There has been speculation for years that there is a Cold War taking place between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Fans comb through both Hip Hop superstars’ lyrics to try and discover lines that could be ammunition in a subtle war of words.
For example, many listeners believed Drake directed part of his verse on The Game’s 2015 single “100” at K. Dot. On the song, Drizzy raps, “I would have all of your fans if I didn’t go Pop and I stayed on some conscious s###.”
Kendrick Lamar has been labeled, particularly in the early stages of his music career, as a conscious emcee. In contrast, Drake regularly faced complaints from some Hip Hop purists of being too Pop for a rapper.
The Game recently spoke about “100” featuring Drake. During an interview with HipHopDX, the OVO leader spoke about Drake’s perceived subliminal shots at Kendrick Lamar on the “100” collaboration.
“I didn’t feel like that,” said The Game when asked about his fellow Los Angeles native potentially being the target of Drake’s lyrical bullets on The Documentary 2 track. “And if I did, I wouldn’t have put the song out.”
He continued, “Like I said, Kendrick’s my brother. I love him too. But if Drake was subliminal and slipped something in, again, he’s one of the best to ever do it, so it’s Hip Hop. Even Kendrick is lyrically equipped to catch any stray and return fire, so I think at the end of the day, it’s all good Hip Hop. It ain’t like Kendrick and Drake are about to go into a street war or something like that.”
The Game went on to say rap battles fuel competition and only one person can sit at the top of the Billboard charts. The West Coaster added, “Climbing the ladder, knocking people down, kicking people off, it’s just part of the competitive nature of music as a whole.”