POP SONG REVIEW: "Not Like Us" by Kendrick Lamar

[@justkiddingtypebeat]

I talked with my sister about the “I think you don’t like women” line and her take was that he wasn’t being homophobic, he was saying that he doesn’t like women as people, feeding into what you were saying about his weird relationships with them.

[@almostclintnewton8478]

And that's such a based interpretation too. I'd wager he doesn't really like anybody the way he's set up his social life with everyone turning on him at one point or another.

[@NotRealMusicRyan]

Exactly, there was only Metro that was being homophobic throughout this towards Drake which happened on Twitter. That was shitty and obviously Drake randomly threw out homophobic lines during this too which ultimately backfired and showed us why he’s so unlikeable. I don’t know where Todd got Kendrick being homophobic from tbh

[@chesspiece4257]

yeah, lots of straight men don’t like women unfortunately

[@BlackSheepNara]

​@@chesspiece4257 I mean, straight women equally hate men. Unfortunately, hetero culture is all about turning us against each other and forcing ourselves to coexist in a love, but mostly hate, relationship. We act like men and women are separate species, but we both have so much in common.

[@northrnstar]

well, it is true drake doesn't like Women. that's why he only goes after Girls.

[@la_arana_discoteca]

I don't think Kendrick's angle is "Drake sucks as an artist" so much as it's "Drake picks, steals, and cannibalizes the work of other artists to further his own career." He sucks as an artist the same way an art thief sucks at painting.

[@iamathousandapples]

He's a sweatshop guy if you follow the stories from guys that worked under him.

[@la_arana_discoteca]

@@iamathousandapples yeah, there are a lot of stories of him scouting up and coming artists, signing them to his label, taking their best songs and essentially blacklisting them as artists in their own right. They become his writers and maybe he throws them a nothing song that he knows won't go anywhere every once in a while. But they can never have hits. Basically, there's a very good reason why Kendrick says everyone on OVO hates Drake and would turn on him if given the chance.

[@gabealexander8878]

I think a more apt comparison would be a plagiarist sucking at painting. Fitting bc of Drake using AI versions of Pac and Snoop.

[@MXM194]

yeah some of todd's analysis is like def and obviously that of a white guy jfc. "why would he do that on juneteenth." Go ask some black people for fucks sake.

[@PlaySA]

Art thieves steal great works of art, they are rad. Better to say, 'he sucks as an artist the same way that AI sucks at painting'. Just consumes other people's talent and spits it out in a sad and bland form.

[@ECKohns]

Drake saying “I’m too famous to be a pedophile” is the worst comeback you could possibly make. As there are tons of famous entertainers who’ve been exposed as pedophiles and sexual predators. Usually because being rich, famous and powerful is what allows them to get away with it.

[@morganqorishchi8181]

It's also just a weird comeback because there's no disgust in it. It doesn't sound like he's angry. If you're being accused of something that heinous, you should probably be at least a little grossed out.

[@Tzilandi]

@@morganqorishchi8181 Yeah, with an accusation like THAT, you'd expect an explosive "WHAT THE **** DID YOU CALL ME?!" response. Drake: "Did you just call me a pedophile? How rude."

[@TheGunboat]

In the same song Drake mentions Epstein 💀

[@revuproar5636]

Jimmy Saville was arguably the most famous person in the UK for 2 decades and... you know..

[@ashen_roses]

​@@TheGunboatwhich is funny because the actual person Kendrick compared him to on MTG was Harvey Weinstein.

[@ShadowedAgony]

There is a good amount I disagree with here but the line: "Kendrick didn't win by calling Drake a fake, Drake lost the fight by being fake" is a perfect summary of the battle.

[@_VISION.]

This whole video is straight garbage lol

[@morganqorishchi8181]

I wish more people responded to KZbin videos not by pointing out what they disagree with but by highlighting the positives in a video. Imagine how much better the platform would be if that were the norm.

[@taneziamcadams7500]

@@morganqorishchi8181what a weird addition lol. Do you not know how to disagree with someone’s point and express that without getting into a heated debate? I love disagreements because it helps to understand how people think. How someone defends their points tells a lot a lot what they value and how they think and how they come to conclusions. The problem is that few people take disagreements as a chance to learn how others can think and view the world and instead use disagreements to justify being hostile towards each other. I love debating and arguing, but my intention is to come to (ideally of course lol) a mutual understanding of at least where the other side is coming from. If more people approached disagreements like that, then we’d really be better off!

[@WobblesandBean]

What exactly did you disagree with?

[@_VISION.]

@WobblesandBean most of this video lol dude don't understand hip hop at all. The biggest one is that this buffoon tried to say Kdot is trying to be so pop that he's considered a hypocrite. Dudes a goofy. He also said he's trying to be homophobic by saying drake don't like women when that's not the case. This dudes most loyal fans (patrons) even understand this dudes ability to critique the literary devices within rap is not good.

[@CaesarCallaway]

There's a legal settlement out of court against Drake for sexual battery against a sex worker. In addition the fact that he's a nearly 40 year old man talking to 16 year old Instagram models and then proceeds to wait a year and a half until they're 18 to make a move says a lot about his motivation and character.

[@gracehetfield5331]

Why isn't that what everyone talks about that? That's legit the worse thing he's done if it's true and it's not a matter of speculation.

[@AQuinn0630]

@@gracehetfield5331Kendrick said it. Sometimes it takes a push for someone like Kendrick to get people to see the truth about a person. There’s a reason all these Pop/rap/rock and rnb artists do not like drake

[@TheSkaOreo]

@@AQuinn0630 The problem is: It's not as if Drake is the only person in the industry fucking around with young girls. That's the problem with making this is a simplistic narrative of good vs evil. I'm Team Kendrick all the way and I do love hip-hop, but I know there's a lot of fucked up shit about the industry (and the music industry in general) and I'm never surprised when they get outed as predators. I imagine that people aren't saying shit is because if there is an actual investigation to Kendrick's claims, I imagine a lot of people would get caught in the crossfire--including the supposed "good ones."

[@Technobliterator]

@@TheSkaOreoyup this is very true. Much as I love Kendrick, the reason that we're hearing all these allegations about Diddy and Drake isn't because they're uniquely bad, it's because they burned so many bridges that there's no one left to protect them.

[@dont_take_it_personal]

Half of the '6:16 In LA' intro is nothing but references to Aubrey's underage shenanigans.

[@jamesmason7979]

Kendrick's critcism of Drake goes beyond Drake being a pop artist. He's criticizing him for being insecure about his own blackness and essentially portraying a caricature of a black man to overcompensate.

[@chriswest6988]

I blame Drake for a lot of what sucks about Drake, but this particular thing feels like it was thrust on him. Imagine if Drake tried to own being a corny guy with a suburban upbringing; he'd have been called out for that too, right? Other rappers would have called him a sellout who was acting white to fit in. I worry there was no identity and public personality Drake could put forward, including whatever his real one is, that didn't get bigoted shit hurled his way.

