Opinion Express View on Drake vs Kendrick Lamar: Come for the music, stay for the drama

Psst, I see dead people”, begins Compton-born rapper Kendrick Lamar’s latest diss track ‘Not Like Us’ aimed at Canadian rapper Drake. By definition, diss tracks are songs that take potshots at another artist. The just-released music video features snapshots from Lamar’s Juneteenth (a day that commemorates freedom from slavery) show in Los Angeles. The Pop Out — Ken and Friends concert — was Lamar’s “victory lap” of the feud that began in March when he objected to being categorised alongside Drake and J Cole as the “Big 3” in Drake’s track ‘First Person Shooter’ and shot back saying, “…it’s just big me”.

Fans of rap music know that feuds are a part of its culture. True to the origin of hip-hop as a voice of empowerment that exposed racism against African Americans, these battles and diss tracks inspire sharp social commentary. The first known feud was the Roxanne Wars in 1984. But the most legendary feud was between Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie) in the ‘90s which proved to be fatal for both.

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Sometimes, as with Drake and Lamar, rap slug-fests descend into personal territory — the details they reveal about each other in the tracks can be excruciating. Drake raps about Lamar’s infidelity, which he has publicly accepted, and rumoured domestic abuse. Lamar, in turn, alleges that Drake is a pedophile, and in one song addresses Drake’s son Adonis: “I’m sorry that that man is your father”. For rap fans, however, beefs are raw and real and a reflection of an art form that grew from the streets. After all, in what other art form would a Pulitzer Prize winner (Lamar) face off against a chart-topper (Drake) making the biggest winner the audience, who came for the music and stayed for the drama?