The fanfare and hysteria surrounding the beyond-viral feud between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake have finally wound down since the former’s smash hit “Not Like Us” became the cultural phenomenon that ended any lingering doubts about who “won” this rap beef, but one veteran emcee who is somewhat of a cultural phenomenon all by himself, André 3000, is weighing in on the spectacle and what it meant for Hip-Hop.
“I got a little sad, at a certain point,” the Outkast member said in a recent interview with Crack Magazine. “In early rap battles, you had kids in the park rapping against each other. But it’s not just people rapping now. You got people with 100 employees. You have livelihoods, empires, companies, deals — all of it can be jeopardized. If you don’t have anything to lose, sure, go for it. But if I already made it, I’m not sure it’s even worth it anymore.”
Yeah—the beef between Drizzy and K-Dot certainly didn’t have the feel of pure Hip Hop competition that the culture felt during the rivalry between Boodie Down Productions and Juice Crew. This beef was more reminiscent of the post-NWA split-up, when Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E really seemed to be out to destroy each other. Drake vs. Kendrick got really ugly, and it’s undoubtedly the reason it had the whole internet in a chokehold for multiple months.
Still, the Dungeon Family alumnus acknowledged that Hip Hop has always been a competitive sport and that rap beefs are part of the game. He also didn’t seem to mind his name being dropped in Lamar’s verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That,” the very verse that catalyzed the feud.
“If he walk around with that stick, it ain’t André 3K,” Lamar rapped in the song.
“As a 49-year-old rapper, you’re just happy to get a shoutout,” André told Crack Magazine. “But as a rapper, I’ve noticed myself walking around with this stick. So It was a line for me, too, and I was trying to find a way to use it. But Kendrick used it, so I had to say ‘Yeah, he got it.’”
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