NO GUNS, BUT SHOTS FIRED
It’s not as bloody as it was in the ’90s, but thank the music gods for the revival of the good old-fashioned rap feud
Back in high school fights were fun. From the moment an instigator perched on a future competitor’s shoulder telling him how “if it was me I wouldn’t take that” right up until both fighters found themselves scrapping on the ground in the midst of a crowd chanting “Barney!”, the whole ritual was always filled with a gleeful “will they”, “won’t they” energy that was as infectious as it was entertaining.
Age teaches us that this kind of behaviour is immature and more often than not has harmful consequences. But the desire to watch two people go at it never really leaves us, it just goes malnourished. That is why the Drake versus Pusha T beef is the most exciting thing to happen this year.
In case you’re not caught up, the two rappers have spent the past few days trading savage lyrical punches in the latest flare-up in their ongoing feud that kicked off in 2012.
The short version of the story starts with Drake questioning Pusha T’s drugdealing past. Last week, on his new album Daytona, Pusha responded to those jabs with one of his own, questioning Drake’s credibility as a rapper due to his use of ghostwriters. That is when things went nuclear.
Drake countered with his Duppy Freestyle a day later, going after Pusha T’s credentials, his wife and Daytona producer Kanye West. From there it seemed like it would fizzle out but the rap gods decided to bless us instead. On Wednesday the hip-hop world woke up to The Story of Adidon, an evisceration of Drake’s personal life that exposed a hidden son, ripped at Drake’s parents’ relationship and even took shots at Drake’s best friend who suffers from multiple sclerosis. Pusha also exposed Drake performing blackface.
To the aged this may all seem childish and overly personal, but that would be a misunderstanding of hip-hop. Almost from its genesis, the genre has been about ruthless battles between two opponents whose objective was humiliation by any means necessary.
Jay-Z’s mother made him apologise to Nas when he rapped about leaving condoms on his child’s mother’s car seat after having sex with her. Tupac made fun of Prodigy having sickle cell disease and 50 Cent’s reputation for getting uncomfortably personal is such that people prefer to just leave him alone.
The point being that nothing is off-limits once beef has officially been declared.
And that is the fun of rap beef. It takes us back to that time when we were kids, reigniting that giggly euphoria we got when watching two people duke it out.
Obviously we hope no one gets hurt, at least not physically, but rap is a competition and when it’s this vicious, there are few things more entertaining.
LS
The point being that nothing is off limits once beef has officially been declared