[@thecosmicblueautie]

​@@chriswest6988Childish Gambino was accused of damn near a lot of that, but the difference is that Donald owns what he owns and discards the rest. He is an actor, a rapper, a producer, and has never let the Oreo thing bother him too much. Shit goes left when you can't just admit you can be really cringe, color or no.

[@MasterMemo]

​@@thecosmicblueautie Yeah, Gambino did harp on the Oreo thing for a while, but it was sincere seeming. A lot of people related to it, and sincerity is important. "Maybe I'm corny, but I try" surprisingly does work when you have talent.

[@la_arana_discoteca]

@@chriswest6988 Drake could have been a pop star. Kendrick says it right there in "euphoria" that he had no problem with pop star Drake, but the hip hop Drake who started acquiring new accents, new histories, new language and cultural styles was a liar and a caricature.

[@paiganism]

@@stellviahohenheim for real every time he releases a rap review i have to talk myself out of writing a 5 paragraph essay in the comment section

[@philly_sports1558]

Friendly reminder that Drake was goading Kendrick for weeks to respond to him. He did this to himself and it’s poetic justice. Pun intended.

[@meepk633]

What is the pun? I don't follow any of this.

[@societal5continuous]

@@meepk633 Kendrick and Drake had a song called "poetic justice" on Kendricks album from 2013.

[@philly_sports1558]

@@meepk633 Kendrick has a song named Poetic Justice off Good Kid, M.A.A.D City that Drake is featured on. It’s one of the few songs that Drake is actually tolerable on too.

[@meepk633]

@@societal5continuous Ok thanks. Did Drake become a sex pest just recently?

[@richardmnixongaming]

Poetic Justice, put it in a song 🗣️🔥

[@_NoHandle_]

The thing you don't get about Drake having ghostwriters is that as a rapper/MC in the competitive sport of hip-hop you CAN NOT claim to be "the best" or the #1 MC when you have others writing your rhymes. Yes, some rappers and many producers who rap have writers - none of them proclaim to be the top MC and no one in hip-hop culture considers them to be a top MC.

[@SuperJNG18]

Exactly! Dre's always been known more as a producer than as a rapper, and Snoop's never been one to stand up for the integrity of his work (a man who's got his CV is beyond the point of shame).

[@piedpiper1172]

Adding onto this: Brittney Spears never put out a pop song written by someone else in which she claims to be the #1 pop artist. A) Leave Brittney alone, I don’t like how commonly she’s been brought up in videos like this B) She’s actually exactly what Kendrick critiques Drake for not being: An artist who doesn’t steal credit. Brittney made it big without pretending to be something she wasn’t, while Drake is a colonizer.

[@_VISION.]

This dude hides identity for a reason. He doesn't want to be responsible for his horrible takes. He speaks in a tone as if he knows the culture because he did some internet research but he's completely out of touch and not enough people in the comments are pointing this out.

[@hunterwhite4134]

⁠@@_VISION. Definitely agree, every take in this video that’s somewhat unique betrays an absolute lack of understanding of the culture. I really get the vibe that he listens to hip hop and reads a bunch of articles but has never actually spoken to a street nigga.

[@ThomAvella]

​@@_VISION.bit of an overexaggeration, no? his pop coverage is often dead-on, he just misses the mark when it comes to hip hop because, as he admits in this video, it's not his scene.

[@hafsaz4513]

Not only is SZA not a rapper, she's also collaborated with Kendrick and they were on the same label so it's bizarre that Drake thought she would support him in this beef and not Kendrick

[@giantpinkcat]

Prolly just bc of the song he did with her not long before the beef with Sexyy Red

[@SeanStrife]

SZA was also in the crowd for the Pop Out show on Juneteenth.

[@squishy3248]

SZA literally posted on Insta saying “now why did you drag me into this.” Drake really has no friends in the industry, apparently Travis secretly hates him too😂😂😂

[@Tookish_By_Nature.]

Not sure thats a secret lol​@@squishy3248

[@Yingking]

@@squishy3248yeah, when Travis was a guest at Metros and Futures headlining set at RL he hyped them up to preview Like That, which was unreleased at the time. Maybe Kendrick hadn’t yet hopped on it when Travis first heard it, but it looks like he doesn’t like Drake either

[@16tonw8]

One of the most interesting moments for me was how Kendrick went out of his way to call Drake's son Adonis, who's only 1/4 black, a "black man" on (iirc) Meet the Grahams. He wanted to drive home that he doesn't have a problem with Drake because he's biracial, he has a problem with Drake because he's a colonizing vulture.

[@josh44026]

In reality 1/5 maybe not if Mr Graham is 100 percent but not most likely

[@ConvincingPeople]

That stuck out to me as well. Additionally, I feel like having The Alchemist produce the track was a further deflation of some of the (thankfully sparse but not entirely absent) weird antisemitic jibes I've seen against Drake in this beef. His background isn't the point at all, it's that he's a conniving phoney who uses and abuses people, pretending to be whatever is most convenient to him at any given point in time.

[@8bitdiedie]

Ngl, that line was unintentionally hilarious to me. Kendrick’s says something like “you’re a black man, don’t forget that, never code-switch”. But the thing is, Adonis is so white, blonde-haired and blue-eyed that I don’t think anyone would ever let him get away with presenting himself as black when he’s older. Not code-switching is gonna be hard when everyone inevitably assumes he’s just another white kid ‘pretending’ to be black.

[@annawesometheflameingpikac3688]

@@8bitdiedie his hair texture helps

[@sighcantthinkofaname]

@@8bitdiedie I knew a girl who was 50/50 black and white, but she had super light skin, and she said people would argue with her about her ethnicity. She said random people would ask her ethnicity, and when she told them they'd say there's no way she's half black, that she must be Greek. People get weird about biracial people.

[@mredbadger]

I don’t think Kendrick is saying Drake isn’t a ‘real artist’ because he does pop, he’s saying Drake is a culture vulture who built his image on the backs of other people’s lived experiences

[@DarkInugami92]

Congratulations! You understand the meaning behind this song more than Todd does!

[@morganqorishchi8181]

Drake has been building his image off of other people's lived experiences for a long time. He would tell the press how important it was to show a disabled person through his character on Degrassi and then behind the scenes trash wheelchair users as weak and beg the producers to let his character walk again. He wanted the praise of being deep and getting it from day one. He just never actually bothered to get it, at all.

[@Lboogie0711]

@@morganqorishchi8181 what was the point of going to the degrassi writers to make Jimmy walk again….jimmy was paralyzed and given how it happened to the character; also this was during a time when no other show at the time did that.

[@angelsunemtoledocabllero5801]

​@@DarkInugami92 Todd said "Drake is cancelled for cultural appropriation, a canadian lyching out of the south scene" I think he understood.

[@angelsunemtoledocabllero5801]

I don't think Todd is saying the opposite.

