“You a f*ck girl I see right through yah / Put it on your gang that they didn’t f*ck you in / Put it on your name since you so gangsta like your f*cking friends / Put it on your hubby since you love lying on your f*cking vows / I write all my verses I can do this sh*t for hours”
Then, BIA clowned Cardi for staying with her husband after he supposedly had sex with another woman in their shared home. She also attempted to poked fun at Cardi for allegedly out earning Offset.
“I’ll be damned if I let a n**** f*ck a b*tch inside my house / Your money long and you split that / Your n**** saying, ‘That’s ours’”
“Put it on God that you ain’t change your face to mine / I’ll get on your ass hoe I don’t have to waste no time / Say you love yourself, but you won’t put that on your kids / All that surgery and how your body look so mid / Thought your ass was for the culture (Kulture) / You just trying to ride the wave (Wave) / You should be home with your kids ’cause you speak like second grade”
“C-A-R-D, cry on IG / Catch another ‘tude ’cause she couldn’t catch a beat / Do I beef with you are beef with Pardi (Pardison Fontaine) / You been scrapping projects since 2019 / Weak ass b*tch
Following the track’s release, it appears BIA subtly responded to the call on. “B*itches is wack,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “B*tches is trash. I should hang b*tches right over my knee, the way I be puttin’ my belt to the ass .”
BITCHS IS WACK. BITCHS IS TRASH. I SHOULD HANG BITCHS RIGHT OVER MY KNEE, THE WAY I BE PUTTIN MY BELT TO THEY ASSSSSSSS
Days before, it seems that BIA shaded Cardi B over her use of songwriters on her records. “The quality of features I have, shows how much of a fan I am of real writers ,” she wrote.
The quality of features I have, shows how much of a fan I am of real writers.
Read Cardi B’s lines on “Wanna Be” remix directed at BIA below.
“Guess I’m a teacher since you wanna sub me / She did one had no idea / Thought she was on the shelf Ikea / Hope she talk like that when I see her / B*tch please don’t nobody wanna be her (BIA) / Cheap lookin’ ass ho, weak lookin’ ass ho / Great Value me lookin’ ass ho / Girl, these bitches be pussy
Delete every tweet lookin’ ass ho”
Did Cardi B Diss BIA On GloRilla And Megan Thee Stallion’s “Wanna Be” Remix?
Towards the end of Cardi’s song-opening verse, she raps, “Guess I’m a teacher since you wanna sub me / She did what? Had no idea / Thought she was on the shelf, Ikea / Hope she talk like that when I see her / B*tch, please, don’t nobody wanna be ya.”
Cardi B fires back at BIA on the “Wanna Be” remix:
“Guess I’m a teacher since you wanna sub me. She did one had no idea, thought she was on the shelf IKEA. Hope she talk like that when I see her. B*tch please don’t nobody wanna be her (BIA). pic.twitter.com/GYoobTnXs8
The beef between Cardi and BIA seemingly started earlier this year, after Cardi released “Like What (Freestyle).” The song samples Missy Elliott’s 1999 single “She’s A B*tch,” as does BIA’s 2023 song “Fallback.” Some online pointed out the similarity and BIA subtly stoked the flames by acknowledging it. Shortly after, Cardi tweeted, “B*tches make a fool of themselves every single time [crying laughing emoji].. ima show ya something when I release this song tho.”
As for what Cardi’s saying on the “Wanna Be” remix, the line about being “on the shelf” is seemingly a dig at BIA’s relative lack of chart success despite having been active as a rapper for over a decade, with three singles hitting the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Also, when Cardi says “don’t nobody wanna be ya,” it would appear that “be ya” is meant to be a reference to BIA.
During a recent livestream on Instagram, the rapper now known as Yasiin Bey appeared to take shots at some participants in a recent rap beef as he freestyled over one of the songs they battled with. Over the instrumental from Metro Boomin’s “Like That” beat, Bey raps, “Greedy, seedy, and creepy/ Corny, horny, and boring/ Bougie, goofy, and moody/ Foolish, ruthless, and clueless/ Variations on a petty Big 3/ A whole lot to look at, but not much to see.”
