drake vs kendrick - mainstream vs underground music and the dawning of a new era

I’m sure everyone has been paying attention to the hip-hop beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, two of the greatest artists of our time. The two have been exchanging subliminal disses and hidden shots for years, but recently, a slew of verses prompted the two emcees to start a lyrical war. It started with Drake and J. Cole linking up on “First Person Shooter” on Drake’s “For All The Dogs” album. For awhile now, many people have been complaining that Drake’s quality of music has gone down, particularly his rapping and attention to lyrical content. I agree, because Drake used to make songs that were classics, anthems, that would last through many seasons. Lately, he’s been following trends and targeting a younger audience, and his music hasn’t really been hitting the same. So when he linked up with J. Cole, it was pretty historic because J. Cole forced him to get back to his bars, and that song is definitely one of the standouts on that album. Now, two of the three so-called “Best Rappers” collaborated on a song. Kendrick had been quiet for awhile, and many people have been complaining that he takes too long to put out music. So, he pops out on Metro Boomin and Future’s collab album, “We Don’t Trust You” which was supposedly a diss against Drake. Kendrick, this time, sent much more direct shots at Drake, and basically said the “Big 3” doesn’t exist because he’s the best rapper alive. This spawned a beef between the two, where they exchanged multiple disrespectful, bar-heavy songs, and created a whole internet frenzy. J. Cole responded, but later bowed out of the beef because he felt he wasn’t being true to himself. Drake responded, and him and Kendrick started a war. In my opinion, being objective, I don’t know if there’s a clear winner to the beef, and both artists held their own. What I did notice is the shift in music that seems to be happening. Kendrick represents a more authentic, underground style of music that broke through and became popular, while Drake represents a more mainstream, traditional style of music that will always be relevant. While artists used to need major labels, tried-and-true formulas, a certain look, and to basically conform to the music industry in order to be successful, within the last decade we’ve seen a clear shift. If you develop a sound that’s honest and work on it, build a solid fanbase and market yourself the right way, you can find success in the music industry without having to sell out or compromise yourself. It definitely won’t happen overnight though, and you can see that in how loyal these two artists’ fanbases are to them through this beef. Kendrick for sure made a power move with that “Pop Out” concert, uniting many different hoods and sets and showcasing the unity and strength of the West Coast, on Juneteenth. Legendary move for hip hop in general, in my opinion.