[@hivolt_inc]

"Kendrick managed to make Drake the first Black person canceled for cultural appropriation" Jesus lmao

[@thefelicits]

That was a wild line, does he think there is one homogeneous "black culture"? Obviously Drake is black but he has no connection to aNy of the cultures he has exploited for selfish gain. He isn't American, English, Carribbean, the list goes on jfc he said it as if it's absurd to call Drake a cultural appropriator. The ignorance is breathtaking

[@xcmledder3420]

​@thefelicits it's a joke, dude.

[@thefelicits]

@@xcmledder3420 yes it's funny because of the contradiction of a black person appropriating black culture. Which is not actually a contradiction in reality

[@thefelicits]

@@xcmledder3420 or feel free to explain the joke to me if there is some alternative interpretation

[@xcmledder3420]

@@thefelicits it's only "not a contradiction" if you massively overthink the context of the joke.

[@TuesdaysArt]

Fun Fact: The Florida Panthers played Not Like Us during intermissions as a response to the Oilers playing Drake's diss track (maybe Push Ups?) and the Panthers won the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.

[@turomilen2944]

and now the oilers are under massive fire for hiring a guy to be their GM not one month after he was "reinstated" from covering up one of the biggest sex crime scandals in north american sports history. also: went to a texas rangers game the other day. Not Like Us is their new strikeout song (or at least, one of them).

[@philly_sports1558]

I can’t tell what’s a bigger L for Canada. Their biggest music star being clowned on all summer and being called a pedo or no Canadian team winning a Stanley Cup in 31 years.

[@johnmuselmann7886]

It’s like the song has powers

[@marcushead9985]

And then the Oilers went and hired a guy who turned a blind eye to sex pests on his last team as their coach. ...oof.

[@sqyx93]

Thats exactly why i was rooting for the panthers, and im canadian

[@StoutShako]

Time and time again, Kendrick was warning Drake. "Don't speak on the family" "Keep the family out of this." "If you take it there, I'm taking it further." Drake's mistake was thinking Kendrick wouldn't be crazy enough to not care if he crashed out and caused the BOTH of them to lose everything they'd earned. He just hated the dude that much.

[@emberman535]

He said "industry can hate me too, fuck 'em all and they Mama," and boy did he meant that shit.

[@troikas3353]

I mean lets not oversell the stakes here.. both of these guys are absurdly rich and nothing about this feud was likely to change that for either of them.

[@magnusliang4183]

​@@troikas3353sure if in your world only money matters 😂😂

[@t.c.bramblett617]

@@troikas3353 believe me, these are games being taken seriously over respect

[@amrrahmy123]

Drake plus his ghost writers were never a threat to any competent rap artist. There is no rap battle where Drake wins. Kendrick was not phased. Drake’s angle is just to get his name in the lime light, get some street cred, then go back to making money from his fans. I don’t think anyone that listens to rap thought Drake had a chance of winning the rap battle itself.

[@notoriouswhitemoth]

It's not the sexual misconduct accusations that hit me like a truck. What got me was the verse where Kendrick equated Drake's career with *the entire history of racism.*

[@TheGreatDanish]

And the more you look at it, the more you realize he's fucking on to something. Drake has predicated his entire career on taking popular styles from up and coming artists in new musical trends. Going so far as to rap with a Jamacan accent.

[@cartooncritic7045]

One of my favorite reactions to "Not Like Us" out of the numerous Hip Hop KZbinrs who covered it was by Zias and B Lou, where at one point the former yelled in response to the colonizer bar "He called that [...] a SLAVEOWNER!"

[@platypuspracticus2]

Searching Drake hard R comes up with a result that is just that so it's not unfair.

[@FriedBread]

its like opening the flood gates when he done that. like drakes whole life is just grabbing influential people to make him something he was not. and i thought he was also in US until recent months.

[@margaesperanza]

@@cartooncritic7045slave owner is a good term too since Drake traps up and coming talent under his OVO label. The Weeknd may never have a career because Drake tried FOR YEARS to sign him under OVO.

[@Iceman13.]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="928">15:28</a> "this shit about ghostwriters - who cares?" In the pop landscape? No one. In the culture of hip-hop? Everyone. Dre has never called himself the best rapper alive, Drake has. Dre has always been a producer and beatmaker first, rapper second. Drake has desperately done everything he can to sell his soul for acceptance from hip-hop culture and success in the music industry. The latter can be bought or brute forced by sheer will alone. The former cannot. **that's why** Drake having ghostwriters is important.

[@NPRoberto]

For real, that one comment from Todd really showed his ignorance about hip hop history.

[@julias.7534]

If Mitski had ghostwriters, it would ruin her reputation in the indie scene, but no one has the same standards for say, Miley Cyrus. I want to give Todd the benefit of the doubt here, it's a big moment in popular music which is naturally why he'd want to discuss it, but it's a genre song that happens to be popular, not a pop song.

[@samanteater]

@@Iceman13. Do y'all understand what a rhetorical question is? The entire point of that section is to set up the conclusion that hip-hop doesn't play by the same rules because it already had its own insular culture when poptimism became a thing. The amount of bad media literacy I've seen in these comments is crazy.

[@nightcoreeclub]

@@samanteater 😂 this comment just makes me excited to watch the video.

[@nightcoreeclub]

@@samanteaterred flag: “i don’t understand the ending of ‘not like us’” lmfaoooo he’s calling him freaky… a freaky thing to do is to perform a 6 9 maneuver… drake calls himself the 6 god…. now he is a 6 9 god… so freaky. freaky in the weird uncomfortable way. not everyone likes to 6 9 😂 it’s like calling someone eccentric. insult to some, compliment to others lmfao

[@pluckylump]

Kendrick wasn't just talking about Drake with the line "Certified Pedophiles" (The plural is much clearer in the new mix) He's talking about Drake's whole inner circle being full of creeps. He's explicitly talking about Drake's crew being shady before he drops that gut punch. That's also why the cover is numerous sex offender pins. Not one pin. The claim is Drake's at the top of an empire of disgusting.

[@Yingking]

Yeah, Baka not nice is Drakes former security guard and was signed to OVO as an artist after being released from jail. He was accused of forced prostitution. The law suit was dropped because the accuser refused to testify and instead he went to jail for physically assaulting the accuser

[@via45]

Yeah he's surrounded by sex offenders how did Todd not get this

[@milhousevanhoutan9235]

@@Yingking People don't realize the "Baka's got a weird case" isn't just "Baka has done things that are suspect" but also "The disposition of Baka's case, given the nature of the charges and Aubrey's claims of ties to organized crime, is suspicious." Because you're still underselling it- the complaining witness was cooperating enthusiastically for nearly two years until one day she just up and moves without telling anyone and then refuses to cooperate even under threat of subpoena.

[@icravedeath.1200]

​@@milhousevanhoutan9235was she threatened or blackmailed in some way?

