Kendrick’s “Euphoria” is one of the best diss tracks in hip-hop history

Kendrick responded, and it was great. “Euphoria” is one of the biggest diss tracks in hip-hop history. The noise that reverberates throughout the culture is K Dot fans cheering like crazy. Only the most emphatic Drake fan would say that Drake is winning straight away.

A couple of moments from “Euphoria” that stick out in my memory.

1. Kendrick tells Drake to stop saying the N-word.

This is a more subtle and nuanced way of saying what Rick Ross said in “Champagne Moments” when he called Drake a “white boy.” Kendrick doesn’t outright call Drake white and doesn’t exactly say he isn’t black, but he does say you are not using the N-word appropriately and your right to make use of it should be taken away. This is huge – if language were a keyboard where each word equaled one key, the n-word can be the most significant and most used key in hip-hop culture. It’s a word that MCs say greater than every other. For Kendrick, attacking Drake’s right to make use of it means you are not an actual MC. And it is a approach to outsmart Kendrick – a blackout that Drake cannot get out of. Kendrick continues the theme by saying, “How many more black traits before you finally feel like you’re black enough?” In this sentence, features are a double word denoting facial expression (as in cosmetic surgery) and appearing in songs (as in Drake jumping on songs by black artists). Kendrick also says, “You’ve never had a FUBU in your collection.” Another way of saying you are probably not black. You’re probably not one of us. You’re probably not part of this culture. It’s a devastating cut.

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2. Kendrick calls Drake a crap dad.

K says, “I even have a son to lift, but I see you do not know anything about it. I wake them up, I do not know anything about it. And tell them to hope, I do not know anything about it. And I give them the tools to undergo life one day at a time, I do not know anything about it. This is an actual, honest and nasty diss track. K says, “I’m a real father and you’re not.” I do not take my child to occasional photo sessions. I’m busy raising a person daily. You usually are not. Raising children is a very necessary life’s work, far more necessary than making hip-hop songs. This is one of the most demeaning things you’ll be able to say about Drake. This offensive line is very much there why Pusha T won the fight with Drake but in keeping with Kendrick, it’s about greater than just attempting to win the battle. The idea is to say that you just usually are not an actual man since you usually are not an actual father.

3. Kendrick says he must aim downwards.

“The first time I shot me with a drake (Draco’s gun), my friend told me, ‘Aim this manner.’ I didn’t point down enough. Today I’ll show you that I learn from these mistakes.” It’s a poetic, visual and imaginative way of saying I’m above you and to shoot you I even have to aim down. It’s also a way of saying I actually shot. Do you? NO? Oh.

4. Kendrick says I’m your father.

To Kendrick’s statement in “Like That” – “Prince outlived Mike Jack” – Drake responded in “Push Ups” with the song “What’s a Prince to a King? Son.” Now K has a bonus over Drake with “I got Benjamin and Jackson in my house like I’m Joe, OK.” Like he’s Joe Jackson. Drake loves calling himself the Michael Jackson of hip-hop. Joe Jackson was MJ’s father .This is powerful because the meaning of this line – I inform you – is consistent with the intelligence we see in this verse. Kendrick accepts Drake’s retort and responds in a better way. He really is not cut out for this sort of battle.

5. Kendrick hates Drake.

“I hate the way you walk and the way you talk. I hate the way you dress.

There is lots of raw disgust.

This song is witty, catchy, powerful, and much beyond Drake’s lyrical capabilities. And it is a song crammed with real hate. This is not a game. Drake should put down his pen and leave before things get any worse.