In this heavyweight battle, we have Aubrey Drake Graham versus Nayvadius DeMun Cash. These two artists are notorious for their creative and impactful flows that have changed the rap game for the better. As of March 22, 2024, the hatred between the pair went public as Future dropped the album, “WE DON’T TRUST” in some response to “sneak dissin” done by Drake in his most recent album. This partially came at a shock to the rap community as the two artists have released numerous hit songs together, including Life is Good (2020), and WAIT FOR YOU (2022). It has been even more of a shock that we are yet to hear a musical retort from Champanepapi (Drake’s Instagram Handle), given his rather swift responses to public insults in the past such as the Pusha T situation. For those unfamiliar with the incident, American rapper Pusha T exposed the fact that Drake had a son that he desired to “be keepin [his kid] from the gaze of the public,” (Heavens EP, J.Cole, 1:24). This lack of response from Lord Drake has anticipated fans in jubilee, as they take this as a sign that he is carefully crafting the perfect  rejoinder. Artists taking longer to release music than fans desired and expected has worked for many rap pieces in the past, as evident by almost every Ye (formerly Kanye West) album and Utopia by Travis Scott. However, despite this lack of musical retort, Drake has dropped several posts on Instagram, sharing his feelings regarding the situation in encrypted captions.

Let me go through some of his most recent Instagram posts:

1. Here, Drake is referencing an old photo taken where he was sitting in the same chair with the rest of the Kentucky Men’s Basketball team, but now he is sitting alone by himself. This is a metaphor for the current situation going on, where all his friends have left him out dry. This is a top tier post, as seen by the approval from The Mr. Wyatt Mahoney. This is one of his most iconic posts of all time.
   

Here, Drake issued an official response to the hate received from the outside. He’s not responding. What a king move. He’s too busy enjoying his life, while on vacation to spend a minute thinking about some stupid haters. King Move right here ladies and gentlemen, King Move. His civility within this situation has only cemented his legacy and his place on Mount Rushmore as the Greatest of All TIme.

Here, Drake is speaking on a frequency others minds will not be able to comprehend. This philosophic statement refers to the fact that his enemies are not at peace with themselves, therefore, they feel the need to lash out at him. This is very mature, and shows that he has healthy mental health practices. I would assume that he has a therapist, the sign of a real man. Vulnerability is power and takes strength.

Here, Drake makes a very nuanced statment on the situation unfolding before us. First he starts out by saying that he will not release music in response in order to sell more music. Not only is he taking the high road, but he is also saying that he is so good at producing music that he does not need hatred to sell music. He is arguably the most well known rapper producing music right now, as evident by 146 million Instagram followers. No other artist that specifically focuses on music other than maybe Taylor Swift has as many followers. He then proceeded to say that while he has never done anyone wrong, he will wreak havoc if he has to. You all need to stop tempting him or you’ll regret it.

Despite no response from Drake to the original album released by Future and Metro Boomin, “We Don’t Trust You”. Recently on April 11th, 2024, Metro Boomin and Future dropped the sequel “WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU”. This shows the immaturity and truly the facetious nature of this beef, as I believe it to be a ploy to sell his music at a higher rate than if this narrative around the music had not existed, due to the large following that Drake has. In addition, even though I am siding with Drake in this one sided beef, I would be doing the rap community a disservice if I did not speak on how good “WE DON’T TRUST YOU” truly is. While the latter half of the album is not great, the first 10 songs are some of the greatest music we have been given from either Future or Metro Boomin. However, the “WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU” has been a rough listen. While I have attempted to listen and given an honest review, I am unable to get past the first three songs.

Now that all of that nonsense is out of the way, I think that this supposed “beef” is both stupid and fake. As two grown men, if you have problems, talk about it like civilized adults, not through public arguments through social media and other mediums such as music albums. I like these two artists very much and I would like to continue to hear music released together for a long time to come. I truly believe that music they produce together could do better numbers than any collected from this supposed feud. People these days do everything for clicks and views. Can we please return to being genuine and purposeful with our actions? I respect what Drake has done when responding to the insults being hurled at him. He is vague as to whom he is regarding and he does not say anything that would reflect poorly on himself. Drake is a class act and will continue to be one of the most influential and successful artists to have ever lived. October Very Own. Shout out to the 6. I’m out.