[@milhousevanhoutan9235]

@@icravedeath.1200 All we know is the very qualified statement the prosecutor gave to the judge "The accused has had no direct contact with the victim." The reason I say it's qualified is because it only talks about Baka himself and nobody associated with Baka and the "investigation" insofar as there was one was extremely abbreviated due to Canada's speedy trial rights.

[@dlr_rosa254]

I don't think Kendricks line "I believe you don't like women" is meant to be homophobic. I think Kendricks refrencing the many times Drake was called out as a misogynist. I remember there was a time when Drake was considered progressive and a nice guy for respecting women but then everyone ffigured out he was actually a trademarked "nice guy". I distinctly remember the shift in how people viewed Drake as super sweet and totally not creepy towards women to the type of dude to try to use his power and status to get with women then get butthurt when it didn’t work. He might also be referring to how he goes for underage girls instead of women so who knows.

[@FAB13]

Yeah I took it as Kendrick saying "you like underage girls, not women"

[@carolyns4519]

That's how I interpreted it too. One thing that's still confusing to me though, and maybe you'll be able to clear it up, is the line in Meet the Grahams about Drake needing a beard. I can't find a non gay way to interpret that. I guess it could mean he needs an adult to be his beard while he's chasing children, but I've only ever heard "beard" in the context of closeted gay and lesbian people.

[@cthulhucult3230]

​@@carolyns4519 maybe it has something to do with having a baby face?

[@KiraDaBeastNY]

@@carolyns4519 The way that it's taken is that he is covering up for other people who are predators.

[@fangal12]

@@carolyns4519 I think it means more like he feels more comfortable with a mask to cover his true self.

[@rebeccamcmanus4718]

Drake can talk shit about Kendrick featuring on a Taylor Swift song but we all know he would KILL to do that.

[@Remedy462]

And wished she asked him when she was younger.

[@alifnovaldi5195]

To be fair, Taylor Swift is more gangsta than Drake

[@Remedy462]

@@alifnovaldi5195 Lol, Facts.

[@Tishtash1]

Ah yes drake, definitely in need of a Taylor swift feature😭😭😭😭

[@sandenson]

​@@Tishtash1 He doesn't, but he's a clout chaser

[@afgr5523]

I think the issue with Drake’s pop rap isn’t the fact he makes pop rap, it’s that he pretends like he doesn’t. There’s a reason guys like Pitbull generally don’t get hit as hard by disses like that and it’s because he doesn’t pretend to be something he’s not, where Drake does.

[@doylerudolph7965]

Yep. Call Pit goofy and he'd smile and say "I'm absolutely goofy and that's why people love me!" Call Drake goofy and he loses his goddamn mind. Just like the current political cultural moment of calling conservatives "weird". It's a bit of a badge of pride for me, but for JD Vance, it's literally catastrophic because he and his people have been othering folks on the basis of their presentation or their orientation by calling them weird for years, and now he's realizing that the majority of people think THAT is weird.

[@ktownshutdown21]

My favorite Flo Rida bar is his first one in Wild Ones: "I like crazy, foolish, stupid, Party going wild, fist pumping music." Because yeah, that pretty much sums up the Flo Rida oeuvre; bro's just vibin and having a good time, and he's perfectly happy doing so. Drake wants to be the biggest pop star, but is also jealous of the critical reception that tends to go towards guys like Kendrick instead, and defensive about his position in hip hop. He could've just embraced who he is like other guys getting those kinds of attacks, but at this point who even IS Drake?? He's such a formless mush of a numbers chaser at this point that I have no idea what defines him, what makes him tick, what inspires him to keep making music other than just to say that he has all these arbitrary records. So it probably isn't all that surprising then that since he couldn't defend himself in that way, his strategy was to bring down the other guy and hope he'd be the only one left standing. *Welp*, that sure didn't work, now did it, LOL

[@Tzilandi]

@@doylerudolph7965 Remembar that Walmart promotion when people got to vote on which Walmart store Pitbull would visit? And then 4chan got wind of it and rigged the vote for Kodiak, Alaska? Mr. Worldwide just shrugged and went "Sure, I'll pop over to Alaska. No problem." If it had been Drake, I'm pretty sure he would have refused to go.

[@JessCDoesHistory]

'I believe you don't like women' sounds like an insult to so many men I've met. Sure, they want a woman around to look after them and cook and clean, but they don't actually like them as a person. They appreciate them like they appreciate an oven or a vacuum cleaner: it does the job I need it to do.

[@abronanimation8671]

Such great way to say it, and it feeds further into the kind of known fact at this point that Drake uses and discards everyone, and that becomes more insidious when it comes to women. it’s not ‘you aren’t attracted to women,’ it’s ’you’re too self centered and shallow to see women beyond what you can get out of them’

[@kismkasm3178]

@@JessCDoesHistory- yea. Women have utilitarian value.

[@flowers0425]

this explains my dating history with men…

[@Dare5358]

no, that wasn't his angle bc in the next line he thinks Drake will "pop ass with them" so he's saying drake is GAY and acts feminine like a woman (which KDot thinks is bad).

[@murciadoxial8056]

you turned that line from a weird sounding jab into a .50 bullet to the skull, amazing

[@LostNapoleon]

Kendrick should’ve released that Juno Awards clip as a single. It’s the most devastating thing I’ve seen in this beef

[@surpriseandterror9698]

Devastating indictment: Canadian confirmed

[@thegeecyproject]

“Give it up for Broken Social Scene!”

[@lenonel3286]

Up there with when Pusha T dug up that pic of Drake in blackface... His agent really sucked back then

[@judgesaturn507]

I half expected him to shout out Robin Sparkles

[@Ryan07_20]

once he started to sing Informer, I knew bro was finished, drake (2008-2024) he had a good run

[@TheLemonNLimes]

Drake isnt just weird with women, the fact theres more than one occurrence of him talking to minors a little too much or kissing 17 year olds on stage really is a red flag.

[@BigOwl51]

Important note: he continued kissing the 17 year old AFTER finding out her age. Just throwing that out there before the inevitable “he didn’t know” comments appear.

[@hypersleep9336]

yet other people get canceled for less

[@Dreigonix]

Plus his whole For All The Dogs album is _full_ of references to doing sketchy things with suspiciously young women. It feels like a confessional tape in the same way that BOTDF’s early albums feel like a confessional tape for Dahvie, if you know what I mean.

[@oddacity5883]

@@hypersleep9336Surprising how much a lot, a lot of money and fame can get you

[@philly_sports1558]

Yeah it was already weird for him to invite a girl up there to do weird flirty stuff with him, especially a girl looking as obviously young as her. When she said 17 he should have been like “Hell no, that’s my bad, I’m sorry, I don’t support that” but he doubled down and said he liked feeling her breasts. Like wtf? Even the crowd was weirded out by it.

