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The Key Reason Why Jay-Z Thought Drake and Kendrick Lamar Went Too Far in Their Beef

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The beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar defined 2024. It went in a lot of ugly directions; Drake accused Lamar of domestic assault, and Kendrick brought Drake’s kids into it, called him a colonizer, and various versions of pedophile. Then, after it became clear that Drake had been thoroughly vanquished, the Toronto MC whined to the courts that Lamar had essentially cheated, that UMG was backing him, and that the streams were fake. Naturally, fans and even contemporaries like A$AP Rocky thought it was weak. Eventually, a judge dismissed Drake’s lawsuits. Frankly, it was an embarrassing moment for hip-hop.

Jay-Z is no stranger to ugly feuds. His conflict with Nas in the early 2000s reached ugly territory when Hov, like Lamar, brought kids into their beef. “I came in your Bentley backseat/Skeeted in your Jeep/Left condoms on your baby seat,” he rapped on “Supa Ugly.” Once Jay and Nas had settled their issues, he admitted he had gone too far.

It’s this line of thinking that informs Jay-Z’s view of the Drake vs. Lamar rivalry. In his first interview with a media outlet since 2017, Hov told GQ that bringing kids into it was a step too far. In the age of social media, he suggests that negativity shouldn’t be embraced in hip-hop anymore.

Jay-Z Thought The Kendrick/Drake Feud Went Too Far Because They Brought Kids Into The Mix

“It’s too far. It’s bringing people’s kids in it. I don’t like that. I sound like the old guy wagging his finger, but I think we can achieve the same thing, as far as sparring with music, with collaborations more so than breaking the whole thing apart. It could stand it before because there was no social media. You had the battle and it was fun and then you moved on. Right now, I don’t know if it could stand it with the technology that we have,” Jay-Z said in the interview.

Ultimately, because of social media, he thinks battling shouldn’t be necessary in hip-hop anymore. If the culture grew beyond foundational elements of hip-hop like breakdancing and graffiti, then battling can also take a back seat.

“It’s like trying to tear down people’s lives. I don’t know if it’s worth it at this point,” Jay-Z said. “I love the idea that we got so much music in such a short period of time. Just everything around it was like, ‘Man, this is taking us a couple steps back.’ We’ve just grown so much that — I guess I’m going to say it — I don’t know if battling needs to be part of the culture anymore. We grew from breakdancing. We love graffiti. Before, the MC’s job was to bring attention to the DJ…. I want to hear what the rapper is saying.

“Now the last pillar is battling, and these are all the things that come with it. I hate that I have this point of view on it. I do. Because I know what it sounds like. It’s just how I feel about it,” Jay-Z concluded.

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