Treatmebetta

So, unless you were living under a rock you know that this Juneteenth Kendric Lamar held a sold out, celebrity studded show at the Forum in LA. It was essentially a televised continuation of his successful attack on Drake. 

It all started with a diss track, and it has escalated into one of the most epic battles for dominance that hip hop has ever seen — and Drake is the perennial loser. 

The globally successful rapper is now a laughing stock, and it’s his own fault.  He let his ego get the best of him. Actually, he let his ego destroy him.

Stevie Wonder could see that dissing Kendric Lamar was a bad idea, but somehow this Canadian rapper from the suburbs thought that he was tough enough to do what? Tangle with one of the most celebrated lyricists on the hip hop scene in recent years? A talent that other greats speak of with awe and reverence?

Come on now.

Allowing One’s Ego Free Reign Can Lead to Regret

But whatever his intentions were, we all got a front row seat to what actually happened. This once successful artist, who while some occasionally poked fun at him could still be considered groundbreaking in his own right — after all, wasn’t it Drake who made it common and even enjoyable for us when rappers started singing on their songs? — now he’s a living meme. And the spotlight he once strode confidently in, he’s almost completed retreated from.

It reminds me of that line in the movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Audrey Hepburn’s friend Fred has just picked her up after spending an unfortunate night in jail. He stopped by her place and retrieved a few things for her, including a plane ticket to go visit another country because “there are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl’s complexion.”

Drake’s complexion is a muddy gray right about now, and his status is even less appealing. There’s a phrase I’ve often seen — subtitles, you know — in Korean dramas where someone does something that the majority might frown upon. It may not be anything outlandish, but the judger looks at the doer and says “She/he should know her/his place.” 

Know your place.

Essentially, how dare this person? The phrase rarely signifies a good thing, but it seems entirely appropriate here because how outsized does your ego have to be to think that you, a rapper who makes pop songs — no matter how commercially successful they are — can reasonably expect to dominate one of the most celebrated — original not purchased — hip hop lyricists working today? And yes, I realize I’m repeating that description of Kendrick, with good reason. It’s the truth!

Drake. Sir. Come on now. Be for real. 

Look at him. He’s a laughing stock. 

I’ve worked in media my entire career. And I’m the first person to look at a celeb who’s fallen from grace in the spotlight and say, “nah! He can come back. He just needs to wait it out, do this, this and that, and people will forget and forgive. Americans love a comeback.” 

I predicted that Will Smith would come back from slapgate, and look at him. Bad boy for life. 

This time? I can’t see it. Like, not at all.

See, Will had decades of good will, kindness, stellar work, humor, not to mention a much repeated reputation as a nice guy to fall back on. It was easy to forgive him.

Drake? Kendrick makes a rap diss record about him being a pedophile, a culture vulture, a colonizer, for God’s sweet sake, then holds a concert, raps “Not Like Us” multiple times in a row, and people shout encore? Yah. I don’t see a path to redemption. 

Sometimes, When Your Reputation Is in Shambles, the only Thing You Can Do Is Start Over

If Drake was my client, I’d be trying to manage fallout and expectations. I’m thinking, consolidate, liquidate, and relocate. Identify a new career, ‘cuz rap for him? Big sigh.

Who could take anything he says seriously? This monumentally successful, multistage f you from Sir Kendrick will overshadow him forever. 

All because he didn’t know his place.

See in Korean dramas the phrase is all about audacity. Breaking away from the herd, daring to do something that others might frown upon in order to reap significant reward. It’s about taking a risk, risking the displeasure of a few in order to reap reward, support, validation etc. from the many. Ordinarily, I’m all for it.

But we should know our limits.

I’m a damn good writer. Y’all haven’t even seen what I’m capable of yet. But would I open my mouth to compare myself to someone like Toni Morrison or Maya Angelou or Alice Walker?

Hell no! Even writing that shit is sketchy, and all I’m trying to do is make a point.

I know my place — and more importantly I know theirs. Just because we do the same thing, does not mean we are the same. We are not equal.

Drake and Kendric are not equal, and Drake’s ego blinded him to that fact. Learn from his mistake, y’all. 

Know your enemy before you cast down that glove. Don’t let your ego write a check your ass can’t cash. 

‘Cuz Brother Kendric is so cold he managed to unite rival gang members on his stage in support and mutual dislike of another rapper. He’s a real gangster. 

Drake, sir, at least you’re not broke. That’s about all I can say at this point.