It’s rare for a music story to get so big that people in Japan feel the need to weigh in. Yet the ongoing rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake (real name Aubrey Graham) has prompted artists here to comment — and, in its own way, mirrors tensions long felt in Japanese hip-hop.
For those not glued to social media or anxiously waiting for the next sonic uppercut, this feud between two of rap’s biggest names has been simmering for years, but it boiled over last month when Lamar took swipes at Drake on fellow rapper Future’s song “Like That.” From there, the two traded diss tracks, focused mostly on their respective critical and commercial success (including Drake claiming that he’s “big in Japan” and responsible for Lamar and other rap artists being booked outside of North America, a dubious claim given how Lamar has headlined multiple festivals in Japan while Drake has never performed here).
The beef escalated last weekend, however, as both rappers started taking more personal shots at one another. Among other claims, Drake alleged Lamar assaulted his fiancee, and Lamar accused Drake of being a pedophile. The intensifying war of words captivated followers worldwide — and then American producer Metro Boomin (the man behind the track that kicked this all off) shared an instrumental, inviting anyone to jump on it and diss Drake.