STORY AND GRAPHIC BY JONAS CORLISS, STAFF WRITER
Rappers Kendrick Lamar and Aubrey “Drake” Graham have been locked in a heated rap beef since late March, but it may be nearing its end.
Both men have been firing accusations, however, neither has provided proof for or against the claims.
The beef started to heat up when Lamar was featured on the track “Like That” by Future and Metro Boomin. Lamar insinuated that he was a better rapper than Drake on a track from the album by saying “Motherf**k the big three [Drake, J. Cole, and Lamar], it’s just big me,” calling Drake a bum.
This sparked a heated exchange between the two, resulting in a claim made by Drake that Lamar and his wife Whitney Alford are not in a good place and that Lamar abuses her. Drake also claimed that one of Lamar’s children is not his, instead belonging to his manager Dave Free, and that his people have been giving Lamar fake information in his song “The Heart Part 6” stating “We plotted for a week and then we fed you the information.”
Lamar has called out Drake for his alleged use of drugs, cosmetic surgery, gambling issues, and parenting failures. The main claims made against Drake include him potentially having a secret child and those close to him are pedophiles running a sex ring.
The internet’s response has been sensational, with the songs receiving millions of streams and igniting conversations all over social media.
However, I feel most people are focusing on the wrong topics. People are focusing on Lamar’s claims of Drake having another child. To me, this is one of the least important claims. Firstly, Drake came out immediately to say that he doesn’t have a daughter like Lamar claimed and that he fed him that false information. Secondly, Drake has already had a child exposed once, and listening to Drake’s songs it isn’t surprising that he might have another child out there.
The serious claims that are not receiving enough attention include, Drake being a pedophile and associating himself with known sex offenders and that Lamar physically abused his wife.
One reason for the lack of attention to these issues is that Drake is presented as a liar and Lamar as trustworthy. While this is due to how people view the two rappers, the songs they released also show this.
“Meet the Grahams” by Lamar describes Drake as a horrible person who lies to fans. This has caused many people to blindly believe Lamar and dismiss all of Drake’s claims as lies.
Many people are ignoring the claims against Lamar, which are the most important due to how Lamar carries himself not only as an artist but also as a person, especially after his last album which focused so much on healing and family.
The lack of concrete evidence from both parties makes it difficult to trust either of them, especially when it involves claims that can be easily disproved. Regarding Lamar’s alleged spousal abuse, having Alford state that they are doing fine and Lamar never hit her would be an easy counter, but it hasn’t happened. Drake having proof that he provided false information to Lamar would be an easy victory, but it hasn’t happened.
In “The Heart Part 6,” Drake didn’t offer any new information, instead doubling down on Lamar’s spousal abuse. This track has not been received well, which leads me to believe that this may be the end of the battle, but there is no way to be certain.
At this point, Lamar is the current “winner.” However, if he doesn’t respond to Drake’s claims his reputation will be damaged. Outside of good songs and streaming numbers, I don’t think either of the men got anything out of this battle. Only time will tell the full extent of which this legendary battle of hip-hop will have.
