Drake, Kendrick, Hip-Hop, Lawsuits, Oh My 😵

*Allegedly*

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are based on personal observations and interpretations. All statements regarding individuals are allegations and should not be considered as verified facts. For entertainment purposes only.

Introduction

As a daughter of hip-hop, I was terrified when my father, Uncle Luke, was involved in the East Coast vs West Coast beef in the early 90s, a battle that nearly turned violent. I recall speaking to my Uncle Trent’s late girlfriend, Dawn, a friend of Dr. Dre and having her call him so that I can ask them not to kill my dad.

This was my introduction to battle rap in its rawest form.

My opinion: Drake is cooked, and it’s self-imposed.

The Fall of Drake

You may be saying, "She’s a Kendrick fan." My response is: I’m not a fan. That was something taught to me early on by my dad, and it’s a perspective I’ve maintained. I’m a connoisseur of art and artistry. Rather than being a fan, I support values and find appreciation for the arts, the message, and the person. From personal experience, I know that these are human beings with flaws—some darker than others when you peek behind the curtain. I’ve never dated an artist or athlete, nor do I have the desire to. I understand true artistry and I appreciate it. I have respect for Kendrick as an artist, how he’s moved in the industry, and how he’s conducted himself as a man.

You may be asking, "How can I speak on this?" Well, I’ll tell you how and why.

My Background in Hip-Hop

My dad, Uncle Luke, had an office in Miami Beach off of Collins. At the time, I was living with him, modeling, and working in his office after school—between modeling jobs and auditions.

While there, I was tasked with listening to many demo tapes and was able to talk to my dad’s A&R team about the artists that I liked. I was taught how artists are found and developed, what’s good for public consumption, and the inevitable ‘bow or full package’ that an artist had to have, which was “the look.”

Before DJ Khaled was famous, he was in my dad's office begging for an audience. And let me tell you, Khaled didn’t look the way he does now, he had very humble beginnings. Before Pitbull became famous, he was in my dad's office, willing to sit for days like Khaled just to speak with my dad.

I’m not just a daughter of hip-hop; I’ve been a scholar of it, learning from some of the best—my dad included. The one thing he did was teach me about music and the industry. My mom would tell me that he’d play music near her belly while I was in it. I love the culture, I love music, and I appreciate true artistry. I can also tell a fraud from a true artist-thanks dad.

Now that I’ve provided some background on my experience, let’s dive into my earlier comment about Drake, "Aubrey Graham," being cooked.

Drake's Industry Persona

Drake has never been a true artist, but rather someone who’s been a great actor, with a palatable look, used as a tool to cross hip-hop over into the mainstream. Drake has a soft look, acted on Disney (I never watched that show), and has a Black father.

For years, the industry has known that Drake lacks a real identity in rap. He’s simply put on a mask, mimicking great artists to deliver what seems like an authentic product for mainstream consumption. Hip-hop has always known.

Drake was the beneficiary of those same folks he’s currently suing, who force-fed him to the masses as this great artist through marketing, branding, and more, due to his appeal to a wider audience. This was a business strategy, as corporations are in the business of expansion and making money.

A lot of artists have skeletons in their closets of which labels will tuck away in order to protect the brand and the business. Sometimes these skeletons could be used to make an artist do as they’re told. It is what it is.

For years, there have been murmurs about Drake’s antics, including his unsavory dealings with women and his colleagues. He treats his “sweatshop” of writers like a succubus, discarding them after exploiting their unique identities in music. This has gone to the extent that if they ever wanted to come out with their own body of work, they couldn’t because that identity is yet another mask that is now coined as Drake’s.

This brings us to the present moment.

Drake's Position in the Industry

The industry, the labels, the writers, and the money have propped Drake up to be this “God” if you will. He is seen as an invincible figure in the industry who essentially can’t be touched, which reminds me of philosophy, particularly the Stoics, who believed in resilience, self-control, and understanding one's role in the larger system of life. The Stoics emphasized accepting one's fate and maintaining virtue despite external circumstances, which contrasts sharply with the illusion of invincibility that Drake seems to have bought into.

