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On Monday (July 1), the internet reacted in all kinds of ways when a video of Rick Ross and his crew getting jumped in Vancouver, Canada, by Drake super fans hit the web, and now it seems like the King of the North is practicing a bit of trolling over the incident with his latest social media post.
Following the release of the video, Drake took to his IG page to post a pic and a video of himself and his crew enjoying some outside weather at his mansion as Drizzy raps along to “Northern Touch” by the Rascalz, who hail from Vancouver. Coincidence that Drake is listening to a rap group that represents the city where Ross and company got jumped? Maybe, but we doubt it.
Drake also dropped another video in which he wished his fellow Canadians a “Happy Canada Day” before saying, “Cheers to the whole country” and taking a sip of some adult juice with a slice of lemon in it. Fancy!
50 Cent meanwhile didn’t miss the opportunity to continue to troll his former rival Rick Ross as well with a new video. While Fiddy called it a “very unfortunate situation that took place in Canada” and said, “I hope that brother made it home safely,” he ended his quick reaction by saying Ross should call on Meek Mill’s Dream Chasers crew or the “305 killers” before laughing it off as he’s known to do.
Man we hope this doesn’t lead to North vs. South Hip-Hop war like the East vs. West thing in the ’90s.
What are your thoughts on Rick Ross getting jumped in Canada for playing Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss song “Not Like Us”? Fair or foul? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Although Vancouver is a long way from Toronto, some fans have connected that Rick Ross running into some static in the Western portion of the northern country is due to the Drake beef. According to a new report Rick Ross and his crew finished rocking a music festival in Vancouver and came across a group who tried to impede his progress through the crowd.
Several accounts posted the breaking news on their respective feeds, including DJ Akademiks, TMZ, and more. According to the reports, Rick Ross was in Vancouver for the Ignite Music Festival on Sunday (June 30) and was heading through the crowd after leaving the stage when the confrontation began around 10:30 local time.
The group, who has not confirmed their affiliation with Drake, at least publicly, were reportedly upset that Ross chose to end his set playing Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” as a closing track. As the reports go, one of the men trying to block Rozay’s progress reportedly swung at the Miami rapper with Akademiks claiming that a member of Ross’ crew was left unconscious.
Adding to this, blogger page @6ixaktv posted two videos of the fight with Drake liking one of the videos. According to the videos, it looked like the group didn’t want to square up when things were even but the owner of the page says that they have a clip of Ross getting punched.
An interesting thread of discussion also cropped up with many noticing that the men who confronted Ross appeared to be white and using the “N-Word” although, again, the group has not stepped forward to present their identity online.
On X, the reactions to Rick Ross being jumped by Vancouver goons have the Maybach Music Group boss’ name trending. We’ve got reactions from all sides below.
WARNING: The images in the clips below may be disturbing to some so proceed with caution.
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3. Too late.
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There is a thin line between competition and conflict and in the ever-evolving landscape of Rap and Hip-Hop, all it takes is a few words or actions to tilt the scale towards beef.
At their best, the beefs gave us quotables and songs that have become a part of our cultural catalogue from KRS-One’s iconic lines on “The Bridge is Over” or Jay-Z’s jab at Nas’ iconic song “The World is Mine” on “Takeover.” At their worst, the beefs led to violent interactions that served as warnings for the future (rest in powerful peace Tupac Shakur, Christopher Wallace and too many more).
Whether you rooted for the underdog or cheered for the villain, here is a list of nine Hip-Hop beefs that altered the way we listened to the culture’s music to this day.
9. Kool Moe Dee and LL Cool J
Considered by many as one of the first instances of rap beef, the two’s feud not only produced some of the biggest rap moments (Kool Moe Dee’s rap Grammy performance and LL’s Jack the Ripper series), but also set a precedent of using rap disses to enlarge both stars’ brand. For LL, he’d become one of rap’s earliest commercial successes, leading the line of success and respect into the 90s and beyond. His rise also foreshadowed a theme with the pioneer’s anger with younger MC’s who felt slighted by the next generation’s hubris.
