[JACQUES] Drake does few interviews but recently he addressed his summer feuds with Kanye West
and Pusha T on LeBron James’ talk show, 'The Shop.'
BRON: Well, well, well, would you look who pulled up.
[JACQUES] Drizzy aired out his numerous issues with Kanye, most notably that he promised
Drake the “Lift Yourself” beat before releasing it himself as a troll.
DRAKE: I wake up now to this text from him, passive, like sends me something like, yo I love you brother
"Lift Yourself" comes out with him just talking nonsense.
[JACQUES] This recent flare up is the latest in a ‘cold war’ of sorts that goes back
to Drake’s first album.
[JACQUES] 2010’s “Find Your Love,” produced by Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker & No I.D,
was a smash hit peaking at No.5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
West was instrumental in Drake’s early career, directing the music video for his first single,
“Best I Ever Had.”
Years later, in a 2013 interview, West noted how “Find Your Love” affected their relationship.
KANYE: It's like I was fine with writing “Find Your Love” with Drake on his first thing
until he got too big and that was the moment I had to adjust and deal with this new energy
that’s taking over the room, right?
[JACQUES] Drake grew up idolizing Kanye and relished working with the star.
Check out his verse on Ye’s remix of “All Of The Lights.”
[JACQUES] Rap is a competitive sport where the young often eat the old and Drake knew this,
and so does Ye.
[JACQUES] In 2011, Drake told The Source that he eventually wanted to surpass Kanye, but
by that time, Kanye was already trying to out maneuver Drake - especially when it came
to joint albums.
TIM: The thing which it all seems to be aiming towards, the joint album, the ultimate collab?
DRAKE: Yea, yea you talking about the real deal?
You talking about the me and Wayne?
TIM: Exactly, that's the only thing on our minds.
[JACQUES] Although Drake and Wayne’s album never surfaced, Kanye teamed up with JAY-Z
for “Watch The Throne.”
On Khaled’s 2011 cut “I’m On One,” Drake ended his verse with this.
[JACQUES] On Twitter, the 6ix God batted away rumors of beef but Kanye later admitted the
effect Drake had on ‘Watch The Throne’’s creation.
KANYE: Me and Hov would've never made Watch
The Throne if this nigga wasn’t putting
pressure on us like that.
[JACQUES] As Drake’s popularity grew, it seems his idol really did become his rival.
In 2013, after Ye’s polarizing sixth album ‘Yeezus’ was released, Drake dropped his
remix of Migos’ “Versace,” with these lines.
[JACQUES] Drake was later quoted in a 2014 Rolling Stone profile questioning Ye’s approach
on the album, but Ye tried to smooth it over.
KANYE: Ay sidebar, you keep on talking about Drake and shit, and I’ma tell you what it
is in the magazines, they always trying to pit niggas against each other and that ain’t
going down no more.
[JACQUES] Then in a 2015 interview West teased the idea of a joint album with Drake.
KANYE: The Wolves song came from a conversation that me and Drake had
where we was gonna do an album together, and the album was called Wolves.
[JACQUES] They do push each other creatively, something Kanye was well aware of.
KANYE: I look at Drake as an amazing sparring partner.
Someone that’s like come on man, get back up, bow, get back up!
[JACQUES] But at times, the one-upmanship got downright petty.
Is Drake’s pool really bigger than yours, Kanye?
KANYE: I have three pools.
[JACQUES] In 2016, Drake released “Pop Style,” initially featuring The Throne.
[JACQUES] But the version on “Views,” which dropped during Meek Mill and Drake’s
beef, did not have The Throne.
KANYE: Jay thought about it and out of respect for Meek Mill said he didn’t want to be on the track.
I wasn’t on this song cause of Hov.
Cause of some Tidal, Apple bullshit.
[JACQUES] At August 2016’s OVO Fest, Yeezy once again teased a joint album,
and some billboards made their partnership seem real but the competition never ceased.
KANYE: Khaled, and Drake, and radio and Doc and 92.3 and everybody - Is it just me or
did you hear that song so many times, you said "You wanna pay for free?”