Drake bought into this belief and used this borrowed power as if he were in control of his own fate. Drake had, or still has, this feeling of entitlement to vanquish his enemies, as he’s sucked up all the oxygen from great artists who have written for him, taking them off the map as his future competition.

Drake forgot that he was simply an actor playing a part in a big industry that chose him to do exactly what he’d been doing—be a soft and convincing look to broaden the audience of hip-hop and rap for the firm's financial bottom line. Drake forgot his place, resorting to narcissism and gaslighting, such as manipulating others into doubting their own experiences, while continuing to exploit powerless people. He would often twist situations to make others question their perception, making them feel at fault while he maintained control.

In comes Kendrick Lamar, who’s been lurking in the shadows, gearing up for this war. After 10 years, he’s finally ready confront the subtle shots thrown by Drake. Kendrick Lamar wants a head-to-head confrontation, and now we have a full-on rap battle.

Kendrick Lamar Enters the Battle

Battles in hip-hop and rap are the core and essence of the culture. These battles get heated, but all outcomes, regardless of how brutal they become, are par for the course. The rules of engagement for war in rap battles are respected no matter what’s said in the public eye, but in the back rooms, everyone knows that whatever comes of these battles is par for the course.

Drake takes below-the-belt shots during the battle, and Kendrick Lamar responds by obliterating Drake, releasing a song that resonates with the culture.

I want to emphasize something important here. I have been to four countries in the last few months, post the release of “Not Like Us,” and I’ve heard the song in every country, village, and town that I’ve visited.

Impact of 'Not Like Us'

“Not Like Us” was played in Cartagena and Medellín, Colombia while passing parties, in the gyms, at restaurants, and I heard it on folks’ cellphones while in passing. It was played in New Delhi and Rishikesh, India, as well. I visited Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and it played there as well. In Bali, Indonesia the song accompanies a salute to the West Coast at every party I’ve been to so far. Not only is the culture feeling the song, but they also know it word-for-word—it signals agreement on what is and isn’t culture. It signals solidarity and support in so many ways.

Drake poked a bear who he knew would obliterate him, but it seems like he expected the powers that created him to shield him once again from the damage, and subsequently nominate him as the true winner and “G.O.A.T” of rap by silencing the effects of Kendrick’s song(s).

Drake's Miscalculation

Why wouldn’t they? He knows the backroom deals that have been made to supercharge his image, his visibility, his numbers, and I would go as far as to say even buying him awards. So why not here with this guy and why not now?

Do you think that Drake's arrogance became his downfall with the industry leaders?

Throughout the past year, I’ve been particularly interested in strategy, dark psychology—which involves understanding the manipulative tactics used to influence others—and the traits of industry moguls and businesses. I’ve been interested in learning why people and companies do what they do.

Strategic Observations

Therefore, when this battle began, and I watched and observed in awe, I could see something characteristic from the books I’ve read like The Art of War by Sun Tzu, The 33 Strategies of War, and The 48 Laws of Power.

Kendrick's Strategic Approach

Kendrick studied his opponent and crafted a strategy by analyzing every possible angle, preparing responses to tell a story, predict moves, and ultimately defeat him. All while being extremely vulnerable and authentic.

This tells me he foresaw a lawsuit and recognized that lyrics were being used to attempt to convict artists of crimes. He saw the defamation lawsuits and knew that IF he were to tell this story he’d have to have his opponent in checkmate at every turn.

On his releases, Kendrick did what any person who’s ever lived in the projects or the hood would do—he let the people eat by allowing content creators and reviewers to use the music to monetize. In the hood, we take care of our own, and when we eat we let our people eat too. (For a small portion of my life, I was raised in the Subs or Brownsville Housing Projects in Liberty City.) This is the culture—it’s what we do.

Kendrick vs. Drake: Loyalty vs. Exploitation

This is contrary to the way that Drake “takes care” of his people. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Where Kendrick allowed creators and fans to eat first, Drake exploited folks around him by gaslighting them into thinking he’s done something for them by absorbing their identity, and if he actually does give them anything it seems as if it would’ve been the scraps left from his plate. (I’m thinking of Ursula from The Little Mermaid here.)

