Stop using women as pawns in rap beefs like Drake and Kendrick Lamar

When Drake and Kendrick Lamar decided to face off, we knew there was a chance of some low blows; we just didn’t know we would end up underground. The four songs they swapped on May 3 and 4 – Kendrick’s “Meet the Grahams” and “Not Like Us,” as well as Drake’s “Family Matters” and “The Heart Pt.” 6″ – took their rift to a dark place. Drake calls Kendrick a domestic abuser, and Kendrick calls Drake a pedophile. Now we’re wondering how a war that was once about who’s the greatest songwriter is turning out is transformed into an attempt to analyze ugly allegations of abuse.

Whether you believe Drake or Kendrick or neither, there is no denying that their accusations of denigrating abuse strip women of their humanity, with the mother of Kendrick’s children being referred to by name and other hypothetical victims presumed to be transformed into chess pieces by two men at war. . This dynamic threatens to diminish the spirit of their fight from a hip-hop competition to a gossip fest.

Both men hinted that they had serious allegations about each other from the start of the conversation. Drake warned, “That’s not even all I know, don’t wake the demon” on “Push Ups,” and Kendrick rhymed, “Don’t tell lies about me and I won’t tell the truth about You”. ” on “Euphoria,” a song whose title already alluded to the “certified pedophile” allegations he would later make on “Not Like Us.” On the surface, both comments seemed like simple play. But with the accusations that followed, both artists (perhaps unknowingly) kept hip-hop’s boys’ club going, even as they disagreed. Essentially, each said to the other I won’t mention your misdeeds unless provoked. With that energy, it’s no surprise that men in rap so rarely have anything to proactively say about the accusations against Tory Lanez and Chris Brown.

The dam was breached on “Family Matters,” when Drake crooned, “I was trying to keep it PG,” then spent the second half of the song alleging that Kendrick is separated from his partner, Whitney Alford, and that ‘he attacked her. If Drake thought this information would be a dagger, it only made him seem like a hypocrite, since one of his close friends, rapper Baka Not Nice, pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman in 2015. (The human trafficking and prostitution charges he also faced were dropped after the woman refused to testify). While this friend was incarcerated and awaiting sentencing, Drake triumphantly rapped, “I might call it a holiday as soon as Baka hits the road again” on If you’re reading this, it’s too late” Know thyself “. He also recently posted an Instagram story calling for “freeing” Tory Lanez, who was convicted of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in a 2020 incident. Elsewhere on “Family Matters,” he rhymes: “You know, the one knocking there is CB,” apparently referring to Chris Brown, who has numerous allegations of violence against women. Somehow, Drake decided to call out Brown and use him as a trump card against someone he’s berating for alleged abuse.

Minutes later, Kendrick released “Meet the Grahams,” where he made sordid allegations about Drake’s life, calling him a “predator,” alleging, “He caught sex offenders on hoe-VO that he keeps with a monthly allowance”, and telling Drake’s mother: “Your son is a sick man with sick thoughts, I think niggas like him should die.” He raps with the tone of a staunch advocate for women who thinks Drake is the worst man on earth. But Kendrick’s story reveals his moral high ground. In 2018, he stood there while then-TDE boss Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith told Spotify he would remove Kendrick’s music if their hateful conduct policy targeting artists like XXXTentacion and R. Kelly remained intact – a fact Drake noted on “The Coeur Pt. 6.”

XXXTentacion was infamously accused of grisly abuse at the hands of his ex (some of which he admitted on tape), while R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison for racketeering and sex trafficking of young women and girls . Although their actions were public knowledge, Kendrick apparently seemed well-used as leverage on their behalf. A similar observation can be made about Dr. Dre, Kendrick’s mentor and executive producer of Good child, mAAd City, who has been repeatedly accused of assaulting women. (In 2015, the accomplished producer acknowledged the accusations, saying, “I apologize to the women I hurt. I deeply regret what I did and know it has forever impacted our lives.”) And on Kendrick’s most recent album. , Mr. Moral and the Big Steppers, Kodak Black has appeared several times. The Florida rapper pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in a rape case in which the alleged survivor claimed he “couldn’t help it” as he attacked her. These collective Kendrick associations do not paint a picture of someone who lashes out at men who hurt women, taking the sting out of his record.