DRAKE: I went from being…like working on a project with him, to him sorta publicly
shitting on me and DJ Khaled for being on the radio too much.
[JACQUES] By March 2018, things seemed to have calmed down.
Drake went to Wyoming to help Kanye with new music but that's where their most recent battle began.
DRAKE: Then 40 went to Wyoming early, and he was like man, I’m here a day early man
something is off.
[JACQUES] In April, Drake announced a June release date for his fifth album 'Scorpion.'
Days later, Kanye announced his 8th solo album 'Ye,' as well as four others from his
G.O.O.D music camp, including Pusha T’s “Daytona.”
According to Drake, Kanye knew his release schedule and the struggles he had with his
son’s mother.
DRAKE: You’ve gotta be transparent with me and you gotta play me your music and you
gotta tell me when you’re dropping, and I know you don’t like to do things like that.
[JACQUES] In May, Pusha T, who has his own side spat with Drake and Cash Money,
dissed Drake on the Kanye-produced, “Infrared,” and Drake responded with “Duppy Freestyle,”
but his bars were primarily aimed at Ye.
[JACQUES] Pusha T dropped a bombshell with “The Story of Adidon,” with these revealing bars.
[JACQUES] Drake says he recorded a response but chose not to release it.
DRAKE: I just listened back to it and I was like man, this is not, this is not,
something I ever want to be remembered for.
[JACQUES] Instead he put his anger into 'Scorpion,' crafting tracks like “Mob Ties,” “Nonstop,”
“In My Feelings” and “8 out of 10,” the last of which Drizzy appears to target at West.
[JACQUES] Later, reports surfaced that Kanye told Push about Drake’s son.
So you didn’t give Pusha T the information?
KANYE: No I didn’t.
Don’t pull me in to this conversation.
DRAKE: I send him a picture of my son, I tell him I’m having trouble with my son's mother,
we had a conversation. I shared my -
[JACQUES] But, in a new interview, Push says Drake’s paternity intel came from Drizzy’s
producer 40’s disgruntled musings to a woman he was dating.
PUSH: With that also came the fact that Drake has a child, with that also came the trip
that everybody took to go see the child to bring him gifts and all of this information.
[JACQUES] Drake felt Push crossed a line by mentioning 40’s illness, on “The Story Of Adidon."
DRAKE: “Hey man, there’s no rules” but there are fucking rules in this shit.
Wishing death on my friend that has MS.
[JACQUES] Push said he never wished death on 40 and pointed to Drake’s shots at Kid Cudi
for his mental health.
[JACQUES] While this may clear Kanye regarding Drake’s child, there still may be some feelings
in the air.
In late August, a viral-but-unconfirmed Twitter thread says that Drake’s “In My Feelings"
alludes to a possible affair with Kim Kardashian West.
[JACQUES] Genius confirmed back in July that Drake was mentioning K’yanna Barber and
not Kim.
[JACQUES]In early September, this bar from French Montana’s “No Stylist” leaked
stoking the fire.
[JACQUES] Montana asserted that the verse was recorded months prior.
A day later, West apologized to Drake for “Lift Yourself,” the release dates and more.
But weeks later he addressed Drake’s silence on the “In My Feelings” rumor.
KANYE: You know if I had a girlfriend from Chicago and her name was Renita and you was
married to Rihanna, I wouldn’t make no song called RiRi.
[JACQUES] Push says both Kanye and Drake are to blame.
PUSH: Now the bromance that they have going back and forth.
They cool and then he shoot him in a verse,or some shit?
JOE: That’s weird, Push.
PUSH: Bruh, that’s them!
[JACQUES] Ultimately, Drake is OK with how it all turned out.
DRAKE: Back against the wall I either go all the way filthy or I fall back and I have this
sort’ve chink in my armor for the rest of time to a rap purist which is fine I could
live with that.
[JACQUES] I’m Jacques Morel with Genius news, bringing you the meaning and the knowledge
behind the music.
Peace!