How Kendrick Lamar Used the Biggest Beef of the Century to Fix Hip-Hop Culture

hey K you want turn to light something no leave him off did you hear that Drake dropped you heard it I expected it okay uh you know you talk about my family yeah I'm up building now [Applause] [Applause] [Music] D what is that what is that what is [Music] that you know people love to say like rap purists and people who just love conversation they love to say hey man there's no rules in this [ __ ] but there are [ __ ] rules in this [ __ ] you lied about your son you lied about your daughter huh you lied about the kids that's out there hoping that you come no [Music] sequ I usually don't like covering happenings in rap that are inherently cultural and shallow the things that get people talking just because there's something to talk about you know that's not really the focus of my channel I like telling stories explaining character arcs that we get to watch in real time on albums and songs bringing my own life into them in hopes that you can see yourself too but in this case I think what Kendrick has accomplished in his beef with Drake is a story it's a meta narrative an unspoken assault on Drake and all he's influenced as the stagnates trying to end the other person's career but both of these rappers are coming into this from a unique place they both have stayed out of beef and Hip Hop for years for their own reasons and chose this conflict specifically to get their hands dirty again in this video I'd like to talk about more than just the content of the songs or the allegations the stuff that you've already read on Twitter a 100 times I think there's something much more significant at play here the social media era has ushered in a new wave of Hip Hop which has brought in a lot of good change but there are problems too there's a reason that this beef has transcended past a rat battle between Kendrick and Drake everyone's involved and that's because it's a conflict between the productive and destructive forces of rap music it's a tug of war between deep and shallow a grudge match over authenticity and fantasy and still that's a conversation that we can't just dive right into the real question we have to answer first is why in the world is this spiritual obsessed I'm too cool for hip-hop quarrels rapper finally dipping his feet into beef and at the same time why is someone who has famously learned the hard way to stay away from beef giving into his temptation again and I guess for both of them why become a hypocrite just to take down one person I love music more than anything on this Earth and it's been like that since a child and I love art and I just love things I love it's just about caring and I think we're at a point where we're treating like folks who don't care about things as the highest level of it meaning it's people out here who have songs out but they're not musicians treating them like musicians and they're not musicians or they don't deliver like actual musicians that take the time out to perfect an instrument their voice their lyrics their stage show anything like that so I've made an entire video on Drake's career and where I think he stopped being a positive force on hip-hop so I'm not going to go into any detail here there's 30 minutes of detail if you go three videos down on my channel it's pretty obvious that I look at him as the antagonist of the story and and I don't think that's really debatable there's really no valid reason to give Drake the benefit of the doubt in a battle of character he's never been particularly charitable artistic or philanthropic his music rejects vulnerability and connection and only serves to portray Drake as a Suave womanizer who can't lose at this point and as the years progress he's embracing the most unlikable parts of himself more and more by the day so really the only incentive I see for people to support Drake in a beef is because they see something in his life that they can't replicate themselves he's rich and famous and he has all these women he's the most popular thing in pop culture and for some reason that's incredibly appealing to the masses if you are at all secure in yourself and no better than to care about these shallow escapades you should see Drake as what he is the epitome of being popular because he's popular but if that's the case if he's really that far above everyone else why get into to a petty squabble with Kendrick Lamar maybe it's to prove that he still has a place in this maybe it's because he does genuinely hate Kendrick maybe it's because well I don't even think it's worth speculating at this point listening to push-ups and the Heart part six and even Family Matters it's obvious that all of Drake's writing his actions the way he's approached this beef is purely reactionary I could sit here and speculate the personal reasons why Drake would want to do something like like this but if we're really being honest it's probably just another PR stunt all publicity is good publicity right well I mentioned briefly that this video won't be covering the content of the songs per se and I want to explain that a little further I thought for long format video purposes it'd be better to talk about the broader implications of what's going on in this situation and yet at the same time I think some of Drake and Kendrick's best lyrical shows have been on these diss tracks and I want to accommodate that as well right now on my patreon I've uploaded song breakdowns for both Family Matters and meet the grams and I'll probably do more in the future as well if you go to the description or the Pinn comment you can get access to all of this content right now plus 30 album reviews and 30 reaction videos the financial support from you guys is what will keep this channel alive but I didn't want to just completely leave you hanging I provided hours of content in return and with the promise of more in the future I've uploaded my first weekly poll where I'll be figuring out what content you guys want to see and I will make anything you want whether it's a reaction video an album review a classic album review or even just a specific topic you can recommend that and then we'll have you guys vote on whatever I make week to week thank you guys so much even if you can't support financially a like and a subscription on YouTube means the world too back to our regularly scheduled programming let's talk briefly about Kendrick's motivations I got to say it's been jarring to see him in this situation I mean the man