[@michaelshjohnson]

The reason having ghost writers in rap is so damning is because rap is one of the few genres where authenticity is (allegedly) at the forefront. When you're rapping, you're talking about your own, personal story. It's why cover rap acts don't take off, compared to country or rock. It wouldn't be right if someone else was rapping your life

[@doylerudolph7965]

Tbf even in country or rock a cover act will almost never make it past the local or (if they're extremely good/lucky) regional scene. You need original music and it needs to be the core of your identity in order to actually succeed beyond being a novelty.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

But people used to love The Yeastie Gals when we covered "(You Gotta) Fight 4 Your Right (2 Party)" & our Paul's Boutique medley.

[@michaelshjohnson]

@@picahudsoniaunflocked5426 yeastie gals is wild behavior, what a terrible day to know how to read

[@damondiep8949]

The thing about Dre using ghostwriters is he's not claiming to be number #1 or the best rapper of all time unlike Drake. He's widely known as a producer. It's also the same reason why folks don't care about Kanye using ghostwriters. He's honest about using them when writing and putting their names on the final product. The problem lies with Drake trying to act like he took credit. How can you be the best rapper of all time or a part of "the big three" if you don't write your own raps? I suggest looking into the Quentin Miller lore or rabbit hole.

[@LynnHermione]

If their names are in the final product they're not Ghost writers. They are co writers

[@troikas3353]

Ghostwriters are specifically not credited, that's kind of the entire point. They get hired to anonymously write something that someone else claims as their own work.

[@xamp_exclammark]

Why do people take the claiming to be number 1 thing deadly serious with Drake,literally 80% of rappers ive ever heard claim that in more than one song

[@fontenot413]

The same way folks knew pretty early on that Diddy (i know.... i know, first person i thought of) didnt write his verses and no one cared. It was funny but he didn't lose much street cred when people found out he had whole choreographer for some of his videos.

[@DonZa-n6z]

It's a pity he left Quentin Miller out to dry. He needed him in this beef...

[@billw.5397]

I’m still not convinced the line “I believe you don’t like women” is meant to call drake gay. It could be a double entendre, but Kendrick continued to call him a misogynist in meet the grahams

[@rgs8970]

The implication is not that he likes men not women; it's that he likes girls not women (allegedly, in my opinion, so I've heard)

[@BudduredToast]

I agree. I've always taken it as he was calling Drake a misogynist/a guy who acts sus with minor girls.

[@isabellamorris7902]

I think it's both? Like "*we hate the bitches you fuck*/because they confuse themselves with real women" is very suspect if Kendrick is referring to the underage girls that he's seen Drake prey on, and he's called Drake effeminate multiple times ("when I see you stand by Sexxy Red I believe you see two bad bitches"). I think Kendrick is trying to paint the picture of something being inherently "wrong" with Drake's sexuality -- he literally means whatever causes him to chase teenagers but does like to lean on gay stereotypes to do it

[@snz530]

​@@rgs8970 I understood that line to mean Drake likes women as commodities rather than as people. He might well be attracted to them, but he doesn't actually respect them.

[@la_arana_discoteca]

Agreed. It sounds more like a double entendre on "I don't believe you like *women* (just girls)" and "I don't believe you *like* women (just use them and discard them without any appreciation for them as people)".

[@letranger4461]

I believe Kendrick when he says he doesn’t like being famous. Kendrick Lamar has a very fascinating relationship with both his own fame and his impact. A big part of Kendrick’s personal narrative throughout his discography is that he wanted to make amazing art that changed the world for the better. People saw him as a savior of hip hop and he wanted to step into the role, but fell short in his mind and hurt a lot of people he loved. He made amazing art, but the world didn’t get any better. And he still had a lot of personal demons he needed to deal with. Even so, he likes being a hometown hero and he still loves hip hop.

[@via2014]

Right. He dropped his songs, no social media antics, did his show, no interviews, dropped the video and that was it. He’s not aiming to oversaturate or over stay his moment. Him in the crowd, with ppl he grew up with and is championing for is not saying he craves the attention.

[@TheSkaOreo]

I don't know if that's exactly true. Since a big part of Mr. Morale is dealing with his own personal hypocrisy of being Rap's savior while also admitting to himself that he actually does enjoy being rich and famous.

[@Scorpia161]

Very astute distinction between fame chasing vs just reveling in being a hometown hero

[@letranger4461]

@@TheSkaOreo I agree, but I don’t think liking some of the benefits of fame is liking being famous. It’s more a means to end

[@vietnamesericefarmer2602]

​​@@TheSkaOreohe did believe he could be raps saviour or push for actual change through his music up until Damn. GKMC and TPAB are littered with either him or general stories of being in negative situations or talking about them but always with some message that strives towards positivity (eg. we gon be alright). Damn on the other hand is much darker and I always go back to the song Feel where he says: "I feel like the whole world want me to pray for 'em But who the fuck prayin' for me" - that to me is him questioning the saviour moniker and if everyone is looking to him for change/help who does he have who can help him? The murder of Nipsey Hussle in 2019 (as well as a few of his friends over the years) also contributes to that because Nipsey was also someone who in his local community was trying to enact change. The Heart Part 5 and the music video to it covers a lot of that with him questioning aspects of the culture, himself and him partly concluding "’you can’t help the world until you help yourself" but also that through Nipsey and people like himself he hopes that people can keep using their energy and message for change even if they themselves never benefit or see it through in their lifetime. This is when we get to Mr Morale and a rejection of the saviour title and an album basically of him showing his flaws and the process he went through to come to terms with that (can't help the world until you help yourself). The final track Mirror concludes with "Sorry I didn't save the world, my friend I was too busy buildin' mine again". Ultimately he finds he had to help himself in the position he was in in life first, before he could help others. But I also think the album is him suggesting/encouraging change in another way that really why people do bad things/what causes our problems are deep rooted traumas and the first step to improving is to confront those issues head on.

[@anghush]

Kendrick wasn't calling out Drake for being a Pop Artist. He was calling out Drake for being a Pop Artist trying to act like a gangster who grew up in the projects. Making it about gatekeeping is kind of disingenuous.

[@sarahjones4514]

guy who didn’t watch the video:

[@anghush]

@@sarahjones4514 nope. I totally did.

[@asf8648]

Isn't that the point Todd makes? Kendrick is highlighting Drake's lack of authenticity and connection to any important social movement. that poptemism is still about being authentic in some ways.

[@anghush]

@@asf8648 theres a point like midway through the video where Todd talks about Kendrick 'gatekeeping' hip hop and being anti-pop. I don't think he's anti-pop at all. I think he's anti 'colonizers', i.e. pop artists trying to act like theyre from the streets.

[@ThomAvella]

​@@anghushyeah it seems weird to call kendrick anti-pop when he's *always* had songs on his albums for the pop crowd, especially on DAMN and mr. morale

[@margaesperanza]

Sorry to say this but the Poptimism part was sort of a stretch. I think the community LIKED that Kendrick called out Drake for colonizing culture he was never a part of. He poached on Drill, Reggaeton, Trap, Afro Beats and got big off it while leaving legit artists in the genre in the dust. Drake also signs amazing talent under OVO only to trap them as writing slaves. The album “Take Care” relied on the work of the Weeknd because Drake TOOK IT FROM HIM. We would never have heard of Abel if he actually signed under OVO and thank goodness he didn’t. And for that Drake took shots at him in this beef as well, he couldn’t colonize his music from him anymore.

