Hip Hop History has been made
Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake will go down as a historical moment in Hip Hop. Their rap battle is likely the peak of their shared history beginning with them collaborating, then (maybe) becoming friends, disagreeing with each other’s decisions, leading to years of numerous sneak dissing. When the moment came for them to battle, they each produced an impressive array of high quality diss records. They were already highly skilled, and grasping at legendary status. With this battle, their names in Hip Hop history are forever etched.
Of course discussions on who won and who lost will go on for quite awhile. Some will vehemently believe it was Drake. For others it will undeniably be Kendrick. And others will never quite subscribe to a single winner. No matter the stance, discussions will continue.
As such, there are some important considerations worth noting as we enter this rap battle’s epilogue.
The Rap Battle
First, we should confine our definition of rap battle. For the purposes of this article, we will restrict the discussion of rap battles to the public production of diss records/songs about another artist. We will only focus on cases where the artists are producing records to be consumed by the general public, often distributed by CD’s, radio, or streaming platforms.
At the core of a rap battle, is answering one question, “If this rapper focused solely on rapping about/against that rapper, who wins?” That is it. A rap battle is competitive art, it is sport. Can you string together a plausible set of truths or analysis, given what you know and what information is out there about another person, and compose a better diss record? A more mild version of the rap battle is school-ground clowning. You are tasked with using observations, and creativity to compose a joke that’s undeniably funnier than your opponent in order to render them the (bigger) clown. It’s a game.
"Where's the proof"
As funny as a “yo mama” joke may be, no one is actually asking for proof that when someone’s mother turns around, the earth has, in fact, spun on its axis. It’s a joke at the expense of another. Similarly, in the moment of the rap battle, proof is not a necessity. That doesn’t mean proof is not valuable. It can absolutely supercharge a bar, and even change the course of the battle, but in the moment of the battle, proof is not a primary consideration. The primary inquiry surrounds the question, “who has the better bars?”
A rap battle is not investigative journaling over beats. Rappers are not required to collect information and produce documents, videos, books, and analysis on their opponent. A rap battle is not the forum for the presentation of that type of content. And although news or gossip may result from a rap battle, that production is not an obligation for the rapper, especially while competing. Their primary goal is to prove that they are the better rapper. The “receipts” can help, but they’re a secondary concern.
A rap battle is also not a moral or ethical competition for its participants. Rappers are not tasked with explaining why their opponent is an evil, or worse person than they are. They can use that as a tactic to win, but it isn’t the place of a rap battle to evaluate who is the better member of society. That’s not what the competition was designed for. And the competitive arena of a rap battle, given the speed and general desire to win, is not capable of being a stable ground on which to discuss how moral or ethical a person is. A rap battle is a place to dismantle your opponent as quickly and artistically as you can, while also doing your best to ensure your reputation remains intact. It does not have the time or space to nurture a discussion on who is more moral or ethical. And to expect that a rapper will prove that they are the more moral or ethical person than their opponent is an undue burden. That does not mean the audience is precluded from that discussion. The audience participates in the event as a witness. They are not bound by the same time restrictions as the rappers (e.g. they can leave and come back and the battle will continue). The audience has the capacity to facilitate that discussion. But it is not a requirement for the rappers to bring up, or address their own, or their opponents proximity to morality.
"Pedo Allegations Were Too Far"
Pedo(philia) allegations are serious, and one could absolutely make the argument that Kendrick took it to far to make those accusations. That is a worthy debate to have. At the same time, we should consider that even though there aren’t many rules in a rap battle, there are some. And among them, the most well-known rule is to not mention another person’s partners or children, and that if you do, every topic is available. Pusha T is among the recent artists to highlight this rule. Specifically, he (Pusha T) stated that Drake’s mention of his partner, by name, is why he took their rap battle to the next level of disrespect.
Keeping in mind that a rap battle is a competitive sport, wherein proof is not required at the moment of the battle, a rapper only needs to make plausible claims. If there is some content, that could allow the audience to believe the claim, and the other artist has crossed the “line in the sand”, then the door is open to move in that direction. It doesn’t mean that the rapper has to, or even that they should, it only means that they can.
Again, let’s be clear, pedo allegations are serious. They are not a joke (and especially if they’re made out of thin air) it should be avoided. Rappers do not have a license to blatantly lie, and they shouldn’t. They should be held accountable and called out whenever a line is crossed. But they are not journalists. And we are not in a court of law. Rappers are artists, and storytellers, and musicians. The product of their work has and will always have a fluid relationship with reality.