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8. Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown
Kim’s ascent into rap in 1996 alongside the Notorious B.I.G. and Junior Mafia brought a new aesthetic for female rappers as she embraced a more sexual and aggressive energy. Unfortunately, competition between her and fellow Brooklyn rapper Foxy Brown became inevitable as the two traded words over the years on various songs including Kim’s verse on Lil Cease’s 1999 song, “Play Around,” “The Notorious Kim”, and Mobb Deep’s “Quiet Storm Remix”. Foxy’s venomous verse on “Bang Bang” proved prophetic, and the violence and residual tension that followed over the years make it one of rap’s most memorable beefs.
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7. Gucci Mane and Young Jeezy
For these two southern MC’s who have since gone on to rectify their differences, their dispute over Gucci’s first commercial record, “So Icy,” ushered in a flurry of diss records back and forth that escalated to alleged violence off the records. Unfortunately, their antics and the energy behind it ushered in a new dimension of dissing enemies, encapsulated by Gucci’s gesture of smoking on the remains of an enemy, a move he’s since condemned.
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6. LL Cool J and Canibus
For Canibus, the rising phenom in rap at the time, being featured on a song with someone as accomplished as LL Cool J was an honor. His initial verse on the posse cut, “4,3,2,1,” however innocent, prompted LL’s furious response, and the records that followed only made LL’s battle rap status grow larger. Canibus’ “Second Round KO” and L’s “The Ripper Strikes Back” also introduced whether fans preferred battle records from overtly lyrical rappers or more commercially renowned artists.
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5. 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G.
Largely remembered for the shocking claims made by 2Pac against Biggie on the song “Hit Em Up”, the primarily one-sided beef spurred a slew of responses from Biggie and others, both directly and subliminally which fueled the environment that led to their untimely deaths. The behind-the-scenes antics between Bad Boy Records and Death Row only exacerbated the tension and forced former friends to cross all types of lines that rap had yet to see before then.
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4. Jay-Z and Nas
After years of tension and perceived disrespect, Jay-Z and Nas’ early 2000s beef produced two of rap’s biggest diss records, “Takeover” and “Ether,” and simultaneously added to both stars’ classic repertoire of albums and songs. Despite the propensity for violence that existed, both men’s decisions to end their issue and work together represented a rare display of maturity, unlike anything we’d seen at that time for stars of their magnitude.
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3. Ja Rule and 50 Cent
Arguably one of the most influential rap beefs of the early 2000s, 50 Cent’s and Ja’s behind-the-scenes issues spilt onto the national stage when 50 attacked Ja multiple times on his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’. 50’s unrelenting vendetta against Ja and Murder Inc. successfully made him a legend in many eyes and all but erased the stellar run of one of rap’s most influential and successful rap labels. Despite both artists moving on to different endeavours, the beef between them remains one of rap’s most noticeable land mines, going off at least once a year on social media without fail.
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2. Ice Cube and N.W.A
In the eyes of many rap fans including Cube himself, his 1991 diss response “No Vaseline” is arguably the most known and well-crafted. Before rap fans became accustomed to the idea of a 20 v 1 type battle, Cube took it upon himself to diss his former group N.W.A singlehandedly, so much so that they decided not to respond. At the top of his game both critically and commercially, his diss carried the same weight as Jay-Z and Nas with a level of sophistication and execution that has yet to be reached by a diss record since.
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1. Kendrick Lamar and Drake
Much like how Jay-Z and Nas’ beef festered over the years before exploding onto the scene, Kendrick and Drake’s feud following his verse on Big Sean’s “Control” grew, culminating in years of subliminal jabs. Kendrick’s feature on the Future and Metro Boomin’ single, “Like That” forced both sides into the competition and from there, we got more rap disses in a week than we’d ever seen from two competitors. The speed of their releases, rollout strategies and cleverness upped the ante for rap feuds that typically played out over time and showed us the lyrical brilliance of both camps regardless of who you felt was the victor.
Culturally, the response to Kendrick’s song, “Not Like Us” both online and during Kendrick’s Juneteenth concert, continues the communal call-and-response aspect of rap disses that we’ve loved since its inception. In a short amount of time Not Like Us has become a rap anthem and one of the year’s most streamed songs, much like Drake’s Back to Back became a Grammy-nominated song.