carries himself with so much grace and class that it's hard to watch him talk this way about someone which I think is a resounding visceral reaction a lot of his fans have had even if it's been exciting all the same and that's what's really interesting about this Kendrick is in a way stooping so low here to win this beef that he's risking his entire career I mean think about it he's built up the most Rock Solid reputation in all of mainstream rap throughout his career that if the skeletons in his claw it were to be exposed in this battle the entire Foundation of his platform being the profit rapper would be gone destroyed this leads us into an interesting dichotomy between the two Drake has nothing to lose artistically while Kendrick has everything to lose it's this weird push and pull where there's almost too much incentive for Drake and not nearly enough incentive for Kendrick so that means one thing Kendrick's reasoning is personal mother [ __ ] the big three [ __ ] it's just big me this whole thing was initiated by Kendrick his feature on like that is broscious it's a clear Watch the Throne moment and I think his motivations are best revealed in this first show of hostility it's almost as if Kendrick sees himself as Superior and sure this is common artistically rappers like to prove themselves as the best MC that's a staple in hip-hop culture but looking back it's clear that this is a more EX extens a more moral understanding of superiority he isn't in this to prove himself as the better artist honestly I think Kendrick would see that as a waste of time he's a lot smarter than that there's really nothing to prove against Drake in a writing competition and that's why this video isn't about the content of the beef per se if you want to see lyric breakdowns of the diss tracks that's on my patreon there's a much more important aspect than the outcome of the two people in the ring boxing there are broader implications consequen quences and culture shifts taking place here this could very well be a revolution [Music] survival I think somebody lyy in response to the growing discourse Drake releases a pretty good disc in the form of a song called push-ups which ironically gave Kendrick the permission he was looking for that interest in making this into something greater the conflict the fact that he won't be beating a dead horse push-ups was the spark that Lit the flame which would eventually burn down the rest of Drake's credibility 616 in La is when the beef finally picks up some real steam the cover art for the song black leather gloves with no sequins is laced with imagery my initial thoughts on the cover was that it was more of a direct shot it's a reference to Dres hit the tusi slide arguably my least favorite Drake song ever by the way where he draws imagery of being a Walmart Michael Jackson of sorts it was meant as a comforting bar during the co pandemic encouraging people to dance and have fun even if you're in isolation but I actually think it's a really meta thing for Drake to say he's always likened himself to the greatest musicians ever he said in 2013 he wanted to be the next Marvin Gay he put a posst humous Michael Jackson feature in a song of Scorpion he wears his I ionic white glove in the music video for first person shooter Drake has constantly tried to push his own name into conversations with these people but describing himself as a Walmart brand Michael Jackson in the TC slide that is to have the gloves with no sequins on is ironically the most apt description of his own Artistry at face value without even getting into the song Kendrick is Shining Light to this it's his way of calling Drake a phony a wannabe a false prophet but even deeper than this the final line on the song calls light to this referential imagery alone ask what Mike would do and I don't really know what to make of that line I think I mean what Mike would do what could he possibly be referring to there have been many disgusting statements made recently concerning allegations of improper conduct on my part I am not guilty of these allegations wait wait wait wait wait wait yeah I know Mike was accused of being a pedophile but certified boy certified [Music] pedophiles I was listening to Mr morale the other day in preparation for this video and the amount of sneaky foreshadowing in the album really struck me I think the depictions of an edgy Messiah figure is exactly the kind of person he's trying to embody now there's a line in the second verse of the song Rich Spirit where he sums it up pretty well CHR with a Christ with a shooter is the kind of person that is here to save us from ourselves but not through peace he's here to do it through whatever means necessary that's the person Kendrick always wanted to be but it's just now he's finally freed himself from well himself I think this is Kendrick ultimately realizing the futility of what he's been trying to do with his career for so long there was a really insightful comment on my Drake video the other day that applies well here Drake Antics are getting more and more distasteful this caused people like Kendrick Lamar to reach into the darkest part of their soul to get rid of the problem he's contributing to Kendrick may not be the Savior but he wants to at least help getting rid of the problem it disgusts him that someone with such low character and has such a lack of Integrity could be so famous it bothers him that a bad person is held as a great it cannot sit in his soul that Drake resides as one of the most influential people in rap despite being a mechanical shf of a man shrouding depravity earlier in his career I think he saw himself as a prophet a truth bringer to the masses but let's be honest Kendrick always did this in a pretty inoffensive way sure he can reach people change their lives Comfort them but at the end of the day the people who are the problem the people he's trying to stop from antagonizing those he seeks to protect they won't listen to to pipa butterfly and change what they're doing they won't hear Mr morale and care about others because of it it so maybe it's just better to pick our battles and go at the neck of the problem we care most about even if it's at the cost of everything that is passion and yet on the other side of this is the antithesis to passion and how you going to knock somebody in the world for actually trying to do something trying since when has it become not cool to try [ __ ] lose it you know when you were a kid and you were playing Youth Sports and