Obama weighed in on Kendrick Lamar, Drake rap battle 8 years ago: 'Gotta go with Kendrick'
The beef between Grammy-award-winning rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar escalated over the weekend as the two continued to drop diss tracks. While social media users pick sides, they are also resurfacing a clip of former President Barack Obama, who crowned his winner eight years ago.
During an interview in 2016 with Adande Thorne, a YouTuber known as Swoozie, the 44th U.S. president picked Lamar to win in a rap battle over Drake.
“Gotta go with Kendrick,” Obama said. “I think Drake is an outstanding entertainer but Kendrick, his lyrics.”
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Obama also gave kudos to Lamar’s album “To Pimp a Butterfly,” which earned the Compton, California rapper seven nominations at the 2016 Grammy Awards.
“(Lamar’s) last album was outstanding,” Obama said. “The best album I think of last year.”
How did Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s beef begin?
The lyrical squabble dates back to Lamar’s verse on the song “Like That,” which appears on producer Metro Boomin’s and fellow rapper Future’s album “We Don’t Trust You.” Lamar’s verse seemed to directly respond to Drake’s and rapper J. Cole’s song “First Person Shooter.”
The song “Like That” was released on March 22 alongside “We Don’t Trust You,” and Drake, real name Aubrey Graham, had a reply ready by April 19 when he dropped “Push Ups” on music streaming platforms.
Rapper, songwriter, and icon Drake attends a game between the Houston Rockets and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Toyota Center on March 16, 2024, in Houston, Texas.
Drake also unofficially released a song titled “Taylor Made (Freestyle)” on April 19, which features AI-generated vocals of legendary rappers Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg. Drake took the song down after Shakur’s estate sent him a cease-and-desist letter.
In an April 24 letter, the estate of Tupac and his mother, Afeni Shakur, said it’s “deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality in the ‘Taylor Made (Freestyle)’ record.”
Lamar remained silent until he released “Euphoria” on April 30, which disses Drake and is the first time he mentions the Canadian rapper by name.
“I like Drake with the melodies, I don’t like Drake when he act tough,” Lamar says on “Euphoria.”
Drake and Kendrick Lamar trade diss tracks over the weekend
Lamar would release “6:16 in LA” Friday morning on his Instagram, further addressing Drake and creating speculation among fans. Around midnight on the same day, Drake dropped “Family Matters.” Not even 30 minutes later, Lamar released “meet the grahams.”
“Family Matters” and “meet the grahams” consist of both rappers making damning allegations toward one another, including Lamar accusing Drake of grooming young girls and having a secret daughter. The beef and allegations continued Saturday night when Lamar dropped “Not Like Us,” featuring production from popular West Coast producer and DJ, Mustard.
Seemingly in response to Lamar’s allegations and recent diss tracks, Drake released “The Heart Part 6” on Sunday night. Sampled in “The Heart Part 6” is Aretha Franklin’s “Prove It.”
Contributing: Anika Reed, Edward Segarra, Pamela Avila, Taijuan Moorman and Brendan Morrow
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Obama weighed in on Kendrick Lamar, Drake rap battle 8 years ago: ‘Gotta go with Kendrick’