If you’re even remotely interested in hip-hop or rap music, you’ve probably heard about a few of the beefs going on right now, specifically the ones between Drake and Pusha T, Chief Keef and 6ix9ine, and Lil Uzi Vert and Rich the Kid.
If you’re like most people, you might have a general idea of why the musicians are at each others’ throats, but you might not have a good understanding of the background drama that led to their well-publicized spats. So, here’s a breakdown of the three biggest beefs in hip hop today.
1. Drake vs. Pusha T
The beef between these two rappers, in some senses, started 15 years ago. Most of the animosity has arisen in diss tracks the two have sallied between each other, but the brawl really began when, in his recently released album, “Daytona,” Pusha called out Drake for using the ghostwriter Quentin Miller. Pusha raps, “It was written like Nas, but it came from Quentin,” in his song, “Infared.”
Drake responded almost immediately with his “Duppy Freestyle” diss track. He raps, “And as for Q, man, I changed his life a couple times.” He continues, saying that it wasn’t Quentin that made him famous, but that “[his] hooks did it, [his] lyrics did it, [his] spirit did it.”
Drake also says in the song that Pusha actually owes him money. He raps, “Tell ’Ye we got a invoice coming to you / Considering that we just sold another 20 for you.”
Pusha responded to this lyric in a tweet, saying, “Send the invoice for the extra 20.”
Send the invoice for the extra 20… https://t.co/41rd4OJeMF
— King Push (@PUSHA_T) May 25, 2018
Drake replied by actually posting a picture of an invoice to his Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjOL4WcHt-E/?utm_source=ig_embed)
The two rappers’ beef climaxed when Pusha released his song, “The Story of Adidon,” with artwork that showed an un-Photoshopped picture of Drake in blackface. According to HighsNobiety, in the song Pusha was “dissing his parents, referring to his trusted producer Noah ’40’ Shebib’s Multiple Sclerosis, his rumored deal with Adidas, and, most notably, claiming that he fathered a secret son with former adult film star Sophie Brussaux.”
The most that Drake has done in response to the blistering track has been to send out an explanation and apology for the blackface on his Instagram. Rumor has it that J. Prince, the CEO of Rap-A-Lot Records, is responsible for keeping Drake silent after the public excoriation.
Prince made a public statement, saying, “I made an OG call to Drake this morning, telling him, ‘I don’t want you to respond to this. We’re going to put this to bed.’” He continued, “We’re going to put this to bed because we can’t get into the pigpen with pigs. Because pigs turn into hogs and hogs get slaughtered.”
2. Tekashi 6ix9ine vs. Chief Keef
Tekashi 6ix9ine has disagreements with a number of rappers, Chief Keef being the most prominent and most recent. Most of their squabbling has occurred on social media, and the beef ostensibly stems from Tekashi getting romantically involved with the female rapper Cuban Doll. Before Tekashi, she had been dating a rapper named Tadoe, a cousin of Chief Keef’s.
Cuban experienced domestic abuse after Tadoe discovered her involvement with Tekashi. She consequentially posted a video on Instagram Live, showcasing her bruises and calling out Tadoe as the person responsible for them. Tekashi also posted a video where it is clear that he is arguing with Tadoe, who can even be heard to say, “Lose this number. I kill people.”
On May 31, in a since-deleted Instagram video, Tekashi claimed that Chief Keef had 48 hours to kill him. He asks tauntingly, “When am I going to die?” The caption also included the words, “Read what happens when … beef with us.”
On June 2, shots were fired near Chief Keef, who was at the W Hotel in Times Square in New York City. The aforementioned Tadoe also stood nearby. It is not clear who the shots were intended for because they missed by a large margin. The perpetrators were not caught, but many believe Tekashi to be involved somehow even though he was located in Los Angeles at the time.
Chief Keef has posted a picture of his own on Instagram, with the caption “#GetTheSecurityNotTheStrap,” a barb most likely aimed at Tekashi.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj71bLnlYAk/?taken-by=chieffkeeffsossa
6ix9ine’s most recent video was posted on June 6. In the video, his location was marked at Chicago Englewood Plz.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj8uy0hA0q4/?hl=en&taken-by=6ix9ine_
The video shows 6ix walking around and questioning where everyone is. The caption includes the words, “Ain’t nobody out here. I came to yo block.”
It is obvious that this threat is aimed at Chief Keef, who is originally from Chicago. He posted another picture after the video with the caption, “Hi CHICAGO. I’m here on O Block but it has a gate. how do I get in? There’s a police in the booth …. Chicago not the same smh.”
He has also posted a video on his Instagram story, where he is seen taunting and repeating what Chief Keef has said. Tekashi says, “First it was, don’t come to Chicago… now it’s ‘yo, you’re with security,’ don’t have no security..” He then included a subsequent video with his location prominently shown.
3. Rich the Kid vs. Lil Uzi Vert
Rich the Kid and Uzi’s disagreement may be the shortest-lived one. It all began when Uzi mentioned his disappointment with signing to Drama and DJ Don Cannon’s Generation Now. He tweeted, “And if y’all do sign … sign 2 a major Dont sign 2 a rapper or a Dj ……..”
Rich the Kid responded to the tweet, saying, “That’s why you SHOULDA signed [with] Rich forever.”
In a matter of minutes, Uzi responded by saying, “Boy I’m not signing for 20racks.”
Boy I’m not signing for 20racks 🦇 https://t.co/FNf4JfmpM2
— Uzi London 🌎☄️💕® (@LILUZIVERT) January 12, 2018
Rich the Kid mentions Uzi again in his Instagram story, where he says, “Hey man, if your boss and CEO ain’t treating you right, come over to Rich Forever Music, ya dig!”
Uzi responded in a peculiar way by posting a picture of himself with a crab on Instagram, tagging Rich the Kid as said crab.
Rich the Kid addressed this directly by posting a screenshot of this picture to his Instagram story, and claiming that Uzi was attempting to look like him. Rich the Kid also posted a video to his Instagram Live story where he is seen and heard previewing a diss track that is aimed directly at Uzi.
More of the social media beef continued until, finally, on June 2, the two met face to face. Both performed at The Roots Picnic in Philadelphia when Uzi arrived to meet Rich the Kid. Multiple videos were recorded, and, in the first one, it seemed things would not become physical as Rich the Kid stood still and silent after Uzi arrived and began threatening and taunting him.
However, other videos show Rich the Kid running down the street, away from Uzi. However, another shows him avoiding being punched in a Starbucks, and retreating again, this time over the counter.
