HOW KENDRICK LAMAR & DRAKE GAVE US THE BEST WRESTLING FEUD OF THE YEAR

About 20 years ago, Raekwon compared rap to wrestling, at least when it came to beef and who’s squabbling with whom. And he wasn’t exactly wrong. While the issues two or more rappers might have with each other might be very real, there’s a level of theatricality and showmanship that owes a huge debt to professional wrestling tenets.

For exhibits A-Z, look no further than the recent dustup between Kendrick Lamar and Drake.

For a one week, these two got on their respective microphones and spit dueling promos at one another. What started as a casual war of words in April evolved into something much more personal by early May. Much like the storytelling prior to a big match, the stakes escalated with each passing encounter, while fans looked on waiting for the brown stuff to hit the fan. Some took sides, some watched for entertainment, while others marveled at the pop culture moment unfolding before their eyes. And like any good wrestling feud, they blurred the lines between real life and fabrications for the sake of a good tale.

Rap battles, like top tier wrestling drama, is all about framing, selling, timing, and plausibility. The shots taken need to make the listeners chuckle or cringe because they contain at least a few morsels of truth rather than absolute fact. And the winner is usually the one who sells their offense most effectively to the point where the audience can’t help but root for them. Two giants of their era captivated an entire culture not only because they followed the examples set by Jay-Z, Nas, 50 Cent, and LL Cool J, but also The Rock, John Cena, Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels.

This thing between Kendrick and Drake didn’t just start this spring; their Cold War simply turned hot after years of innuendo. Without going into every single detail that would take too long to summarize, just know these two don’t like each other.

Since at least 2012, they both did their equivalent of Michaels’ “Sunny days” reference on rap songs. Subliminal disses aren’t new to wrestling fans; there’s a cottage industry practically thriving off deciphering if Wrestler A took a shot at Wrestler B, or if this big company over here made this move to slight that big company over there. It’s a tactic well worn in the ring and on the microphone, which usually comes with the “IYKYK” tagline etched on top of everything.

Fans feed off that drama. Some are more obvious than others, like Lamar’s “Control” verse which called out Drake, among others, by name. But Drake’s “The Language” moves discreetly enough where any denial about its true intentions sounds plausible, even if the context and content says otherwise. Shawn Michaels could deny and deflect his sunny days reference forever but those who knew understood exactly what he meant and why he said it. Bret Hart even got in on the indirect diss fun, constantly bemoaning wrestlers who don’t set a good example for kids based on how they dress or act in the ring. Or simply how they carry themselves. To put it another way, Hart hated the way Michaels walked, the way that he talked, and the way that he dressed.

Once things get real in any feud, that’s when those sneaky moments come into the light.

John Cena and The Rock spent years dancing around each other until finally meeting face-to-face in a ring. Their back and forth became all about the show. It’s one thing to insult one another but it’s the how that truly mattered. That’s rap 101; how you say a thing is often more important than what you’re saying.

Drake masterfully deployed this tactic against past foes like Meek Mill, and used the same blueprint for Lamar. The Toronto MC’s first response packed his usual flare for the dramatic and craft. A catchy hooked over a dope beat, with cover art meant to insult his Compton rival over his shoe size and height. Does Lamar wear a size 7? Probably not. But he’s short so once again, it doesn’t have to be true just funny and plausible. Doing all of that over a catchy beat designed to rock in the clubs is what gives Drake his juice. Lamar opted for a different presentation.

He dropped his song on YouTube with no fanfare, gave his cover art and title multiple meanings, while hinting at more to come. In fact, he previewed hitting Drake with another song before the man could reply to the first, creating anticipation and mimicking one of Drake’s favorite moves. This stirred the pot even more and got fans waiting for what’s next.

Rocky and Cena battled verbally weekly in 2012 leading up to that “once in a lifetime” battle that we actually got twice. Their segments happened at the end of each Raw, and sent the crowd home wondering what’s next. They created demand for their supply, much like Kung Fu Kenny and The Boy did for a battle that rap fans dreamt of for years.

Throughout this whole thing, they kept that same glamor and glitz on display. Drake created a music video for “Family Matters.” Lamar made “6:16 in LA” and “Meet the Grahams” two pieces of a puzzle with artwork that turned fans into internet sleuths. It wasn’t just what they said that moved the masses, it was the how.

Part of giving everyone a great show is timing. Wrestlers understand this possibly better than anyone. Austin and The Rock always met each other at the right time in their careers, which gave their promos an extra hint of realness. It’s not always about how the promo happens but when. Think about Austin throwing Rock’s Intercontinental championship off the bridge, or Rock throwing Austin off a bridge. The best move comes when the opponent is at their most vulnerable and the audience is most engaged because they too sense that weakness. Austin was desperate going into WrestleMania X-Seven. Rock had a monkey on his back so large that it probably felt like a gorilla at WrestleMania XIX when he faced Austin for the third time at the biggest show of the year. Fans responded accordingly because the timing for those matches became a part of the story.

Timing is what gave Nas’ “Ether”its sting. Releasing a diss song in itself is one thing but doing it on Jay-Z’s birthday? That’s just cold.

So when Drake dropped “Family Matters” in the wee hours of a Saturday morning on the heels of not one but two records from his enemy, it became an event. But like I said, paying attention to the clock and the calendar is everything. Not giving his opponent any daylight, the To Pimp a Butterfly MC struck immediately with “Meet the Grahams.”

Things got beyond personal at this point but those wrestling tactics shined through. Both men put out their best moves in succession and put fans even closer to the edge of their seats. Besides its incredibly scathing nature, Lamar’s second to last response is most notable for its surprise. If there's anything here that might make one question if this whole thing was a work, it’s the speed in which that song made it to our ears. If that song drops later in the day, later that weekend, or the following week, it doesn’t have the same effect. If Austin and Rock don’t face each other at WrestleMania, where everything matters more, or if Michaels vs. Hart happens before all those bad feelings transpire between them, then their story becomes just another wrestling rivalry rather than a rivalry that defined an era.

What made Michaels vs. Hart live on years after the fact is the same thing fueling the latest rap battle: it felt real.

The best feuds, whether it’s The Heartbreak Kid and The Hitman, Rocky vs. Triple H, CM Punk vs. Cena, or even the NWO vs. WCW come with something extra. While it certainly got ugly between these two rappers, the insults still felt nestled in something honest. That’s what wins the day when people go to the proverbial mattresses. There was no proof that Tupac slept with Faith Evans, but there was at least proof that he and The Notorious B.I.G.’s wife encountered each other at least once. No one knew for sure that Rick Ross snitched on anyone ever, but we know for a fact that the man was a correctional officer. Some of the allegations Drake and Lamar threw at each other aren’t getting reprinted here, but you know where to find them. That said, the less inflammatory ones strike a chord (pun intended).

It’s plausible that Drake isn’t the guy he says he is and uses cultures or movements for his own bottomline while having no true identity of his own. It’s possible that Lamar is so self-righteous that he ignores his own faults while pointing out everyone else's.

And yes, there’s smoke around some of their more lurid accusations against one another. That’s what put it over the top. That’s why the “It’s still real to me guy” is probably passed out somewhere because of the content overload. The two most prominent MCs of the last decade got it on and held nothing back. They fought above the belt and below it, while always keeping in mind that presentation matters most. They embellished, they told truths, and they kept fans hanging on every word.

Plus, not for nothing, but Lamar even mentioned “Sweet Chin Music” in his last diss towards a Canadian whom he dislikes with the passion of 1000 suns.

If that ain’t wrestling, then what is?

2024-05-06T22:34:08Z dg43tfdfdgfd