someone was talking trash on the court or field and your parents told you to let your game do the talking sure it's advice for kids playing a League sport but it applies in all facets of life people who are usually the loudest in competition are the ones who are most overcompensating notice how each artist has handled this beef Kendrick hasn't spoken up on any platform outside of the songs he's released he dropped at random yet calculated times announced nothing beforehand and been entirely silent otherwise Drake on the other hand has been rampant every disc and song released has been acknowledged by Drake publicly in some way or another mostly via Instagram stories with a meme or trying to make it look like he's unfazed by the bars thrown at him it's a grossly shallow attempt to make himself appear Untouchable like he's laughing at everyone below him trying to take a crack at the top dog when in reality he's just highlighting how little he actually deserves the spot he's relishing I think fantano summed this phenomenon up pretty well when certified lover boy came out as Drake says I've been hot since the birth of my son I remain unfazed trust worse has been done when you are literally so obviously phased that you cannot get off of this topic the continued responses and mentions and engagements in this ongoing feud yeah that's that's you being phased bro and this is ultimately my problem with Drake as a phenomenon in 2024 he's turned away from being a creative innovator to a stagnates slowly infecting other artists and the fans to create our own facade a smiling face bearing down on us influencing a facade of narcissism and self-centeredness Drake's only priority at this point is to brag on his life being in Easy Mode and to rub it into our faces until we copy his shtick I don't want to live in a world where everyone lies and gaslights people and won't take responsibility and doesn't care for anything else besides their own hide and so once and for all this must [Music] end meet the grams is the end of the beef it's historic in that it's a moment that challenges the idea of whether going too far exists in Rat beef the idea of dedicating a track dissing Drake to his own family apologizing to them on behalf of the person they should be the biggest supporter of is honestly a demented mindf it gets this visceral reaction out of me communicating Drake's most significant Flaws by telling his son and mother how he's failing them is literally pure evil he really is embodying a villain role here but it feels necessary at this point notice that even after all of this horrible PR Drake's popularity still isn't suffering and we have to close by acknowledging the biggest difference in the situation between these two artists for Drake there's ultimately no stakes in this he's bigger than himself the symbol has eclipsed the thing at syb izes I don't think there's anything that could end his career and in a calculated genius creative way that's exactly what Kendrick is exposing why believe you you never gave us to believe in CU you lied about religious views you lied about your surgery you lied about your accent your tense all isy you lied about your GH Riders you li about your M how can you really believe in someone that's just trotting around his Palace making fun of people for being outside of it all this does is further remind us that the stakes are perfect sure Kendrick is entertaining us or giving us something to think about with Drake but at the end of the day this is about getting Drake to admit to himself what a false prophet he is and that right there is the difference Kendrick has little to gain a lot to lose Drake has nothing to lose and everything to gain Kendrick's motives are selfless Drakes are selfish I'm not going to sit here and say Kendrick is some kind of hero he's not he's on the mic wishing death on another man in a song about his family but what he's trying to accomplish is at least in his mind a noble cause and he's willing to get his hands dirty to do it he'll throw himself under the bus if it means unsticking rap culture so all that's left to do now is respond so here we are the beef's over the information on who was lying and who wasn't will come out over time but for now all we have to chew on is these songs and the way it's changed our view of these musicians forever I know this won't get through to all of you but I hope that I can at least give you something to think about when I say this I described this beef as a revolution because I really think Kendrick's motives are symbolic of a clean house mentality in hip-hop the goal wasn't to take down one artist it was to reorient the culture's hearts back towards authenticity I mean if nothing else isn't that what hip-hop is about it's fun to talk about it it's fun to think about who won it's interesting to dive deep into what's going on here but if there's anything we should take away from this it's that all the art we consume should Garner this level of attention the artist that we like the music playing in our headphones the lyrics We read they influence us whether we want to admit it or not they play a role in making who we are my question for myself and I guess even for you walking away from this is do you want to be influenced by someone who wants you to be vulnerable to think about life on a broader scale to broaden your perspective or do you you want to become like someone who seeks to only exalt himself I know that's looking really really deep into rat beef but really you should this isn't just a PR stun it's a breakdown of a relationship on the most public level and what we can learn from this is invaluable and man there's so much music like that so all we need to take away from this is just like what you like really care about what it's saying what it means how it's helping you become different find music you relate to and want to understand more deeply if it's not artistic it's not worth it it's like what Tyler said if you're treating the people who don't care like they are the highest level of what you're consuming you are part of the problem and I will always believe that I think even if it's in a really demented way that's what Kendrick is trying to say right now maybe I am completely hopelessly wrong but if I'm even close to the mark thanks for making that statement Dot

Channel: Jackson's Music Palate

Views: 196,197

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Id: YH9PJFPtAnI

Length: 20min 30sec (1230 seconds)

Published: Mon May 27 2024