[@la_arana_discoteca]

@@margaesperanza yes, thank you for this comment! Kendrick's thing is way beyond thinking Drake is uncool or not hip hop enough. That "colonizer" line is a big thesis statement and he's not using the word lightly.

[@PlaySA]

Very much agreed. Kendrick isn't gatekeeping music. He's telling one, solo, single person, Drake, that he is shit and he's not what Kendrick and his people are about. And I agree with him.

[@Jetsetlemming]

It made sense to me. Part of "poptimism," when you strip the rhetoric down to the bare metal, was basically to say "if the song sounds good you have to take it serious," or even "if the song is popular you have to take it serious". But Kendrick isn't saying Drake isn't worthy of taking seriously. He's obviously taking Drake very seriously, and after doing a lot of diligent work as a critic he comes back with the verdict that he's seriously fucking awful. The part that feels much more iffy to me is Todd connecting this to gay music, because gay music is great but not particularly popular. SOPHIE was not ever breaking the charts for example, but she's a Pixies-style influence on larger pop music. Poptimism was about that one-generation-removed music from the gay music, the straight people realizing of these queers have some cool ideas stuff. It didn't apply to SOPHIE, it does to Charli XCX for example. The sexuality here is relevant because a lot of these artists, like Charli XCX or Beyonce's house music album, are vulnerable to criticism wrt authenticity because they're making "gay music" but aren't actually gay.

[@Wuffskers]

​@@Jetsetlemmingas a queer person the whole poptimism segment felt weird to me, I very much do not feel pop as a whole is "for" me or "represents" me in the way hip hop often does for black people. Yes lots of queer people enjoy pop and there are a lot of queer allies in pop but I don't think pop being to gays as hip hop is to black people is as clean of an analogy as Todd makes it out to be. To be completely honest I don't think queer people even have a genre like hip hop, there's queer artists but they're all over the genre spectrum, I mean you have SOPHIE but then you also have Orville Peck or Against Me! or Carseat Headrest. And even when a subgenre develops around queerness like queercore it's pretty minor, like there's no queercore music topping charts like hip hop.

[@pinkcupcake4717]

I don't think The Gays TM like Drake that much. Sure he's fun, but he doesn't have an army like Taylor, Lady Gaga, or even the smaller names like Charlie XCX does. His music comes on, you vibe with it, and then you move on to the next song. Drake doesn't have staying power, and Kendrick's argument as to why is that Drake rides trends instead of tapping into his own history, so it's as temporary as Drake's newest accent.

[@Karsielatee]

The amount of people who were sick and tired of Drake was truly underestimated going into this battle 😂

[@Bexinnamon]

😂 he's the Regina George of the rap world

[@Tonia682]

@@Bexinnamon😂

[@baronvonbeandip]

​@@Bexinnamontruer words have not been said 😂

[@charlieseen]

​@@Bexinnamon Stealing this descriptor to explain this beef to ppl, thank you 😂

[@cartmann94]

Kendrick has left Drake tied up in a mountain like Prometheus. Getting his liver eaten daily by an eagle while Kendrick plays “Euphoria” and “Not Like Us” non stop for the rest of eternity.

[@Punnypurple]

Kendrick is probably standing there watching drake's prone body being eaten alive while the people of Compton are dancing.

[@owenkinder1076]

And J Cole is up in Elysium having a great time and laughing his ass off knowing he made the most correct choice ever.

[@littlemshashtag]

@@cartmann94 drake better hope atlas don't shrug 🤣🤣🤣

[@djandjb1]

This is what Kendrick Fans think of ALL DAY

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

Prometheus at least gave us fire 🔥

[@jasminealce834]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1295">21:35</a> No matter what Drake tries to do, he can never dodge those painful accusations, he tries and tries, but he’ll never escape the fact, that he is Canadian.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

😯ooh chorus is really wordplay, "he not like U.S." (ok so jk but as a Canadian I'd like to think it's true)

[@jasminealce834]

@@picahudsoniaunflocked5426 😂 true. This comment is coming from someone who’s favorite artist is a Canadian, it’s all good.

[@tafua_a]

I think one of the biggest points of poptimism is this: you can be authentic *and* pop. If you are that kind of guy, you are authentically pop. If you're the kind of person that likes to party and finds joy in it, you can be authentic with a party song. Drake's pop character was anything but authentic. Authenticity *does* matter. Even in pop.

[@seamusburke639]

Yup. Gay audiences love certain pop stars because they are THEMSELVES first and foremost. And pop stars usually give that love right back to their gay fans. Especially before gay rights became more mainstream, you could tell it was real because there was no real benefit for doing so publicly. Rap is the same way.

[@bobnye9773]

As Kendrick said, he doesn't hate pop rap Drake. He hates Drake pretending to be from the same background Kendrick, Future, and other US rappers are from, and then use that in his raps to get street cred. I feel like Todd missed the mark a bit with the poptimism part

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

I was at a comic/anime convention today and they played "Not Like Us" between the anime OSTs. It's joever, Drake. Kendrick has the high ground.

[@dannydamnmendez]

Wow, the weebs have embraced K Dot. Hell hath frozen over 🤣

[@Dovabreh]

@@dannydamnmendez We BEEN loving Kendrick

[@kennnnny]

I've seen it discussed on twitter (bear with me) in a bit more detail than I personally can do justice but a lot of people have noticed just how popular Not Like Us specifically has been among outsiders to hip hop and in further game and anime centric communities. I heard a lot of people saying it was due to a lot of that demographic not tending to listen to rap much (which IS true to an extent i've been in enough nerd spaces to see just how dominated by white men they were for a LOOONG time), but I think it's also overlooking the fact that there has always been black people in those communities that get overlooked that also might've popularized it. I could totally be talking out of my ass on that, but there is absolutely a symbiotic relationship between black americans and anime in particular. Funny that Not Like Us is making it visible again next to Mamushi 😭

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

@@kennnnny Not from America, I'm from T&T where 40% of the population is Black, and 40% is Indian. Weeb stuff is def stereotyped more as Indian, but it's pretty even. I'd say to hear it played here is absolutely huge. Btw that said, you're absolutely right, the African-American audience is HUGE on anime. Sorta like how here in T&T everyone here, no matter the ethnicity, loves 80s AOR rock. I mentioned that in another video of Todd's and people lost their minds.

[@MasterMemo]

I saw those clips, which con was that again?

[@ntheflesh5687]

i think that “Not like us” has a chance of becoming like “Royals”, a big song that ends up making artists care more about authenticity, even if only for a time.

