Kendrick has won the battle against Drake, but the proxy war for the soul of hip-hop is not over yet

As someone with some connections in the music industry, I know these aren’t the only stories I’ve heard, just the ones that are common knowledge. Plus, there’s not enough space to write about how many rappers have delivered lyrics about harassing women. Eminem He dedicated several songs to stories of him beating and murdering his ex-wife, who she said were almost driven to suicide by the ridicule.

Of the rappers I’ve named here, I rarely listen to Biggie, Tupac, Nas, and Flavor Flav’s Public Enemy. When a man is accused of gender-based violence, I generally try to distance myself from his work. With Biggie and Pac, I justify it by saying they’re dead: my rare streams don’t empower them to continue allegedly harming women. As for Public Enemy, I don’t want to blame the whole group for Flav’s actions, although that means ignoring the likelihood that his bandmates witnessed his behavior firsthand. As for Nas, I honestly have no excuse, but this is usually what happens: I put his music on, think about what he’s accused of, and then tune out.

I have been listening to “Euphoria” and “Not Like Us” on repeat for weeks now. I keep asking myself: Why are the accusations against him enough to make me quit? I don’t have an answer. I’ve long understood that being a feminist hip-hop fan is a bit hypocritical, considering how much of the music is devoted to women-bashing. But by distancing myself from artists who have been accused of physical crimes against women, I still felt like I was living in accordance with my values. Why can’t I do that here?

In fairness, unlike the previously mentioned allegations, no known victim has publicly stated that Lamar harmed them.

For much of the public, and perhaps for me too, the allegations against Drake are easier to believe than those against Lamar. Drake has spent years partying with girls, including the Jenner sisters before they were 18. On “Nice for What,” which has been hailed as a pro-women anthem, he raps, “High school pictures / you were bad even back then.” As Lamar shouts in “Not Like Us,” Drake associates Baka not nice was arrested for sex trafficking; the charges were dropped when the alleged victim refused to testify, but he pleaded guilty and was convicted of assaulting the woman. Lamar, on the other hand, has a reputation as a family man. It’s hard to imagine him at a Diddy party. Plus, he just outdid Drake. He’s the clear winner of this war of words, so none of what Drake accused him of seems to have stuck with his fans.

Despite the accusations made against Lamar, I followed every moment of this fight with excitement and dropped everything when a new song came out. I haven’t been this excited since Barack Obama Over the last five years, Drake, who once seemed to be the heir to the throne, LL Cool J in terms of his passionate female fanbase has gone from “nice guy” misogyny to attacks on black women and appeals to incels. He has spent years portraying himself as a tough guy, even though the world knows he grew up in a wealthy white suburb in Canada and starred as a main character in the teen show Degrassi. Eventually he is held accountable for all of this in a series of highly entertaining songs.