Things get complicated with “Not Like Us,” with songs that portray Drake’s house as a haven for sex offenders and call Drake and his OVO crew “certified pedophiles.” The song has gone viral since its release on May 4. It’s a fun record, but digging beyond DJ Mustard’s melody reveals a moral conflict in some of its lyrics. In his assessment of the reaction to Diddy’s lawsuits, VultureCraig Jenkins of , recently wrote: “We cannot, however, continue as before, teaching another generation to look for burlesque in sex crimes”, referring to the phrase “No Diddy”. We have to ask ourselves the same question at times in “Not Like Us.” It’s quite easy to laugh at the ridicule of an alleged pedophile. But if the allegations are to be believed, it means there are girls who have been exploited – which is not a celebratory wake-up call. And even if you don’t believe it, the notion of victimization of young girls as a punchline is pretty vague. How do “Not Like Us” fans, myself included, view this?

It’s worth wondering what the amplification of these rumors about Drake and teenage girls will mean for his legacy. He’s one of the greatest rappers of all time and has overcome the stigma of being a child actor, rumors of ghostwriting, and the perception that he lost to Pusha T during their 2018 beef – but these allegations are much more serious. Will the stigma have a substantial effect on his career? What do he think of his ties to the company? Everything remains to be seen. Even if Kendrick only brought it up to win a beef, the conversation needs to be considered.

Importantly, Drake strongly denied the allegations on “The Heart Pt. 6,” a track in which he doubles down on his claim that Kendrick assaulted Alford. Drake sheds light on his alleged fate in “Family Matters,” rhyming: “When you put your hands on your daughter, is it self-defense because she’s bigger than you? And at the end of “The Heart Pt. 6”, he says, “Whitney, you can hit me if you need a favor” as if he had any real interest in consoling her. But what if he was respectful to women, he wouldn’t expose her alleged trauma in front of the whole world while accusing her of having a baby with one of Kendrick’s best friends. It doesn’t seem like she wants to be a public figure. Years ago, she posted a post on Tumblr in which she noted that “hiding my pain was a technique I’ve mastered my whole life” and said that after therapy, “I hear my own again voice.” Instead of respecting her privacy, Drake insensitively chose to disrupt her peace of mind to indulge in one-upmanship in a rap beef.

It’s common for male rappers to take shots at their opponents through the women in their lives. Just recently, in Chris Brown’s “Weakest Link” rant towards Quavo, he raps, “Stop talking about beating girls, you was beating bitches in the elevator/We seen the tapes, it’s devastating,” referencing an alleged 2021 incident between Quavo and Saweetie. The bar must be in hell when “You beat women too” is an acceptable beef angle. Brown also brags about sleeping with Quavo’s ex, a well-known tactic that implies that women are chattel who aren’t supposed to have the agency to sleep with whoever they want. Very often, women are mentioned in rap beef either to flatten them for sexual conquests or to trivialize their abuse, and the latter is often done as Kendrick and Drake did, with the shit-eating kitsch of a cinema antagonist seeking to use the protagonist’s love. interests against them. Everyone watching knows their nice guy routine is an act.

Both Drake and Kendrick’s backgrounds are marked by notable dalliances with people who have mistreated women. Most rap fans realize that the only reason anyone is now campaigning against patriarchal violence is to influence public opinion. Now, fans seek to judge their rap war based on who actually abused whom, a crude dynamic that highlights the extent to which violence against women is normalized. It was much more fun when it focused on jokes about hair and height.

Rap is a figuratively bloody arena. Low blows will be thrown and denunciations will occur. When it comes to ridiculing Rick Ross as a former correctional officer or putting Prodigy’s old photos on the Summer Jam screen, anything is fair game because this is an opponent who can hold his own. But once the accusations target women who aren’t public figures and turn into trivialized abuse, things turn from a war of wits into a Shade Room tea party, which is no fun for person. Women are not “great pranksters” or “fodder for chess, not checkers” – they are human beings who deserve to be defended beyond opportunistic ploys to annoy the blogosphere.