Toronto’s Drake versus Compton’s Kendrick Lamar will likely go down as one of the greatest Hip-Hop battles. Many fans still wonder how the beef got heated to the point of multiple diss songs.
Back in 2016, NFL player-turned-sportscaster Marcellus Wiley spoke about an unaired conversation on ESPN’s SportsNation involving a famous rapper. Wiley said the 2014 interview never aired because the star had the segment blocked.
Marcellus Wiley recently addressed that moment with Drake on his Hydration Situation podcast. The 39-year-old Compton native revealed Drake dissed Kendrick Lamar on SportsNation. The Canadian rhymer allegedly later intimidated the network to bury what he said.
“Drake came on the show and he felt a certain type of way about Kendrick. To me, it sounded like either jealousy or he wanted to really pat him on his head like, ‘Dog, that’s cute what you’re doing but you ain’t me,’” Marcellus Wiley stated.
Wiley contacted Kendrick Lamar’s then-label, Top Dawg Entertainment, to tell them about Drake’s comments. The ex-Buffalo Bills player also said, “What y’all are seeing right now – the intensity, the volume, the frequency, why Kendrick stay ready, he ain’t gotta get ready, because in 2014, he already knew where this was headed.”
After over a decade of throwing subliminal shots at each other, Kendrick Lamar took a direct shot at Drake on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” single. Drake then fired back with “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made Freestyle.”
From there, Kendrick Lamar released “Euphoria” and “6:16 in LA.” Drake came back with “Family Matters.” For many observers, Lamar took the victory with “Meet the Grahams” and “Not Like Us.”
Drake’s “The Heart Part 6” did not have the same impact as the other records, leading to a large part of the general public viewing the song as an admission of defeat.
Kendrick Lamar also has the sales numbers success to plant his flag as the victor. According to Billboard, the streams for Lamar’s back catalog climbed 49% while Drake’s dropped 5%.