I think this is an somewhat overlooked part of the diss that hasn’t been discussed about at length yet, and I just wanted some general input/feedback on this site about what’s the overall thought about it.

”Once upon a time, all of us was in chains
Homie still doubled down callin' us some slaves
Atlanta was the Mecca, buildin' railroads and trains
Bear with me for a second, let me put y'all on game
The settlers was usin' townfolk to make 'em richer
Fast-forward, 2024, you got the same agenda
You run to Atlanta when you need a check balance
Let me break it down for you, this the real nigga challenge”

”You called Future when you didn't see the club (Ayy, what?)
Lil Baby helped you get your lingo up (What?)
21 gave you false street cred
Thug made you feel like you a slime in your head (Ayy, what?)
Quavo said you can be from Northside (What?)
2 Chainz say you good, but he lied
You run to Atlanta when you need a few dollars
No, you not a colleague, you a f***in' colonizer
The family matter and the truth of the matter
It was God's plan to show y'all the liar”

Obviously, the general idea of what Kendrick is getting at is that Drake is sort of parasitic on the artists/musicians that he chooses to collaborate with, particularly Atlanta artists. However when we get past this surface level take, I ask, what is the line between being parasitic and harmful to an artists’ growth and development, versus contributing to it and giving them a boost?

I have seen people say that the collabs that Drake chooses to do with lesser known artists are really beneficial for them because it gets more eyes for them, and that it isn’t his job to make sure that they don’t flame out after they gain his feature.

Drake has also been called out for hopping on other sounds and waves even dating back as far back with More Life, and it doesn’t really seem like it was a clear cut consensus for when it came to him adopting accents and slangs from other cultures and music just in general

For a TL;DR: Do you think Drake collaborating with upcoming artists is more for his benefit than theirs? Do you think Drake hopping on somewhat different sounds and waves of a foreign nature for his projects and albums a good thing because maybe it brings it to a larger audience? Or is it appropriation and it waters down the overall sound?

That’s kinda all I got. I know the beef is still somewhat fresh and might not even be necessarily over, but I ask you to please keep it somewhat objective and non-bias as much as possible.

easily the best part of kendrick's disses for me especially as an atlanta resident

to me this is somewhat tricky because i don’t really look at music as something that is contained to its region or the place that it comes from, you can draw influences from sounds from all over the place but i don’t really think that’s what Kendrick is criticizing him for anyways

i think why it’s considered parasitic is because although Drake gives the artist he’s collaborating with a great look, he ultimately wins in the long haul because he essentially adds that artist’s sound, slang, style and whatever else to an entire Rolodex for his music

that allows him to keep his music fresh and somewhat always with the times because he’s just taking anything that’s unique to an artist and adding it to himself, even if it’s momentarily i guess

idk if i necessarily agree with the angle but i can see why the shoe sort of fits

In the early days it felt like appreciation and collaboration but as the years have gone its definitely become appropriation and in this beef Drake really illustrated how low he views rap and the culture in general.

The part about the rappers he made collabs with is just hilarious and he just sounds salty that he couldnt boost their careers like drake did. none of those artists share kendricks view, they were more than happy to work with drake

🙄

thats why they all came out and defended him right?

they all used ur pedo like a dish rag u got played

Dang… Drake should have worked with imagine dragons and maroon 5 instead :/

21 did, thug is in jail, quavo got his own beef he has to worry about. Every single artist in that list has spoke nothing but love for what Drake did for their respective careers this narrative that Drake is some parasite is so tired

We need another Sweeterman :/

Wayne worked with Imagine Dragons and Maroon 5, is he lame for doing that too or is it only for Kendrick for whatever reason?

Him being on wax with every other artist but not being able to think of anything for 2chains and just saying "he lied" still cracks me up

It’s a mutual benefit. Drake gets more youth fans, street cred, benefits off of sound while the artist gets more streams, big co-sign, more exposure.

“Thug made you feel like you’re a slime in your head” always gets me

I thought it was a cool reference tbh lol

Yeah same thing with his buying your memorabilia when it’s up for auction thing

Drake spent most of 2015-2016 showcasing newer acts all day on ovo radio. He has his own sound He came into the game with too. He had everybody singing in 2010, everybody wanted to rap-sing their hooks and have the underwater 40 effect on their songs.
I think drake buys friends and relationships, but I think as far as music goes- He is a pioneer of this s***

idk dawg, if Katy Perry did a song with Young Thug, then started saying slatt and slime in her music with a southern drawl, im definitely hitting a

WTF I JUST REALIZED IT WAS A NO LIE REFERENCE IM SLOW (he should have added a "word" ad lib after for a double entendre)

THAT ONE TOO!

Some of my favorite lines from the whole back and forth

People have been discussing though and let’s just say some feel targeted

Its just Kendrick continued point from Euphoria that Drake is not the same person that he was when they were cool back on TC to NWTS.

One of the 3 major points of Kendrick in all his disses that started on Euphoria is that Drake has been acting more and more stereotypically American black as the years go on when that is not who he is nor does he have any bases in it. And that Drake is a completely different person now than back then.

Such as his Canada lines, how many features till you feel like you black enough line, you have to adapt to America to get big etc.

Idiots think its colorism bars just like Drakes dumbass who also missed the point of that and multiple other songs/lines, but its deeper and its not about him being mixed & its clear as day, especially on Euphoria & Not Like Us (which the title of NLU is even on that subject, hes literally not like us while trying so hard to be like us).

Yes Drake collabing with these artists does help them out to whatever degree, BUT people forget it ALSO HELPS DRAKE as well. It got Drake in more clubs, got Drake in the "streets" when street niggas used to hate Drake the most, changed Drakes soft & "Drake the type of nigga" image & made him more popular with black people in general.

And yes, collabing with artists outside your element isnt a bad thing in itself, but when YOU start pretending thst youre also of that same element as the artists youre collabing with just because youre around them, thats when it gets fishy. And we would and do clown literally everyone else that does that. Such as Post Malone, the random white kid that pops up every few years pretending to be drill, Tecca etc.

There is a clear difference of Drake after Nothing Was the Same, nothing was literally not the same afterwards, and thats one of Kendrick's point. And Kendrick futher point is that he let it get to his head to where he thinks he is actually like those street artists. Pump faking & a poser.

You (Drake) become more and more "American black" & you become more and more of a sicko as the years go on which this is not who you were at all when I knew you.

And again, he gives the most examples in Euphoria & Not Like Us.

Drake is not like us, but he is trying so damn hard to be like us. And it weird and pathetic. Just be you.

And theres multiple examples as well even outside Kendrick. Such as the Wayne call interview when he first signed him "keep it Canadian", to Drake living in a upper middle class neighborhood and being a literal actor, Drake being more for the ladies & downbad guys but now its about guns and mob life etc.

Thats what the "angle" is about. And it started on Euphoria. And goes into the point of Kendrick saying youre not true to yourself, & deeper than just that, you are also lost in the sauce way too much.

Drake, for years now, is trying very hard "to be down".

@op