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When Biggie Smalls asked, “What’s Beef?” he posed the question at the height of the East Coast/West Coast rap rivalry, which would ultimately result in the death of the Brooklyn MC—as well as Tupac Shakur.
But, does beef always have to end in death? Most Hip-Hop fans would hope not. The very nature of the culture is competitive, and rivalries can be thrilling and entertaining when they stay on wax.
The recent rivalry between Kendrick Lamar and Drake has been one of those quarrels that has reenergized the culture and entertained Hip-Hop fans in a way not seen in years.
SlotsUp online casino and Media Lab Insights recently prepared and shared statistics that detail the legacy of rap beef—by breaking the statistics and songs into eras which are marked by a major event.
“These timelines were used to better understand the development of conflicts, success, and the demand for performance in the hip-hop industry,” the report notes. “Their comparison is focused on three main points: the technical aspect (the average tempo of the tracks (which can be calculated by the amount of bars, and the length), the profitability (the amount of platinum albums), and the risks involved (death rate).”
Researchers at SlotsUp commented on the study. “Until our current era, the more beef was around, the more successful the artists were. Our current era is going against this pattern, with the same amount of deaths and diss tracks as the first era, but with more platinum albums. Over the years, Hip-Hop became less technically demanding, especially after 2004. This study shows that conflicts aren’t always profitable, and violence can be avoided.”
The first era was marked by what the researchers called “The Roxanne Wars” in the mid-1980s. Two of the most significant songs were “Roxanne, Roxanne” and “Roxanne’s Revenge.” However, cultural commentators say that there were up to 30 songs related to the beef. The only major death to come out of that era was Scott La Rock—whose murder has not been directly attributed to the beef. The clear winner of this battle was Roxanne Shante, who went on to a lengthy career and is credited as one of the foundational female MC’s.
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The second era was one of the most deadly. Lasting from 1992 to 1997, the beef sparked the true rise of the diss track. The research shows that diss tracks and deaths more than doubled while platinum albums skyrocketed to 35. The era saw 10 deaths, with three being the most prominent—Eazy E, 2Pac, and The Notorious B.I.G. The winner of this era could be seen as the recently disgraced Sean “Diddy” Combs as his Bad Boy imprint saw some of its biggest success following the death of B.I.G. This era also marked Hip-Hop’s biggest foray into the pop genre with an increase in record sales that would last for more than a decade—before the proliferation of streaming.
The third era, lasting from 1998-2004, featured the beef between Jay-Z and Nas. This era was also the most financially successful with more than 50 platinum albums. “Eminem was significant in this era,” as the study shows that the Detroit rapper released nine diss tracks. The winner of this era continues to be debated. However, the culture benefited from the end of the beef with Jay and Nas making several concert appearances together.
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The fourth era: 2005-2008, is one largely of peace—kicked off by the end of the beef between Jay-Z and Nas—two New York rap titans. Also worth noting is the average length of rap songs would begin to get shorter with many getting under the 4-minute mark. The fifth era from 2009-2012, was marked by the release of Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. It would be the second era that Eminem would be involved in numerous beefs including with Benzino and Mariah Carey. It was during this era that beef would escalate in southern states with one significant death being that of Slim Dunkin.
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Era number six was from 2013 to 2019. The most significant beef was between Drake and Meek Mill. However, the two would eventually collaborate (again, since they were cool prior to Meek’s Twitter fingers) on “Going Bad.” This era is also marked by continued financial success with more than 40 platinum albums. The murder of Nipsey Hussle would mark the end of this era.
Our current era began with the coronavirus pandemic, which affected the entire world but also highlighted the significance of “beef,” with the good-natured but often tense musical battles as part of the Verzuz series. But without question, Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” is thus far the most powerful diss song of the era—but whether or not it’s over is still up for debate, and Drake. Fortunately, K. Dot did his victory lap by bringing gang members together on one stage as a show of unity at the conclusion of his pop out concert on Juneteenth.
