Kendrick Lamar’s long-time business partner Dave Free has been trending quite a bit lately, as Drake repeatedly mentions him in the ongoing brutal rap feud between himself and Kendrick. An Inglewood, California native, Free goes back many years with Kendrick, both in a professional capacity and as a deeply-rooted friend. The exec has served as one of the key figures in Kendrick’s musical catalogue, helping to construct most of the visual releases which accompany projects such as To Pimp A Butterfly, Damn, and Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. Free also co-directed the concert film Kendrick Lamar Live From Paris: The Big Steppers Tour, which is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. Let’s take a moment to examine what Drake said about the record executive, check the validity of these claims, and highlight the bond shared between Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free.
Read More: Dave Free Reveals The Meaning Behind His & Kendrick Lamar’s pgLang
Free Is Partially Responsible For Kendrick’s Career
Right around the time Kendrick Lamar was first getting buzz for his ability to write rhymes, Dave Free was working as a computer technician. Kendrick and Dave are childhood friends who go all the way back to high school. After meeting TDE founder and CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith through a work connection, Dave showed the label head Kendrick’s music, and the rest is history. Top signed Kendrick Lamar to TDE in 2005, and brought Dave Free along shortly thereafter as an in-house producer.
From there, Dave linked with Sounwave, Tae Beast, and Willie B, creating a production team known as Digi+Phonics. The team were responsible for handling most of the production needs of TDE acts such as ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and others, and were even named on BET’s list of the top 10 producers of 2013. Free received numerous accolades for his work with the Digi+Phonics, solidifying his position at the label as he transitioned into an executive role.
He Became Co-President Of TDE & Co-Founder Of PGLang
While crafting beats and working the boards with Digi+Phonics, Dave Free was promoted up through the TDE ranks, eventually becoming the label co-president alongside Punch. During this time, Kendrick Lamar hired Dave Free as his manager, and the pair worked closely co-directing music videos and other works. Dave and Kendrick have won MTV Video Music Awards, Grammy Awards, and numerous other accolades for their work, strengthening their creative bond. Free eventually parted ways with TDE in 2019, and served as a free agent before linking with Kendrick for their latest and greatest business venture.
In March 2020, Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free officially launched PGLang. Kendrick has been working with the independent multimedia company exclusively since leaving TDE after the release of Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers in 2022. The company also serves as the base for Kendrick’s cousin and protege Baby Keem, and has even released their own cell phone. Through PGLang, Dave Free has gone on to work with brands such as CashApp, Calvin Klein, and Converse, and even inked a deal to produce a feature film with the creators of South Park.
What Did Drake Say About Dave Free?
The heated exchange between Kendrick Lamar and Drake has resulted in nearly a dozen scathing records hitting the streets, each with ad-hominem attacks and unsubstantiated rumors. On tracks such as “Family Matters” and “The Heart Part 6,” Drake makes specific mention of Dave Free, claiming that the music exec carried out an affair with Kendrick Lamar’s long-time fiancé Whitney Alford, and may even be the biological father of Kendrick Lamar’s son Enoch. On “Family Matters,” Drake raps “I heard that one of ’em little kids might be Dave Free/ Don’t make it Dave Free’s/ ‘Cause if your GM is your BM secret BD/ Then this is all makin’ plenty f***in’ sense to me.”
Despite Drake’s insistence on these claims, there seems to be literally nothing linking this rumor to reality, as the best evidence the OVO camp could provide was a comment containing a heart emoji that Dave left on one of Whitney’s Instagram posts. A screenshot of the comment was used as the cover art for the diss track “The Heart Part 6,” though the track has largely been overshadowed by Kendrick’s smash-hit banger “Not Like Us.” At this time, neither Kendrick Lamar, Dave Free, or Whitney have come forward to discuss the drama.
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