For years, rap fans have argued that Drake’s greatest enemy and rival was not Kanye West or Pusha T, but Kendrick Lamar. Although neither rapper has posted overtly disrespectful material mentioning the other by name, fans are convinced that Drake and Kendrick have been subtly shading each other for nearly a decade despite Drake giving Kendrick a ahead of his 2011 album. Take care of yourself and even go to his concerts.
Baby Keem and Kendrick’s new song “The Hillbillies” has added fuel to the fire, with fans noting that Kendrick uses a flow similar to Drake and wondering if this is yet another subtle jab at the Canadian star. As one fan noted, “Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem used Drake’s sticky flux and that’s how it went.” Another noted the similarity between Drake Honestly it doesn’t matter track “Sticky” and Kendrick and Keem’s use of Jersey club drums and similar cadences, writing, “Now give Drake credit for predicting dance music was the new wave because Hillbillies is just Kendrick’s version of Sticky.”
However, some fans interpreted the use of the so-called “Sticky flow” as a sly dig by Drake, with one comparing their lyrics and saying “kendrick is not robbing drake, he CLOWNING”. Others use the wording of Keem’s own tweet promoting the track as evidence that it’s meant to be a parody or parody of Drake’s, noting that Keem himself called it “Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – The Hillbillies (Sticky Dub)”.
There is, of course, the third option: let it be a tribute, done out of respect for Drake’s efforts to push the boundaries of hip-hop. After all, the use of “dub” is a nod to the Jamaican dancehall practice of “dubbing” popular hits with remixes and covers. In fact, the soundclash battles that hip-hop was founded on stem from DJs competing to find or mix the rarest dubs in order to attract bigger crowds and responses with their respective sound systems.
Now, whether it’s a diss, a dub, or a follow-up case of the leader, it always pushes the genre and culture forward – and shows how Drake and Kendrick aren’t just staples of the rap, but pioneers in guiding him towards his future.