Skepta lit the match and Joyner Lucas is here for the smoke. Lyrical warfare, it is. The North London grime rapper dropped “Friendly Fire” and decided it was time for the gloves to come off.
“Joyner Lucas you bastard/You sound like you come from Harvard,” he rapped. Joyner Lucas noticed.
Lucas has officially fired back and both rappers seem to be holding their best material in the chamber. This is definitely heating up fast. The bars are coming, fans are choosing sides and YouTube reactors are probably licking their lips. “Give me some UK subscribers!”
Nobody’s gone nuclear just yet. These feel like sparring rounds. But the potential is definitely there. I hope they relax.
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There’s an air of tension. We just heard about OVO affiliate Top5 getting stabbed in the U.K., even though details are still unclear. While that incident doesn’t appear connected to rap, the timing is eerie. Anything can happen.
The framing of this as a U.K. vs U.S. showdown feels a bit outdated. It’s not 2007. We need collabs unless there’s friendly competition. Skepta drew a weird line between U.K. rappers and the American South; a comparison that doesn’t really hold up.
READ ALSO: Skepta Torches A$AP Rocky & Joyner Lucas On “Friendly Fire” As U.K. Versus U.S. Rap Rivalry Heats Up
Maybe URL or another battle league steps in and actually organizes a battle. That way the fans win and the rappers get paid. Until then, let’s enjoy the bars.