Noire Notes IV

On Drake, Kendrick Lamar & The Battle For Rap Supremacy

Oct 10, 2024

Author’s Note: This piece builds on the ideas and themes of Yoh Phillips’ “A Tale Of 2 Kings: How Success Has Shaped Kendrick Lamar & Drake’s Hip-Hop Kingdoms”. You can find the original article here and read more of Yoh’s work here.

I. Lords Of The Underground

“Felt like the initiation, a reality living in the matrix” – Kendrick Lamar, “Buried Alive” (2011)

It’s July 2011 and a rapper is in the studio writing words to a dark, melodic beat. He tries different voices and cadences but decides to just let his words speak.

The rapper’s lyrics describe his first interaction with fame and the trappings that come with it. Feeling conflicted, the rapper desires success but also doesn’t want to let go of who he is or the people that made him.

The rapper finishes his verse, leaving the listener in suspense. He emails the song to another rapper and finds it placed on one of the biggest albums of the year. The song is called “Buried Alive”.

II. The Men Who Would Be King

“I'm just feeling like the throne is for the taking (watch me take it)” – Drake, “I’m On One” (2011)

Between 2009 and 2012, those fortunate enough to have been a part of The Blog Era saw two artists embark on parallel journeys within the music industry: one hailing from the icy cosmopolitan streets of Toronto, Canada while the other rose from the sunny stomping grounds of Compton, California.

The former, Drake, had to convince a sceptical audience of his musical prowess and that his songs were worth being heard on the biggest stage. The latter, Kendrick, had to live up to a legacy that influenced a whole coast and show that he was good enough to hang with the greats.

Occasionally, these two individuals crossed paths but, quite often, they were focused on blazing their own trail. Then August 14, 2013 happened.

III. A Tale Of Two Kingdoms

“Nothing's been the same since they dropped ‘Control’ / And tucked a sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes – Kendrick Lamar, “BET Cypher” (2014)

The rule of a monarch is absolute, there is no leading by committee, no possibility of sharing the spotlight.

Hip-hop is built on the spirit of competition. Along with the drive for creativity, there is also an inherent desire to determine who is the best in their chosen field. DJ Kool Herc or Grandmaster Flash? The Dynamic Rockers or The Rock Steady Crew?

For almost a decade, both Kendrick and Drake built and maintained their own respective kingdoms. One built on commercial success and mainstream dominance, the other built on critical acclaim and cultural cachet.

Similar to Namor and T’Challa in Marvel Comics, Drake and Kendrick were engaged in a rivalry that would periodically flare up as light jabs when the situation called for it but it wasn’t until the quiet part was said out loud that they finally got into a long-awaited war of words.

IV. The Art Of War

“And that f****** song y'all got did not start the beef with us / This s*** been brewing in a pot, now I'm heating up” – Drake, Push Ups (2024)

The true test of a king is how well they fare in the heat of battle. Will they stand tall or will they fall?

There are no rules in rap beef. When they go low, you go to the basement. People have wished death in a rap beef. People have named women and children in a rap beef. It’s only possible to know what lines have been crossed once the dust has settled to show the casualties.

While Drake had a resoundingly successful, social media-driven campaign during his beef with Meek Mill, he made a crucial mistake trying to repeat this same tactic while battling Kendrick Lamar. To paraphrase from Tom Hardy’s Bane, Kendrick Lamar is someone who was born in the dark, molded by it in the cyphers outside Centennial High School.

In less than two months, Kendrick unleashed every kind of track that you could possibly release during a rap beef: a straight-up bar fest, a lyrical labyrinth for the nerds to unpack, a spiritual exorcism that makes the soul burn slow and an undeniable bop.

Depending on who you ask, Kendrick was either rapping from the perspective of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse or using this moment as an opportunity to continue the themes of Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. Regardless, it’s safe to say that Kendrick came out the clear winner of this encounter.

V. Victory Lap

“You know there’s only one opportunity to win a championship. No round twos.” – Kendrick Lamar, Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Announcement

To the victor goes the spoils. The defeated live in infamy and those used as cannon-fodder become footnotes in history.

Lines have been drawn in the sand. Are you like them or are you like us? Are you a F.A.N. or somebody watching the party die?

Despite previously renouncing his position as a ‘savior’, Kendrick has, once again, taken up the mantle of personifying “what the culture’s feeling”. Will this all come to an end when he performs at the Super Bowl and drops his next album? Will Drake, at long last, do some soul-searching and grow as a person and an artist? Was this long overdue battle for rap supremacy really worth it? Only time will tell.

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