Music
I’m sorry, but Drake is losing the fight against Kendrick
OPINION: Drake’s Kendrick Lamar song ‘Push Ups’ didn’t achieve what battle songs really should strive for.
I swear Drake should be a tasty donut already after a few of you criticizing him about his latest diss album.Push-ups” Can we add some clarity to this rap war? In all the rap fails I’ve seen and discussed in my career, there are a few things that successful diss records have in common.
1. Say true things that embarrass your opponent.
2. Say things that might change the audience’s mind about who your opponent is as an artist or person.
3. Create a great song that people will want to play again just because it’s popular.
4. Show that you are a better rapper than your opponent.
One example #1 is Megan Thee Stallion embarrassing Nicki Minaj in “Megan’s Law.” After that, we will never see Minaj the same way again. He’s still making a career, but now we look at it a little differently. We will never forget who she married and what he did.
One example #2 is Jay-Z in “Takeover”, saying that Nas’ career wasn’t very good (“I can share…”), which made people reconsider this beginning of his career.
“No Vaseline” by Ice Cube stripped the NWA of any claim to being tough because, in his opinion, how could they be tough in the event that they were robbed by their white manager? Furthermore, “No Vaseline” is example #3 because this album is so rattling hard. He could rock any party now.
As for instance #4, well, let’s do it this manner: Drake’s “Push Ups” doesn’t prove he’s able to going forwards and backwards with Kendrick Lamar. It doesn’t portray him as an MC on par with Kendrick in fluidity, lyrics, complexity, voice, or any of the major MC categories. Drake is the hottest rapper of his generation. Kendrick is arguably the best rapper of his generation. “Push-ups” can work against many other MCs, but against Kendrick? Stop.
Kendrick’s foremost premise in “Like That” is, Drake, that you just’re a silly pop star while I’m an artist. Drake’s answer in “Push Ups” is: I’m an enormous pop star. And you are in for a foul deal.
“Push Ups” is not a song that individuals will play over and another time due to its sound. “Like That” is a monster hit that will be heard all over the place lately – especially the “big me” line. In “Push Ups,” Drake can have said a couple of things that irritated Kendrick – and the line about his wife can have enraged him – but where’s the memorable punch line? What phrase will people keep saying to troll Kendrick? Sorry, I do know all the boys love seeing offended hip-hop beef and I would like you all to have it, I actually do, but we want to calm down a bit.
“Push Ups” doesn’t change how audiences view Kendrick Lamar. It doesn’t give us a brand new way of him that makes him seem soft, dishonest, or silly. “Like That” modified Drake’s opinion – after years of individuals talking about the Big Three, Kendrick dispelled this notion. The idea of the big three now not is sensible. Fans need to select a side. After “Like That,” it sounds silly to consider Drake as being on the same plane as Kendrick. “Push Ups” was intended to bring back the concept that Drake was on Kendrick’s level, but did it succeed?
The foremost points of the song, so far as Kendrick beef goes – because that is where the real beef is available in – are that Drake is an enormous artist, Kendrick is short (this is not a metaphor, Drake really does make “you’re not tall” jabs), and Kendrick he has a foul deal. Apparently he pays his man Top Dawg an excessive amount of and Top has control over Kendrick’s profession. These are the foremost themes that Drake returns to repeatedly throughout the song.
Does anyone really think Kendrick is being forced to make songs he doesn’t wish to? Do you actually think Kendrick was forced to rhyme to Taylor Swift’s monster hit “Bad Blood” and that he did it against his will or his own judgment? Didn’t Drake make an Apple ad using a Swift song?? Kendrick seems to barely care about fame and… he is not even on Top Dawg Entertainment anymoreso what’s the point of the middle board of Drake’s diss?
In “Push Ups,” Drake repeatedly reminds us that he is an excellent artist. “I’m bigger than you commercially” doesn’t win the battle. “I’ve sold more records than you” doesn’t win the battle. Since when is a rap battle a numbers game? Especially when the other guy is the most critically acclaimed rapper of his generation. Much of this song has Drake saying, “I’m very popular,” so what?
Drake repeatedly says that Kendrick is short. What are we doing? Also: Drake criticizes Kendrick for making a not-so-good deal. What is the essence of his song? Can Drake tell us he’s all the time had great deals? I’m sure he cannot. But can we discuss what number of, many artists earn significantly less? This is an industry-wide problem, not only Kendrick’s. And when you think veteran, multi-platinum selling Kendrick has been fooled by TDE, I actually have an excellent oceanfront property in Chicago that I’d be joyful to sell to you.
But wait, what? Are we talking about record deals and managers? (Are we talking about practice here?) Seriously? It’s not like Ice Cube is leaving NWA and using “No Vaseline” to say that these guys have a foul cope with a white man, and I do know that because I just left the group due to that deal. This is Drake talking about another person’s business in the industry, and we do not even know if it’s current or real. Truth matters in battles. You cannot just say something and let it land.
I understand it seems funny to consider Drake as the center of a 20-on-1 rivalry, but Drake is not. Darek is a team. He is helped by ghostwriters, which he discussed discreetly AND others also discussed. When I heard “Push Ups” I assumed: did he pay for this? He called his best writers and this is what all of them got here up with? Really? I hope he kept the receipt because he should take it and confer with the manager. He didn’t even drop the best diss track of the weekend. This was done by Rick Ross. I’ll work on this recording tomorrow.
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