The fanfare and hysteria surrounding the hyper-viral feud between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake has finally died down since the former's smash hit “Not Like Us” became the cultural phenomenon that put an end to any doubt about who “won.” this rap beef, but a Veteran emcee who is somewhat of a cultural phenomenon in his own right, André 3000, weighs in on the spectacle and what it meant to Hip-Hop.
“I got a little sad, at some point,” the Outkast member said in a recent interview Crack Magazine. “In the early rap battles, you had kids in the park rapping each other. But it's not just people rapping now. You have people with 100 employees. You have livelihoods, empires, companies, deals — all of these can be at risk. If you have nothing to lose, sure, go ahead. But if I've already made it, I'm not sure it's worth it anymore.”
Yes—the beef between Drizzy and K-Dot certainly didn't have the pure Hip Hop rivalry feel that the culture felt during the rivalry between Boodie Down Productions and Juice Crew. This beef was more reminiscent of the post-NWA split when Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E really seemed to destroy each other. Drake vs. Kendrick got really ugly and is undoubtedly the reason it had the entire internet in a tizzy for months.
However, the Dungeon Family alum acknowledged that Hip Hop has always been a competitive sport and rap beefs are part of the game. He also didn't seem to mind being mentioned in Lamar's verse about Future and Metro Boomin's “Like That,” the very verse that sparked the controversy.
“If he walks around with that stick, he ain't André 3K,” Lamar rapped on the song.
“As a 49-year-old rapper, you're glad to hear a voice,” André told Crack Magazine. “But as a rapper, I've noticed myself walking around with that stick. So it was a line for me too, and I was trying to find a way to use it. But Kendrick used it, so I had to say 'Yeah, he got it.'
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