Baka Not Nice didn’t hold back when addressing Kendrick Lamar’s jab at his criminal past and his place in Drake’s OVO Sound crew.
The Toronto rapper, a longtime friend and collaborator of Drake, reacted to Lamar’s call out during a recent appearance on the “Hot Freestyle” podcast. Baka labeled the accusation “ludicrous” and revealed that Drake personally urged him to stay calm.
He responded to Kendrick Lamar’s lyric from “Not Like Us” — “Baka got a weird case, why is he around?” — which referenced Baka’s 2014 legal troubles and became an online meme.
“My first initial thing was to respond and respond quickly, very efficiently and very to the point,” Baka said during the interview.
“Because where I come from, that doesn’t happen. You can’t just call out a man and not have paperwork to back up your talks. That is ludicrous,” he continued. “Then to see, like a whole nation behind it and celebrating, like it’s a true story is unbelievable… I have a kid. Drake has a kid, you know what I mean. So making accusations like that are ridiculous and out of this world.”
Baka admitted he was overwhelmed with anger until Drake stepped in with a call that helped him cool off.
“He’s like, ‘Yo, I know what you’re feeling. I know you as an individual and I know how you get down, but I’m just letting you know, don’t listen to the noise cuz it’s noise. If you go back and look at all these people that are saying things or having anything to say, they’re not even actual real people. They’re like bots. So don’t let that bother you, bro.'”
Baka Not Nice Pleaded Guilty To Assault In 2015
Kendrick Lamar’s lyric refers to Baka’s 2014 arrest on charges including human trafficking, assault and uttering death threats.
He was accused of forcing a 22-year-old woman — his then on-and-off girlfriend — into prostitution. The woman also alleged Baka assaulted her during an argument. She claims he pushed her to the floor after she scolded him for passing out drunk while food burned in the oven.
The most serious charges were dropped after the woman refused to testify. In 2015, Baka pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to six months in jail, though he didn’t serve additional time due to already spending ten months in pre-trial custody.
The Crown attorney confirmed the woman was not pressured into silence and had since cut ties with Baka and relocated.
Drake publicly welcomed Baka home in April 2015 and later signed him to OVO Sound in 2017.