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Kendrick Lamar rocked what many call the best hip-hop concert of the year, and the good vibes kept flowing while filming the “Not Like Us” video in his hometown of Compton this weekend. Via social media, many were able to witness some behind-the-scenes footage featuring Kendrick Lamar in Hub City basking in the glow that carried over from The Pop Out concert.
The momentum that Kendrick Lamar managed to create on the heels of engaging in a war of words with Drake culminated in his hitting the top of the charts with “Not Like Us,” a fiery diss track produced by Mustard and has been fodder for memes, reels, and more.
At last week’s The Pop Out concert in Inglewood, Calif. on Juneteenth, K-Dot brought together several West Coast acts, including his former Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates in ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock, proving there was no love lost between them.
Further, other mainstays of the greater Los Angeles region were present at the Kia Forum in YG, DJ Hed, Tommy The Clown, Roddy Ricch, Ty Dolla $ign, and more. There were also images of Dot speaking with his former label boss, Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, and TDE’s president Punch.
It was rumored that a video for “Not Like Us” would be shot in Compton over the weekend and now we’ve gotten plenty of footage and reactions online to suggest that all has been confirmed on X, formerly Twitter. The film crew took shots of famous Compton locations such as Tam’s Burgers along with other prime spots.
We’ve got reactions listed below.
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Kendrick Lamar, currently Hip-Hop’s king of the cultural mountain, is having one incredible week after his widely celebrated Juneteenth concert in Inglewood which capped the official crowning of him being the people’s champ. This weekend, Kendrick Lamar is reportedly filming a video and it appears that while the beef with Drake is supposedly finished, security measures have been improved just in case.
TMZ got the inside scoop that Kendrick Lamar’s team is beefing up security for a weekend video shoot for what many online presume to be for K-Dot’s blistering “Not Like Us” track. The outlet learned via inside sources that the video is being filmed in Kendrick Lamar’s hometown of Compton and that all proper permits and the like were filed.
More from TMZ:
For security reasons, our sources won’t say how many deputies have been tapped for the gig — which is set to take place all over Compton. However, we have been told that Kendrick’s production company is paying around $120 an hour to have them on hand.
While law enforcement sources tell us the police are aware of Kendrick’s recent beef with nemesis Drake, we’re told no known threats have surfaced at this time.
As it stands, it just looks like a sensible choice considering Drake, who may have moved on, might have overzealous fans hoping to prove themselves.
Further, the beef between Drizzy and Kendrick Lamar took some dark turns so feelings might be sore on both sides in all fairness. That said, it looks like the West Coast is too deep to be concerned with such matters.
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The Game has been one of the more vocal champions of West Coast Hip-Hop but fans couldn’t help but notice he was noticeably absent at Kendrick Lamar‘s concert on Juneteenth. Fans on X are saying that The Game was frozen out of the West Coast show due to his affiliation with K-Dot’s chief rival, Drake.
In the wake of The Pop Out: Ken & Friends Concert, which featured Kendrick Lamar and a large host of his famous pals, the absence of The Game alongside a variety of West Coast acts stood out as a curious moment. While it doesn’t appear that the former Aftermath is bothered by being excluded from the show, fans on X are speculating that the artist born Jayceon Taylor was left off the bill due to his alignment with Drake.
Back in April, Game posted a video of him listening to Drizzy’s “Energy” track which some took to mean he was on the side of the so-called 6 God. In the now-deleted post, fans blasted Game for seemingly going against his fellow Compton native in Lamar although the rapper never publicly chose a side.
Still, the optics of it all have fans believing this is why Game, a capable rapper despite what some might say, was not part of the epic cameo performances that included the likes of YG, TDE mainstays Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and ScHoolby Q, and others.
On X, the jokes are flying about The Game now appearing on the bill and we’ve got the best we could find below.
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Pharrell Williams seemingly doesn’t involve himself in the war of words that some of his past collaborators have, but fans are wondering if a new track takes a shot at Drake. Via the “Double Life” track, some have suggested that Skateboard P may have had light smoke for Drake but nothing has been confirmed.
Pharrell Williams has been part of the Despicable Me franchise since its early days, producing across a majority of the soundtracks for the corresponding films. For Despicable Me 4, “Double Life” serves as the first single for the soundtrack and the opening verse has been interpreted as Drake this on Genius and across social media channels.
