So, y’all have seen this Drake vs. Common beef everywhere. If I recall, it was even trending at one point on twitter. Now, let’s make it clear we do not have a problem with “beef” here at HFHH, it is an integral part of hip-hop. Some beef seems to serve no purpose, and this is one of those.
I’m not going to delve too deep into what caused all of this, but it went something like this: Drake was feeling himself, perhaps a little bit too much, and Common felt the need to check him. Let’s take a look at it as it currently stands. Does anyone actually “win” in this situation? Common’s main criticism of Drake, is that he is soft. The problem here is that Drake is soft, and no one thinks any differently, other than himself. Even though he raps lines about “catching bodies” and other thuggish acts, I’ve never met anyone who takes them at face value. That being said, if anyone in the world would argue that Drake isn’t soft, it’s Drake…and he took the bait. So here we are in a beef, with one rapper proclaiming something that is known universally, and another rapper with no means to refute it. Where is Drake going to draw his credibility from? Short of “catching a body like that”, I don’t think Drake can do anything to disprove his softness. Luckily for Drizzy, his target audience (read: bitches) does not care about beef, or Common.
On the other hand, we have Common. Hip-hop purists wouldn’t dare place Drake in the same league as Common. These same people, represent the majority (read: only people) concerned with beef. These people are riding with Common, regardless of what takes place or what is said, on wax or otherwise. What is the best possible outcome for either of them? Common proves to everyone, what everyone already knew? Drake drops the diss of the decade, and 14 year old girls across the globe are posting it as their Facebook status? Even if Drake “wins”, he loses. If Common wins, what does he really win? There is no best outcome, all roads lead to comedy.
A sidenote, Pusha T has potentially been implicated. Nothing has come of it as of yet, other than a few subliminals. Drake claims not to have noticed the shots sent his way, but has stated “You know, I’m up for whatever, man.” Word of advice for Aubrey, depending on how this feud with Common plays out: If you cannot handle Common, don’t even think about looking in Pusha’s direction. That brings me to my next idea…
…I wonder if Biggie ever thought there would come a day, when the biggest beef in the rap game was between a former teen actor, Canadian Jew turned rapper…and a man fresh off the set of Happy Feet 2. Pretty soon we’re going to have Kanye and Wayne battle rapping at a skatepark wearing women’s clothing, being forced to suspend our disbelief as Kanye stands there in his kilt and Wayne talks about shooting someone while wearing furry boots, just to get any enjoyment out of the situation. We cannot allow hip-hop to go down this path. That is not to say any of the artists mentioned above don’t make great music. We just think that’s what they should focus on, and leave the beef to the rappers that are built for it.