Believe it or not, the Kanye West and Drake beef saga may finally be coming to a close, as Ye invites his rival on stage to celebrate the two biggest albums of the year and the Free Larry Hoover movement.
There are several elements that you can expect from hip-hop artists. Flows, rhymes, metaphors, and the odd subliminal jab to maintain the competitiveness of the sport. Battle rap is deeply ingrained in the genre, so artist feuds are a given, yet there are instances in which the beef has transcended music and taken on a life of its own.
Some of the most memorable, and in cases, disastrous beefs of all time include Biggie and Tupac, Jay-Z and Nas, Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, and of course, Kanye West and Drake.
Tensions, subliminal messages, and full-on sends have been firing back-and-forth between the pair since 2009. Throughout the 2010s, the jabs they shared were mild, and to casual audiences, largely overlooked.
In 2016, it looked like fans would finally get the collaborative album they’d been teased with and longed for, yet the anticipation was short-lived. Their relationship took a turn for the worst in 2018 when Ye’s label mate, Pusha T‘s involvement in the feud escalated, culminating in an infamous spat that revealed that Drake had a son, and some nasty references to his producer, 40.
With the release of DONDA and Certified Lover Boy in the same month this year, naturally, tensions bubbled back to the surface. Debates concerning which album was better were everywhere before it eventually cooled off.
Never one to shy away from controversy, Ye’s recent appearance on REVOLT’s Drink Champs saw the artist discuss his rival several times. He expressed his respect and admiration for Drizzy while also making it clear that he sees no situation in which he would lose a musical battle to him.
Less than a week after the interview, Kanye posted a video to his Instagram, in which he appears alongside Jay Prince (a long-time mentor and associate of Drake), inviting Champagne Papi to join him on stage on December 7th.
The show in Los Angeles would see the artists come together to celebrate the two biggest albums of the year and squash their beef in support of the Free Larry Hooper movement.
Hooper, an ex-gang member was sentenced to six life sentences for murder in 1995, following a 17-year investigation. His incarceration and the movement to free him is a focal point of the tracks “Jesus Lord” and “Jesus Lord, Pt. 2” on DONDA. In 2018 West pleaded with Donald Trump to provide Larry Hooper with clemency.
Whether or not Drake will accept the invite is yet to be seen, but this looks like the biggest step forward for the pair’s relationship in years. Despite looking like a contrived hostage tape, the presence of Jay Prince in the video suggests steps have already been taken behind the scenes to bring about the duo’s anticipated reconciliation.
With the suggested date just a month away, we’ll have to wait and see if fans will finally get the joint concert they’ve been waiting almost six years for.
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