Does Drake have Any Friends In Hip-Hop ?

The rapper’s appearance on LeBron James’ “The Shop” raises questions about loyalty and the rap game

Since Meek Mill’s tweet about Drake’s ghostwriting, shots have been constantly fired at the superstar. Since the birth of hip-hop, artists have not held back their feelings and thoughts toward other rappers, especially Drake . The self-proclaimed “6 God” however, does not usually entertain much beef unless it is throwing subtle shots. Following the comment made by Meek, Drake showed the world that his pen was not to be tested with his diss song “ Back to Back.” The buzz from the song put Drake on a pedestal for bringing back hip hop beef. Now, lets fast forward to Summer 2018 and we see Drake in a more vulnerable state, facing a more determined opponent, Pusha T.

Drake is not one to shy away from rapping about lost relationships (male and female). On the most recent episode of The Shop, a series produced by LeBron James, Drake told his side of the Summer’s most talked about beef which led me to pose the question; Are there any real friends in Hip-Hop?

I would not think to pose this question if I would not have heard Drake’s truth relating to this Summer. Before we get to that, let’s look at a quick history of Mr. “Real Friends”, Kanye West. People know Kanye to be a rant-happy, deep-thinking, narcissistic Kanye. However, what people seem to be missing is the history of Kanye ruining relationships with the people closest to him for his own personal gain.

A few years ago Kanye went on a rant on stage talking down on his life-long friend and mentor, Jay-Z. He was quoted saying , “Don’t send your goons at me, come talk to me like a man,” and other things publicly that might lead one to think their friendship isn’t as good as it seems. Kanye was also threw shots toward former good friend and now creative director at Louis Vuitton, Virgil Abloh.

However, this is not the topic of discussion, just a background to make things clearer; top artists don’t have friends. Drake detailed the beef stating, “ I knew something was gonna come up about my kid. They had to add the deadbeat dad thing to make it more appealing, which is fine. The mom and dad thing… Whatever. You don’t even know my family. But wishing death upon my friend [producer Noah “40” Shebib] who has MS… I study rap battles for a living. When you mention defenseless people who are sick in the hospital, who have passed away, I just believe that there’s a price you have to pay for that. It’s over! Someone’s gonna fucking punch you in the fucking face. The shit’s done, the event’s over. I wanted to do other things. I didn’t want to further your career by rapping back to you and having this exchange.”

This is the first time I have heard Drake speak out about what happened. You can see the anger and frustration towards the topic.

Now, the part that left me questioning “friends” in Hip-Hop, is when Drake detailed how intimate and open Kanye wanted Drake to get with him, prior to him leaking the info about his kid. Drake says, “I’m in Wyoming. I play him ‘March 14.’ I send him a picture of my son. I tell him I’m having trouble with my son’s mother,” Drake said, information that came up on Pusha-T’s “The Story of Adidon.” That diss track preceded Drake’s “March 14,” where the rapper planned on revealing that he had a son. Did Kanye leak any of this information to add fire to the flame? Drake being Drake, used the hype and focused it toward his newly released album ‘Scorpion’. The album fell into order as Drake’s previous golden album before. Does rap beef transpire over album sales?

There has been a significant amount of evidence in the past that support this. For example, Nicki Manaj recently came out with an album but it was plagued by her beef with Cardi B. Though she gave recognition to the album every time she was asked about the beef with her and Cardi , the album suffered. This reoccurring factor happened with Drake in both altercations. My biggest question I ask you is “ Are these beefs designed for sales?”