The mention of the Big 3 has fans thinking the verse is a disappointed reference to Drake, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar, after repeated mentions of their grouping as a unit on records wound up touching off the battle between them. It was on “Like That” that Kendrick first yelled “motherf*ck the Big 3,” sparking the conflict between them. After J. Cole dropped out of the feud for personal reasons, Drake and Kendrick’s back-and-forth became increasingly noxious to the point that even the fans who egged them on quickly became disgusted with the vitriolic rhetoric.
None of the old heads seem to be feeling that beef. I was already under the impression it wasn’t going to age well but im even more convinced of that now. https://t.co/zMjDzhCOIv
It probably shouldn’t surprise anyone that Bey was equally disgusted with the beef. Back in 2003, the April 9 episode of Chappelle’s Show featured musical guests Yasiin Bey (then known as Mos Def) and Talib Kweli — collectively known as Black Star. The two Brooklyn rappers performed a new song called “What’s Beef.”
Over the course of his verse, Bey decried various high profile rap beefs, contrasting them with more dire current events. He even name-checked the conflict in Gaza, which goes to show how long people have effectively ignored what Bey would consider “real” beef in favor of WWF-style rap antics. “Beef is not what Jay said to Nas,” he said. “Beef is when working folks can’t find jobs / So they try to find n****s to rob / Try to find bigger guns so they can finish the job.” Bey later released a solo version on a mixtape, Mos Definite .
20 years later, it seems his opinions about rap beef he expressed in that verse haven’t changed, even though his name has.
On Monday morning, May 20, Chet Hanks, one of Tom Hanks’ four children, posted screenshots to his Instagram Story showing an endearingly funny text exchange with his father.
“Big Main, can you explain the Drake/Kendrick Lamar feud to me?” Hanks is shown to have texted Chet.
Chet’s reply needed a second screenshot to be captured in its entirety, as he was very thorough (and slightly erratic). All his father could muster in response was, “Holy cow! These are fighting words. People taking sides?? Who’s winning??” Chet shot back several laugh-crying emojis alongside, “Did you not just read what I said[?]”
On Sunday (May 19), the New York Knicks were eliminated in round two of the NBA Playoffs in a blowout game 7 by the Indiana Pacers. While their loss could be attributed to any number of factors, including a litany of injuries to core players like Julius Randall, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson, and Bojan Bogdanovic, one New York native has an alternative theory involving one of his own great rivals.
Nuclear-grade troll 50 Cent posted a photo on his social media feeds of Ja Rule holding and kissing the Larry O’Brien trophy, adding the caption, “If you’re wondering why the Knicks couldn’t get the W, here you have it. SMH who let this fool touch the trophy?”
I’m sure whenever Ja Rule took the pic, he was just enjoying a rare opportunity as a basketball fan, but had no idea he was feeding his longtime foe the perfect opportunity to resurrect their rivalry while making a timely joke about the Knicks’ basketball misfortunes. But we all know 50, who can’t resist the chance to poke fun at other peoples’ miscues, would have something to say about the Knicks’ loss.
The Knicks’ Playoff run is definitely over for 2024, but fans have good reasons to be optimistic about the future. Taking the potential conference champs to seven games with a roster like a disaster triage tent is encouraging, and should the group manage to remain healthy all the way through next season, they’ve got a real shot at championship contention.
According to HITS Daily Double, across Lamar’s fiery tracks, in just this week (week ending 5/09), he supposedly pulled in an estimated $562,368. In the age of streaming, several musicians (such as Snoop Dogg) have expressed their frustrations with each platform’s pay model. On the flip side, for Lamar the feud has seemingly proven to be lucrative, specifically in relation to his streaming income.
“Not Like Us” alone reportedly grossed a total streaming revenue of $264,325 (58,739,000 counted streams). The second highest streamed (45,755,00) solo diss track from Lamar, “Euphoria,” is estimated to have earned $205,896. Lastly, with a total stream count of 20,478,00, Lamar’s “Meet The Grahams” supposedly brought in $92,147.
According to the outlet, the track to set it all off, Metro Boomin and Future’s “Like That,” also generated a pretty penny. With 29,978,000 counted streams, that track is estimated to have generated $134,900 in streaming income alone.
Now, these numbers could fluctuate based on Lamar’s royalty percentages (sound recording, mechanical rights, and the performance rights). Still, even if the final number dropped significantly, this is quite a massive payout for essentially airing out your grievances. Most people have to pay a therapist big bucks for that.
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LOL 