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While Kendrick’s verse on Metro Boomin and Future’s “Like That” reverberated the hip-hop space, Drake fired back and looks to take control over a war he’s probably already won.
Earlier this month, WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes defeated the company’s undisputed champion, Roman Reigns, at WrestleMania XL, snapping his streak of 1316 days with the belt. The son of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes usurped Reigns and his infamous faction, The Bloodline, with much-needed help from John Cena, The Undertaker, and Seth “Freakin” Rollins. A few weeks later, we find ourselves potentially on the brink of a similar situation in the rap world, with Kendrick and friends looking to topple hip-hop’s big, bad wolf in Drake.
Drake, considered in some eyes the Roman Reigns of the rap game because of his sheer commercial dominance and unrelenting success over an extended period, is backed into a corner. Despite having his version of The Bloodline with Team OVO fighting alongside him, Drake now must combat the likes of Lamar, Rick Ross, Future, Metro Boomin, A$AP Rocky, The Weeknd, and more to walk out of this battle unscathed. Though the numbers appear staggering, don’t sleep on Drake – as he may have very well entered a win-win situation.
Drake’s first attempt at fire came on Saturday (Apr. 13), when “Push Ups” arrived via DJ Akademiks, after being initially leaked on the internet. The song starts with a DJ Whoo Kid drop, a call-back to the 2000s mixtape scene, and finds Drake seething. With no remorse, Drake aims at Kendrick’s physical limitations, calling him a “pipsqueak” and claiming he wears a “size 7” shoe. Drake later named Lamar’s wife Whitney in a clever double-entendre while referencing Whitney Houston’s role in the 1992 film The Bodyguard. He even taunts Lamar’s superstar status by saying that SZA, 21 Savage and Travis Scott hold more weight than he currently does in the music business. While “Push Ups” is an excellent first-round crack at Lamar, it won’t be the final blow to what will likely be a long, grueling slugfest.
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Because of his hitmaking prowess and indomitable run on the charts, it’s easy to vilify Drake. He has 13 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, second to Jay-Z on the rap side. He has the most Hot 100 hits of all time, with 329. His Midas Touch periodically birthed careers, with features he lent to Migos, ILoveMakonnen, BlocBoy JB, and most recently, 4batz, all of which helped score those artists their first crossover hits. On a mainstream level, he is unf–kwitable, and has been since his 2010 debut album Thank Me Later.
That’s not to say Drake is unreachable. In May 2018, Pusha T managed to get his claws deep inside the 6 God and walk away champion in their battle of the words. But, in retrospect, Drake’s star continued to gleam, as he’s scored five No. 1 since – including one right after the feud in that June’s Scorpion, which also included three Hot 100-toppers with “God’s Plan,” “Nice For What” and “In My Feelings.” His tiff with Pusha proved that whatever losses he suffered from the battle had no immediate effect on his commercial prowess. The phones still still rang, and people clamored for features. The aftershock of the skirmish did very little to kill Drake’s overall momentum.
Even “Duppy Freestyle,” Drake’s initial burst at Pusha, was a praiseworthy record: Not only did Drake send missiles at Push regarding his skill set (“You’re not even top five as far as your label talent goes”), but he questioned his credibility as an alleged one-time drug lord (“You act like you sold drugs for Escobar in the ‘80s.”) Despite his pop titan status, he proved that he could spar and get down in the trenches when needed. Many forget that Drake is also battle-tested over the course of his career in rap beef: He went head-to-head with Pusha, Meek Mill and Common, while Lamar is entering unfamiliar territory. Battling is playing into Drake’s hands and is his arena, and he thrives when competition arrives at his doorstep.
