(Todd A. Smith)
Do not go through with it Drake.
We have all endured lost battles.
But not all have resorted to lawsuits to win the ultimate war.
Marlene Lenthang of NBC News reported, “The beef between rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar exploded on the airwaves this summer: Now it’s found a new arena: the court of law.
“Drake alleged in a court filing on Monday that Universal Music Group conspired to ‘artificially inflate’ Lamar’s summer hit ‘Not Like Us’ on Spotify by using bots, payola and other tactics…
“In the petition, he claimed UMG launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves with a song, ‘Not Like Us,’ in order to make the song go viral.”
Drake has also sued for defamation because lyrics in “Not Like Us” imply that he is a pedophile.
Allow me to digress for a bit.
As a child, my family taught me not to air the family’s dirty laundry.
I definitely agree with that in most cases and try not to tell any negative stories about my family.
But the following story seems apropos considering the Kendrick Lamar and Drake rap beef.
One of my cousins and I got into it a few years ago.
He told me he would F me up when he saw me.
And I told him if he did, he would have to fight me every time he saw me until I F’d him up.
Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed, and nothing happened physically.
Although I am never proud to find myself in any altercation or disagreement with my family or friends, I am proud that I did not tell on my cousin for his threats at the time.
I did not tell his mother.
I did not tell the police.
I just told him I wanted to see him F me up.
That is usually how beefs unfold.
And after the battle cools off, many become close again like nothing happened as is the case with my cousin.
Unfortunately, that is not the route Drake took in his beef with Kendrick Lamar.
Instead of continuing the beef on wax, Drake ran and told on Kendrick, hoping to get him in trouble instead of taking his loss like a man.
That move will be remembered much longer than any diss that Kendrick lobbed at him.
Many critics of Drake’s lawsuit say that taking legal action just proves what Kendrick has been saying about him all along, which is he is basically a colonizer and culture vulture, benefitting from Black culture but never really embracing his own Black heritage.
But Drake should face more criticism for not handling a defeat like a man, not for being a culture vulture.
Drake has had an incredible run on top of the pop and hip-hop world for well over a decade.
That type of dominance did not seem possible for a rapper 20 or 30 years ago.
But like everything in life, all good things come to an end.
Even though Kendrick Lamar is arguably the hottest rapper in the game right now, it does not mean other rappers are not on fire also.
Someone is always at the top of the mountain while all their competitors fight to dethrone them.
Even when critics might think a person’s reign is over, real men and real women find a way to defy those naysayers and reclaim their past glory.
During the 1968-69 NBA season, many believed that the Boston Celtics dynastic run had come to an end.
The team had already won 10 championships, dating back to the 1950s.
But by 1969, all the hype went to the glamourous Los Angeles Lakers and stars like Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West.
The Lakers were so sure that they had finally beaten their dreaded nemesis, that they had balloons placed in the rafters, ready to fall on the court when the final buzzer went off and they had won the championship.
Former Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke had the University of Southern California band there to play “Happy Days are Here Again.”
The Lakers were so bold that they had typed their plans up and placed those plans on seats in the Forum.
When the Celtics found out about the Lakers’ plan, it motivated them enough to defy the critics and upset the highly-favored, Lakers.
They did not whine and complain.
They did not blame the NBA or say it was rigged in favor of Los Angeles.
They just went out and proved that they still had it, even though many outside of Massachusetts had probably written them off for good.
Even if they complained or thought the league wanted the Lakers to win, they did not sue or threaten a lawsuit.
They just handled their business.
Drake is doing the opposite.
He is showing that he is not strong enough for battle.
And that means he is not strong enough for hip-hop because rap music is built on battling other rappers.
Before anyone says I am hating on Drake, I am actually a big fan of the artist form Toronto.
I own most of his music just like I own most of Kendrick’s music.
I have no dog in the fight when it pertains to their beef.
I just love great hip-hop.
And I love great competition.
By suing over his beef with Kendrick, Drake is saying he does not like competition.
Everything is fine and dandy when he is sitting on the throne.
But when a new ruler begins his reign, suddenly, he has a problem with the entire kingdom and wants to burn it down.
Kendrick won the battle with Drake.
But Kendrick did not end Drake’s career and credibility like 50 Cent did Ja Rule or LL Cool J did Canibus.
But by suing, Drake might have just ended his career himself because he has lost all credibility in the hip-hop community and Black community as a whole.
Drake, you should not have handled it this way, bruh.
