The world of rap is a battlefield where words are weapons, and feuds are fought using torrent lyrics. On the grounds integral to giants of the genre, Kendrick Lamar and Drake, it’s a pleasure to witness a lyrical battle brewing up. Kendrick is throwing his latest “Meet The Grahams” and “Not Like Us,” which quickly conquered the global chart and is expected to climb up in the next week. And all of that doesn’t go unnoticed by the rap society and fans, who are eagerly following all the riff-raff.
Kendrick, on the other hand, doesn’t have to fight this battle for authenticity because he’s evidently the inspiration behind the works of Drake. Nevertheless, this doesn’t seem to be a big deal for Drake’s fans as they’re all over social media, mostly Twitter. They’ve accused Lamar of punch line theft, a serious offense in the industry as authenticity and originality determine one’s success in the industry. For instance, a Twitter user, King Jared, sparked concerns by alleging that Lamar copied and pasted his lines in Not Like Us from old tweets. This claim quickly caught fire among Drake’s fanbase, who are keen to find any advantage in the ongoing feud.
However, it is clear on closer inspection that the abovementioned stolen punchlines are not the bulkiest part of Lamar’s track. Indeed, the fact that most jokes and punchlines under examination are relatively vague jokes implies that, most likely, their reuse was occasional rather than deliberate. The level of scanning demanded to uncover these tweets in order to further accuse Kendrick Lamar of imitating King Jared indicates a meticulous, deliberate effort to slander Kendrick Lamar.
Amid the escalation of the situation, DJ Akademiks, a prominent personality in hip-hop media and Drake’s close friend, remained neutral. After the release of “Euphoria” and the resulting snowball, he has been streaming live almost every day, putting himself at the center of the scandal, particularly after Lamar mentioned him in “6:16 In LA”. Regardless of personal friendship, Akademiks makes compliments to Lamar, noting that he is a genius, and theft may not be the case.
Indeed, in a clip from his stream last night that has since been widely circulated online, Akademiks confronted the accusations head-on. He implored fans, even those on Drake’s side, to put away the conspiracy theories and acknowledge the raw talent before them. “We just have to admit, K-Dot is a genius,” he declared, cementing the fact that Lamar had shown up Drake in this instance. The very fact a Drake stan is admitting this is clear evidence of the upper hand Lamar’s skillset appears to hold in this writer’s eyes.
The shocking revelation came in a live stream by DJ Akademiks. The rapper claimed that Drake and his team were unaware of the information about Kendrick Lamar child. The rapper further refuted the allegations that Drake was involved in spreading the news. This indicates that there is quite a lot that Drake does not know about the truth of the information about Kendrick Lamar’s child. DJ Akademiks presented a blatantly viral video on the internet about the young rapper’s mistrust. The video is a 17 minute, some vet analytic dissection of Drake’s claims and disclaimers regarding the credibility of the allegations levied against him.
This fierce feud is another demonstration of hip-hop’s competition and the fine line between being a source of inspiration and merely copying someone’s style. However, while both artists strive to demonstrate their creative superiority, the fans and the profession are glad to observe the incredible music that the quarrel inspires. On another note, it is worth noting that people like Akademiks are also responsible for taking the temperature of the debate and remind the participants of the dedication to respect and recognition that both deserve.