[@royalninja2823]

Props to Kendrick for also showing that authentic and meaningful can also be fun at the same time. Royals was a breath of fresh air after the Teenage Dream bubblegum era, but it also helped make the rest of the decade sound dour and depressing as hell. Throwing out anything that made your music enjoyable in the name of badly trying to sound authentic is how we got a solid handful of Trainwreckords.

[@maxjones2546]

@@royalninja2823 Agree. I think lordes best work by a long shot was ribs for that very reason. Royals was just a sneak peak into tones and i

[@conormcdermott-mt1nc]

​@@royalninja2823yeah, so many people hear the word authentic and for some reason can only think of Bob Dylan and white men in the 60s playing the acoustic guitar. I have no issue with that style of music but time and time again I see authenticity specifically tied to sadness when that's not true. One of my favorite songs of this year (you may personally disagree) is the new Sabrina Carpenter song because it's (1. Happy and a joy to listen to and (2. Sounds very her and very much so from the heart lyrically

[@CantTellYou]

@@conormcdermott-mt1nc which is crazy because Bob Dylan himself admitted to sometimes just writing words that sounded good together lol

[@improvwithlions4173]

I gotta be honest, as someone who watched alternative rock radio slide into "alternative/indie", Royals was one of the final crossover nails in the coffin. I don't mind if you like it but that hit me totally wrong 😂

[@workwhale9943]

The Pop Out wasn’t actually his first public appearance after the beef. Like a month before he gave a talk at a Compton Community College. True protagonist shit

[@thefelicits]

Zero research went into this video I stg

[@danidm5820]

I still think "Drake is a sex pest" is the second most important accusation here, with the first being "Nobody, absolutely NOBODY likes you, Drake. I got your old friends, I got your collaborators, I got the whole gang scene of LA together, all to show how much they ALL don't like you and want you to go away".

[@Conor-gd3in]

how in god’s name is drake being a literal pedophile less important or hard-hitting than people not liking him? like, a little list of sex-crimes versus some stupid popularity contest?

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

"Isn't Kendrick supposed to be the artist? Why is he doing this?" Look up the history of Alexander Pope. Sometimes artists just have beef.

[@kennnnny]

also, as if art isnt one of the most acceptable mediums to fire shots/make a point/form criticism through!! dadaism in visual arts comes to mind immediately for me

[@brendanb2982]

Sometimes you gotta pop out and show 'em.

[@samanteater]

Nobody hates bad art like good artists.

[@kennnnny]

@@samanteater erm ackshually (THIS IS SEMANTICS. i am being super tangential and am incredibly aware of that but i really want to talk about this for a second. im not coming in here to point fingers at you and call you a philistine!!) i think the term "bad art" is reductive and immediately puts art on a pedestal and tries to imply there is a fundamental value based on imaginary concepts. im not saying you cant think certain art is bad (like i think so much art is beyond dogshit and poorly made but thats me talking as a person not as an artist) but i don't think giving it a value depending on ideas such as "how much time was put into it" "is it well made" "is it well crafted" is productive when talking about *all* art it's semantics :P it really just boils down to if the art has authenticity to it and has weight behind its creation no matter how simple (or even misguided) that authenticity may be tldr youre still right i just wanted to add an asterisk at the end. this ties back to a lot of comments talking about the fact what drake truly lacks is authenticity that hinders his work as a result

[@JebJester]

@@kennnnny weird way to say the beef was childish and g4y. (fuck Drake tho)

[@Direk091]

I'm surprised you didn't understand the Takashi 6ix9ine reference in the song. A known snitch arrested for being a child predator that Kendrick wants the public to associate with Drake''s 6 god moniker.

[@austintutorow7592]

Also I think Todd has been in LA long enough to get that calling somebody a "freak" or "freaky" is maybe the meanest thing you can say about somebody out here. I don't care what it's like other places, that is a major cultural indictment wrapped up in one word.

[@gc7725]

I feel like Todd isn't knowledgeable enough about rap to have done this song the coverage it deserves. Not to say that he shouldn't have made it, just that the video is of worse quality as a result.

[@MXM194]

@@gc7725 100 percent. SO many misanalysis in this and the last video.

[@doctorphoenix1498]

@@gc7725 I agree. Especially bringing gay culture into it tbh. Saying Drake doesn't even like women is not a jab at him possibly being gay. It's like all those dudes like Andr*w T*te, yeah he likes to sleep with women, but does he actually LIKE women as people? A lot of guys are like that, and it seems like Drake is too. They see women as a commodity or a prize. Look at how he can't keep Rhianna's name out of his mouth even after YEARS of her moving on. Does he actually like her or did he like the image she gave him?

[@pristinedecision1877]

He doesn’t understand much of anything pertaining to this topic by this video and his last. Very tenuous grasp on the material at hand here.

[@SelectBard133]

An important element of this that you only really begin to touch on -- not to your own fault, it's neither your nor my place to speak on it -- is the racial tension surrounding Drake. To boil it down very quickly to a single phrase, he has always been perfectly content to use his blackness to his advantage when it suits him, and quickly discard it otherwise. Once you see that, if you are socially conscious at all, it's hard to unsee, and that has always put Drake at odds with many who are really invested in the rap community. That, to me, is the most important way that he is "Not Like [Them]."

[@Changing_Subjects]

THIS.

[@treedland5763]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1417">23:37</a> - <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1446">24:06</a> I don’t agree with the conclusion you’ve reached on this. The last album was a “downer” because it’s Kendrick publicly coming to grips with his flaws as a human while shedding his savior complex. If we’re juxtaposing that album with the state we’re seeing him in now in the concert and the music video, then we can just as easily attribute his happier demeanor as having come from someone who feels unburdened after releasing Mr. Morale. Also, the concert and music video are largely a celebration of the West Coast hip hop culture. I’m not led to believe he envied Drake’s position if we can just as easily reframe this observation as someone who’s enjoying the unity he’s bringing to the culture he’s long advocated and represented for

[@FAB13]

💯

[@nap0038]

Was gonna make a similar comment. It’s not like he stuped into all of that trauma and objectively bad things he’s done, he got the help he needed, made amends where he could, and bounced back as a changed person for the better. He didn’t have to *stay* sad or anything. And this beef was something that was coming, if you were sad or not lmao

[@margaesperanza]

I was shaking my head when he brought up the stale argument against the “Auntie Diaries” song, acting like Kendrick went out of his way to be lousy. The song is literally him growing out of his prejudice (as a black man in Compton) and challenging his pastor if being purposefully awful to trans people made him a good man. Todd should have left that “issue” back when it was relevant years ago, because the queer community has made deeper conversations about it so many times now.

[@extraaccountnh8883]

Yes that too! I agree with Todd on most of this vid but the calling Drake gay part, the accusations part, and Mr. Morale being a "downer" is stuff I disagree with (ofc I don't think that means Todd is wrong or dumb). DAMN. is the downer, Mr. Morale is absolutely a bummer at times too, but the takeaways from each one is tooootally different

[@redmage5251]

@@margaesperanza you were shaking your head at homophobic lyrics being called homophobic?