So how is Drake cooked?

It feels like Drake decided to cook himself, which is odd.

How Drake Cooks Himself

He involved himself with one of the most prolific writers and rap artists of our time. I mean, a man that it would take Drake 10 writers to try to compete with. He also attempted to battle a man who has actually lived the lifestyle that Drake has only read lines about from a script. Authentic vs. inauthentic/acting and then delivery.

Kendrick allowed public opinion and research by content creators to dig up information and possibly any evidence needed to corroborate the allegations he made within his lyrics, to substantiate any attempts to sue for defamation. (I also don’t believe that Kendrick will throw out wild claims like that in this environment that he couldn’t prove in court.)

Therefore, imagine this: Kendrick already has the proof. He puts the song out, and of course the investigative content creators add to the information he already had in his trove of documents, anticipating that Drake will revert to his true identity after being exposed and file a lawsuit. Strategy.

Drake sues the labels and corporations who made him, who know where his bodies are buried, and who some folks are saying that he owes a lot of money to for contractual reasons.

Drake's Legal Gamble

Some say that Drake is trying to get out of his contract, and this is the angle he’s taking. Here’s the deal: Even if Drake were to win $400-$500 million by suing this firm, it may only cancel out a portion of the funds he already owes them for previous contractual commitments. That would be a zero-sum game.

Then you have the cultural damage from not only losing a rap battle but suing because you seemingly lost, while continuing to take shots at your opponent after the loss. Cultural Damage and Consequences. This is bad for Drake because it's a stark reminder of what Black folks refer to as “white women tears.” Every day on social media, you can find instances where a white woman decides to antagonize a Black person, and when that Black person eventually stands up for themselves, she calls the cops and starts lying.

This goes back as far as segregation when white women would lie and say that a Black man raped her because she had to ride in an elevator with him and the next day he’d be found hanging on a tree branch.

The other aspect is the fear of loss and the cultural push to drive the listening of this particular track and others by Kendrick Lamar.

Whenever the ‘culture’ feels like something is being taken away, they double down on preservation and support. I can imagine that now that this is all happening, more folks are now downloading the song “Not Like Us” to preserve it as a part of history, as a trophy. But they will also be playing it on repeat throughout the days and rallying their friends and family members to support Kendrick as a sign of protest.

Final Thoughts

Even if Drake were to win these cases in which he's presenting an ‘intent to file suit,’ the money he would get will likely cancel out any funds that would benefit his financial upside.

Another issue is the discovery process, and I’m shaking my head because it seems as if neither Drake nor his team thought this through thoroughly. This company may have possibly inflated artists. Cough, cough, Drake. But, Kendrick? Nah, nobody's giving him anything he hasn’t earned. Dark-skinned Black men who talk about freeing Black people and consciousness in music is not something record labels go out of their way to support. For any reason.

But Drake, on the other hand, will probably be presented with a list of how they’ve used the funds from the company to push his numbers in an effort to reclaim some of the money that he owes them from his contractual obligations. I suppose they will exhibit Taylor Swift's numbers and show how he caused damage to her reputation as an artist when he was talking crap about her. What the hell was he thinking!? He wasn’t, he was being emotional.

Then there is the defamation. They know where the bodies are buried, and if the internet hasn’t helped them enough, they know everything about who he has in his camp. Someone, if not everyone, will talk for the right price. Not good.

Drake’s cooked because after all of this comes out, in the event he intends to continue to pursue this action, he’s already been exposed as what the culture would term as a ‘Fraud’ by looking more like the Wizard of Oz. If it hits the courts, all of his deeds and bad practices will be exposed. And I suppose that two things will be true at once. The culture will see Drake as a white man wearing blackface, and the firms will remind Drake that although he's of two races, he’s always been a n!gg3r to them.

He will lose all his money, and the industry will find someone new to fill the role of mainstream hip-hop's leading figure that he vacates. The industry won’t want him, and neither will the culture, leaving him completely isolated. Cooked!

Note from me: If you’ve gotten this far in this article, thanks for taking the time to read it. And, please know that this is not my usual content but I had some thoughts that I wanted to share on the matter.