Kendrick winning the word battle. No doubt. Drake winning the beat battle. That’s what he’s great at. Now, let’s go into a deep dive.
Kendrick has been known for multiple meanings behind his bars. My mind can’t comprehend how his lyrics work. I truly envy his talent.
Drake on the other hand, has shallow lyrics. And I mean shallow. Kendrick was right when he said Drake ‘pacify em’, because Drake makes sure his lyrics are understood. To me I prefer that, but there’s something about reading the real meaning behind the words that makes me feel awe.
They say Drake has the replay value, I’m thinking its the other way around. Because to fully understand Kendrick’s lyrics, you have to replay it dozens of times to fully understand it. Now that to me is real replay value.
But I’m not discrediting Drake’s talent. He made some classics; Kendrick was wrong saying Drake doesn’t have any. But to Kendrick’s defense, the classics I like from Drake (and mind you, I’m a 29-year-old man stuck in the mid-2010’s) are from Views and earlier. The newer songs Drake released doesn’t appeal to me. They’re pop more than rap. The lyrics are shallow. The beat is mainstream. Everything about Drake is pop. Kendrick was right again when he said Drake acts tough and he hates it.
I do think Drake has that persona. He wants to be the best rapper alive. But he has to stick to his roots. Lil Wayne said it best, “keep it Canadian”.
There’s already a lot of East and West Coast legends. Why not stick to your roots and be the greatest in that category? Drake wants hip hop world domination that he forgets why he started. He forgets to pay homage to the people that paved way for their culture to rise.
Or is he?
Maybe Drake, with his sneak disses, reinvigorated the rap game. Kendrick took too long to release Mr. Morale, but now he’s releasing in literal minutes after Drake. Maybe this beef is a good thing, if it stays as words.
We all now what happened to Pac and Biggie. I wasnt born yet, but that beef is cemented in the hip hop hall of infamy. What was supposed to be word war turned into a gang war.
Man, I hope this beef doesnt turn into that.
Now, let’s talk Meet the Grahams.
Sinister beat. Sinister allegations. Sinister motive. He wasnt even talking to Drake. He was talking to his family.
Yes, I agree that MTG wasnt a direct response to Family Matters. It was prerecorded that’s why Kendrick wasn’t able to address all the jabs Drake threw in FM. But Kendrick obviously saw the angles Drake would take like he was Dr. Strange and released the proper track to outshine Drake’s release.
Not a genius move, but a clever one. Release a track to outshine the other.
I’m a Kendrick fan. So naturally I wouldn’t see the good in Drake’s verses. So I’ll try my best not to be bias.
Again, Drake is a shallow lyricist. I dont like his words and the lack of thinking it takes to decode his message. I do believe he has ghost writers. However, however. I cant deny that he is an icon.
He made me laugh with his insults to Kendrick. He entertained me. To me, with his arsenal of people, he is a dangerous man. With all his money, he can get any intel he could get. Thats scary. But, he lacks the talent and skills to maximize his resources.
Say its a battle between Eminem and Kendrick and Em had the resources Drake has. How deadly can Em be?
Drake doesnt have that. He doesnt strike me as someone who could kill someone with words the same way Em does.
I actually hate that he posts memes as a form of defense mechanism because for the 2nd time in his career, the skeletons in his closet are being revealed. He’s not ready yet.
Conclusion: Kendrick currently up against Drake by a safe margin.