[@jinkade]

You can't compare Dr. Dre using ghostwriters to Drake since Dre was always considered a producer first. Drake called himself the greatest rapper, which the point of contention for a lot of rappers is you can't be the greatest rapper if you don't even write your own lyrics. Drake also used a ghostwriters in diss tracks which is a bad look in a 1v1.

[@christineherrmann205]

I think Josh Johnson hit the nail on the head: Kendrick got sick of Drake's hypocrisy, fake persona, and greed/not giving back. And Josh made it funny.

[@misterbiscuitbarrel]

"There's no way that you're gonna win this because I write so many songs- that's all I do, is I hang out with my wife and my kids and I write, Drake! This is all that I do! I enjoy this, this is my favorite thing to do, is just sit at home and hate you, and write songs about you and how much I hate you. so I can go forever! This'll never be over, we can just chill! We'll go back and forth and I'll release twenty songs for every one you release! You keep saying it's a 1v20 and it is, it's one of you and twenty songs from me about how much I hate you every single day until the both of us die!"

[@alejoparedes2388]

Josh is amazing, a great comedian

[@christineherrmann205]

@@misterbiscuitbarrel 💯🤣🤣 'This is old black men who knew each other during the civil rights movement' level hate

[@ashen_roses]

Josh Johnson is a goddamn superstar in the making

[@haltjagged7783]

@@misterbiscuitbarrel . . . Old Black Men Hate . . .

[@miadelaguila2611]

drake’s own behavior of kissing and flirting with 17 year old girls that we have filmed evidence of is enough for me 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

[@TheZombifiedFairy]

And the history of texting and "befriending" minor girls. I mean... if the kid is a coworker like on a TV show or something, I'd understand. But a rapper who has not acted in YEARS befriending a very underaged actress and a singer who (to my knowledge) he's never collabed with... who was also very underage. Idk at that point people need to start investigating lol

[@morganqorishchi8181]

When Kendrick says Drake doesn't like women, that's what he means - he likes girls. Not women. Those are separate categories entirely.

[@29Texan]

@@miadelaguila2611 There's enough evidence to show that Drake is, AT MINIMUM, a groomer... that can't be denied.

[@mkbXD]

this! idk why he’s saying it’s a baseless accusation when there’s video!!

[@AlexofZippo]

Exactly. Whether or not he’s *actually* a pedo remains to be seen, but we have literal evidence of him hitting on a 17 year old AFTER CONFIRMING that she was 17. As a guy, your instincts are supposed to be to back away when you find out she’s jailbait. We have seen that is not Drake’s instinct, and that makes him suspect going forward.

[@Hotmanlion12]

That “Kendrick just opened his mouth, someone hand him a Grammy right now” line from Family Matters just comes off to me as Drake being salty that Kendrick has more Grammys than him.

[@Bella_Rei]

And if they end up giving him a grammy for Not Like Us im gonna shit a brick house lol

[@krusher181]

Drake is acting like having more money is a better achievement than the respect of his peers. Yeah he’s def deflecting there cuz he’s insecure and sad. Kendrick is proud of who he is and you can hear it.

[@krusher181]

@@Bella_Reiit’s incredibly unlikely but we all would love to see it.

[@dodecahippo6378]

Nah I'm a huge Kendrick fan but that was a great line

[@kylegonewild]

@@dodecahippo6378 How is absolutely GLAZING your opposition's skill a great line?

[@cashnelson2306]

Juneteenth show was all about the culture, specifically NOT all about Kendrick. Man was as humble at that show as it's possible for a superstar like him at the top of his game to be

[@grahamkristensen9301]

On top of that, he released the Not Like Us video on the Fourth of July. He got all of America to put the cookout on pause for one more victory lap.

[@littlemshashtag]

@@grahamkristensen9301 oh I like this take very much yes yes yes

[@optiquemusic6204]

The same song 6 times? Why? Is it that good???

[@littlemshashtag]

@@optiquemusic6204 yes it absolutely is Like I know I can't say objectively but have you watched it? It's captivating the way he interplays with the crowd 💯

[@yeahhowaboutno9866]

​@@optiquemusic6204the fact that one of those times he had to restart the song was because the crowd held on to the "A minor" for too long to get back to it should be telling

[@thetrashycan]

He wasn't attacking Drake for being too pop. In hip-hop we are already in the poptimism phase, where melodic trap artists and Southern artists who were previously considered jokes are now extremely influential. Hell, hyphy, the west coast genre that Not Like Us is inspired by, is hated by a lot of old school hip hop gatekeepers. The point was that Drake is a culture vulture and ACTS like he's some hard gangster who's also apart of the culture when he's not. It's not an issue that he uses ghostwriters, it's that he's TRYING to be considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Dr. Dre is a producer, and even though Snoop is a legend he's not exactly revered for his lyricism

[@justaguy_yt1240]

Finally, more people with actual working brains. He also literally said that Drake was tolerable when he still does pop back in the day. But honestly, I think KDot wouldn't even mind Drake being a rapper if it weren't for him blatantly owning the success of other rappers that he signed in OVO and like you said, acting like a thug when he literally has a much better upbringing than that of the west coast rappers. Seems a lot of people let that line really go over their heads

[@DynastyLuminous46]

This right here. Dre is a producer first and foremost and approaches rapping from a production standpoint. Snoop has become more of an allround cultural celebrity figure than a rapper. Kanye can also be brought into this since he doesn't write all of his stuff but he views himself as an artist greater than the sum of its parts (rapping, producing, fashion etc). Drake differs from this because he doesn't seem to know what exactly he wants to be, his arguments for being in the top 3 of _Hiphop_ are mostly based on statistics like streaming numbers and album sales and being on the charts, which is mostly a _pop_ way of perceiving it.

[@angelsunemtoledocabllero5801]

ACTS

[@angelsunemtoledocabllero5801]

TRYING

[@xtremegaming1232]

"Now I personally am not equipped to talk about real hip-hop, but I come from this from a pop perspective" Oh Todd, we can tell

[@arnoldioio]

lmaoooo

[@xtremegaming1232]

@@daelen.cclark hey he might not know rap but don’t call him short smh

[@Enders0417]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1095">18:15</a> I think Kendrick isn’t talking about Drake being gay. It’s more of Drake, not appreciating women and disrespecting women after they break up.

[@ruminationstation4200]

Then why say drake sees 2 bad b**ches when he's with sexxy red? Is that also about not drake respecting women lol

[@joshuahere5097]

And the fact he likes girls not women

[@reillymcwriting]

I’m bisexual and have had people say homophobic shit to me, that never in a million years crossed my mind that Kendrick was talking about gay people, but about little girls or that he sees them as objects. Kendrick made a song about respecting his transgender aunt, he wouldn’t make a diss like that. