What Are We to Do With Kendrick vs. Drake?

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( beeves [What Are We to Do With All This Nastiness?]( Kendrick versus Drake was a race to design the most insulting sentence — until the rappers and their admirers redefined what “too far” means. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Prince Williams/Wireimage, Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images The long-standing cold war between [Drake and Kendrick Lamar]( came to a head over the weekend in a gauntlet of diss tracks and rapid responses that challenged both rap heavyweights’ character in music and outside of it. The [tone of the feud]( to this point had consisted mostly of jokes about shoe sizes and tier rankings of popular rappers. But Drake’s “Family Matters” and “The Heart Part 6” — and Lamar’s “Meet the Grahams” and “Not Like Us” — were each calculated acts of reputational damage and self-repair whose speed, density, and discursiveness bore a closer resemblance to a quick and rugged social-media dustup than rap beeves of the past, disagreements which cooked on a much lower simmer. It took three months for Nas to one-up Jay-Z’s “Takeover,” releasing “Ether” on his frenemy’s 2001 birthday. It took three days to paint Drake into the corner of releasing “The Heart Part 6” — a miserable tune which cuts into Kendrick’s [series]( like Young Thug dropping Barter 6 before [Lil Wayne’s]( Tha Carter V — to deny an attraction to teens while cracking wise about molestation, calamitously misreading Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers’s “Mother I Sober,” a song about Kendrick’s mother facing trauma. It almost felt like the five weeks of provocations since “Like That” were guiding Drake to this flameout, like the OVO Sound chief got cornered by the same methods he uses for his detractors: circling and striking faster than they could anticipate, forcing his disoriented opponents into [embarrassing moves]( that are smugly brushed off. [read more]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now]( to save over 40% on unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • Below Deck: [Fraser’s Husband]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [Claire Messud Writes Novels for a Different Century This Strange Eventful History is the kind of generation-spanning family story that doesn’t really get published anymore. Does it still work?]( By Emma Alpern [TikTok Sues the U.S. Government First Amendment, get to work.]( By Jason P. Frank [How Should Documentaries Use AI? One group is trying to answer that question.]( By Nicholas Quah [The Random Mad Men Cameos Are the Best Part of Unfrosted Guess who shows up in Jerry Seinfeld’s Pop-Tart movie to pitch an ad campaign?]( By Jen Chaney [Security Guard Shot Outside Drake’s Toronto Home Police said he’s still “in serious condition.”]( By Justin Curto [Why You Can’t Stop Saying ‘That’s That Me, Espresso’ A linguist explains the power of Sabrina Carpenter’s caffeinated hit.]( By Justin Curto [I Got My Ticket to Stereophonic’s ‘Masquerade’ The Broadway cast, fresh from their record-breaking Tony nominations, performed their standout stomper on The Tonight Show.]( By Devon Ivie [PC Music Is Over. A.G. Cook Is Just Beginning. What do you do after shutting down your influential record label?]( By Justin Curto [Macklemore, the Lone Rapper With Some Sense Right Now Releasing a Palestine-solidarity track while Drake and Kendrick trade unserious bars over who’s the worst.]( By Zoe Guy [What If The Fall Guy’s Diva Action Star Is Based on a Real Person? Let’s talk about Tom Ryder, the smug, showboating actor who lies about doing his own stunts.]( By Roxana Hadadi [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Vulture Games [Today’s Crossword]( 6-Down, Five Letters: Pedro Pascal, to most of the internet Photo: Vulture; Photos: Getty Images [Today’s Cinematrix]( Can you name a Paul Dano movie nominated for a Best Picture Oscar? Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Dominique Charriau/WireImage, Steve Granitz/WireImage, Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images A newsletter about the perpetual Hollywood awards race, for subscribers only. [Sign up]( to get it every week. [Get the Newsletter]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1701 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2024, All rights reserved