I am not interested in definitively stating whether or not Kendrick took it too far, or even if Drake took it too far. Considering one of the core rules of rap battles, the proverbial gloves were removed early into the battle. And once the gloves are off, it’s not always easy to find exactly where they are placed.
"Kendrick was too hateful"
A rap battle is a strategic endeavor. The term “battle” is not in the name simply to sound nice. It is a metaphorical battle. And in a battle, you typically want your opponent to believe you are are bigger, badder, more resourced, more prepared, and all around more ready and capable of easily dismantling and defeating them. You want them to fear you. Both Drake and Kendrick understand this, and they always have. Their early diss records, both “Push Ups”/“Taylor Made” and “Euphoria”/ “6:16 in LA” are littered with warnings, and reminders, that they are the best and that the other should not continue down the war path.
None of us actually knows if Kendrick hates Drake. And to callback to the earlier point on the goal of the rap battle, it doesn’t really matter if he does or not. He really just needs Drake to believe it. The audience believing it is a bit of a bonus. He needs Drake to truly believe that he has a deep well of resentment, and anger to source his greatest rapping ability from. He needs Drake to believe that he is “the boogeyman”. Because if Drake believes that his opponent is not only skilled and maybe crazy, but also deeply hates him, then the dynamics of the battle have shifted. Kendrick will have mentally moved the board in his favor. Hate, in this case is an intimidation tactic first and foremost. The validity of Kendrick’s hate is a secondary matter.
"People just wanted to see Drake Lose"
This may be true, some certainly feel this way, and some don’t, and some initially believed Kendrick was the underdog. It doesn’t help that very little of this is verified (and maybe even verifiable). Regardless, proving this is inconsequential. Drake and Kendrick are two of the most popular rappers of our generation. They can and have produced globally recognized, hit records, on multiple occasions. They can write a song, and a damn good one at that. They know it, we know it, and they consistently remind us. Each of them has repeatedly rapped that they are the greatest of all time, they are the King, and there is no other rapper above them (especially in their generation).
Consequently, if statements like that are made, and there’s some data to back it up, as there is (e.g. sales, streaming, awards etc.), then as greats they can and are expected to overcome the audience’s predispositions. The craving for their loss is not a valid excuse. It is a reason why one person may have had more to overcome than the other, but it’s not enough of a significant hindrance, or a justifiable reason for why they, as the greatest to ever rap, lost.
Even if the audience wanted to see Drake lose, he absolutely has the ability to make a record, so clearly good, that it has to be admitted as being such, even by his detractors. And if he is truly the best, and there is no question, then the desire to see him lose is only eligible for being a noticeable obstacle, it is not eligible for being the sole reason he lost.
"Drake is not a colonizer, they worked with him"
This discussion has many layers to it. It intertwines thoughts on Blackness, colonialism, capitalism, and the global diaspora. This is probably the most complex topic to come from their rap battle and it is likely best kept in it’s own, separate article, where it can be treated with the proper time and care it deserves.
What is worth addressing is the notion that the rappers he worked with benefitted from him, and therefore he can’t be a colonizer. Whether or not he is an actual colonizer is for another place. The worthy note to make is that there are forms of colonialism where the people being colonized are “benefitted” (it may even be considered a constituent element). Essentially, the colonized receive something they desire. The asterisk to that reception, is that whatever they receive will never equal or supersede what the colonizing entity receives. It is a (potentially very) uneven trade.
"__ won and that's it"
Who won is going to be debated for quite a while. And there is no definitive “right” or “wrong” answer. Two people can view the same record multiple ways.
The important aspect to remember is that you can change your mind. It’s okay. No matter what you think or feel today, you are able to reevaluate at any time. Receipts and evidence may come out that alters your original (maybe even public) assessment. That’s okay. It’s your thoughts on the winner of a rap battle, your opinion is not set in stone. You can absolutely revisit it.
Drake and Kendrick remain highly skilled rappers. There is no question or change in the fact that they can write and perform a hit record. These are the two biggest artists of our time, who battled it out. The ending of the battle does not mean they are done.
A rap battle, especially a good one, is a moment in time. It is the moment a pot boils. It’s hot, and dangerous to touch without being prepared and thinking it through. But as all things, it cools down, it ends. And we are tasked with returning to our lives, grateful that we were present for such a historical event.
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