Beefy content: Kendrick vs. Drake
To keep it from seeming boring, 2024 gave us a rap beef of all things rap: Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake. Rap feuds are nothing new, from Tupac vs. Biggie (it ended tragically) and Nas vs. Jay-Z (they called it quits) to Kanye vs. Peppa Pig (sure, why not? It’s Kanye). What’s different about the new beef is the contribution of social media, which led to the first content-fueled showdown of its kind. For the artists, content manifested itself as diss tracks with a very (VERY) personal twist. For fans, it’s a (currently) untapped source of video content and memes, demonstrating just how explosive celebrity clashes can become in the social media age.
Kendrick vs Drake: How it started
Although it has only just broken out, the dispute between Kendrick and Drake comes amid tensions that have been simmering for years. It gained momentum after Kendrick’s first diss in “Like That,” which addressed Drake’s lack of artistic integrity and popstardom artificiality. The track came in response to “First Person Shooter,” Drake’s collaboration with J. Cole, in which the two called themselves and K.Dot the “Big Three” of modern hip-hop (to which Kendrick politely said “no thanks”).
Drake fired back with “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made,” prompting Kendrick to escalate with “Euphoria,” “6:16 in LA,” “Meet the Grahams” and “Not Like Us.” Each diss ramped up the personal attacks, with Drake being labeled, by turns, Culture Vulture, sexual creep and absent father.
Drake’s comeback and last track in the beef (so far) was “The Heart Part 6”, perceived by most fans as a lame comeback and the first example of defensive rapping, in which the Toronto rapper claims he intentionally gave false information to Kendrick.
Okay, and what did social media do?
In short, it amped up the beef. Lots and lots of it. X/Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube have allowed fans and artists themselves to instantly share reactions, opinions and lots of memes. The track exchange has generated tremendous amounts of fan content. It created a rapid feedback loop that fueled conflict.
The phenomenon had several layers:
- The spontaneity of the content: it was the first rap beef where every new track generated reaction videos and memes that trended within minutes of publication. This immediate reaction increased the beef’s visibility and kept it in the public eye.
For example, “Euphoria” has generated hundreds of videos on TikTok using the song as a soundtrack in various contexts:
Kendrick and Drake contributed to the brisk pace with their beef dynamics. On the same day that “6:16 in LA” came out, Drake responded with “Family Matters,” and Kendrick released “Meet the Grahams” a half hour later and “Not Like Us” less than 24 hours after that.
- Creating viral moments: memes, reaction videos and specially created video content on the high points of the beef extended the life of each piece, keeping the conversation active between releases. And fans have been inventive:
Kendrick vs Drake: Rules don’t apply
Kendrick Lamar and Drake have a diss track fight, and the content creators win. Streamers who reacted to the beef were able to unlock their creativity thanks to the rappers’ decision to drop royalties for tracks released in the context of the beef.
What started as a showdown between some of rap’s best-known names – Lamar, Drake and J. Cole – turned into an intense beef, with the Compton and Toronto favourites taking centre stage. Kendrick and Drake battled it out in super personal disses, all racking up millions of views on YouTube and Spotify. Euphoria became a mega hit, with over nine million plays on Spotify in a single day.
- Deep dives: a special category of content are the videos that analyzed and thoroughly dissected the history between the two artists. And this is where the cultural context and personal motivations of the two come in:
Basically, through this iconic rap beef, new generations experienced in their own way how respect was earned back in the days among underground artists. And the upside has remained the same regardless of the era: the more personal a diss track, the faster it goes viral.