From “Double Life”:
Hey, what are you hiding? (Watch)/What you do when you’re gone? (Hey)/Nothin’ wrong bein’ private (Watch)/Make sure it ain’t wrong (Yeah)/Your life double-sided (Watch)/Two-faced like coins/What side do I get? (Watch)/What side are you on?
As most know, Drake took shots at Pharrell Williams on the “MELTDOWN” track from Travis Scott’s UTOPIA album and also reportedly melted down chains owned by the Virginia producer as seen in the video for Drake’s “Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin.”
In our opinion, this seems like a strong reach but anything is possible. Check out the track below.
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Drake has yet another legal matter on his hands. An apparel company has a filed a lawsuit against him over his tour merch.
Rolling Stone is reporting that Champagne Papi has been served with a lawsuit by JR Apparel World LLC; the company who owns the Members Only brand. According to the paperwork submitted the New York based limited liability operation claims that the “First Person Shooter” rapper has infringed on the label’s iconic trademark. They point out that Drizzy’s Away From Home Touring Inc. is producing tour merch with the slogan “Members Only”.
While the capsule collection does not feature any outwear pieces JR Apparel claims it slogan is causing confusion in the marketplace. “Away From Home’s use of ‘Members Only’…is likely to cause confusion, mistake, and deception among consumers as to the origin of Away From Home’s infringing T-shirts,” the filing reads. “Away From Home sold…goods bearing the mark ‘Members Only’ that are identical, overlapping, and/or highly similar to the goods that JR Apparel sells bearing its MEMBERS ONLY Marks.”
The phrase is a direct reference to Drake’s song of the same name from For All The Dogs which JR Apparel references to in the complaint. “The fact that ‘Members Only’ is a song on Drake’s album For All the Dogs does not obviate the likelihood of confusion or give [him] a license to use our client’s ‘Members Only’ marks in such a confusing manner, particularly on or in connection with apparel items.”
Drake has yet to comment on the matter.
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Drake’s fashion choice while watching his son Adonis’ soccer game has gone viral, with many social media users seizing the chance to crack jokes.As the summer gets underway, superstar rapper Drake has kept it fairly low-key since his battle with Kendrick Lamar dominated the cultural conversation for the past few weeks. But the Certified Lover Boy rapper popped up on Sunday (June 9) with a new post on Instagram which saw him sporting a summer outfit fit for lawn picnics, consisting of a cream t-shirt with a white sweater tied around his shoulders and wide-leg brown trousers with a brown belt. Drake finished off the look with a pristine pair of sunglasses. The caption to the post read, “Goats don’t worry about one-trick ponies.”
The reactions in the comments of the post lauded the Canadian artist’s look. Ice Spice simply replied, “Ate” while recent collaborator Sexyy Red wrote “Fyrrrre”, completing her comment with two heart-eyed emojis. The photos captured Drake as he was on the sidelines at his son Adonis’ soccer match – one photo shows the child from the back during play, wearing a blue long-sleeved jersey kit with the number 25 on the back as Drake looks on.
Other social media users weren’t as approving of the summer style from Drake. In posts on X, formerly Twitter, users clowned the Her Loss rapper for both the apparel choice and his perceived post being a jab towards Kendrick Lamar in light of the latter’s “Not Like Us” diss track taking a major hold on the public. “Drake the type of rapper that hands out orange wedges at his son’s soccer game,” someone wrote, while another user commented that Drake’s style reminded them of the famed actress Katherine Hepburn’s classic film outfits. One stylist among others interviewed by The Cut claimed it was too much. “It’s like a lot of a look and too on the nose with styling; it’s styled like cosplay. It’s too much of a concept and looks forced,” the unnamed source said. When asked if it was an ode to “quiet luxury”, they responded, “he’s quietly doing the most.”
We’ve selected some of the more witty observations for you to take a look at below.
1. Wynter Mitchell
2. Certified Jared
3. Derek Guy
4. Mister Geezy
5. Eric Harvey
6. Kellen Voss
8. Whitley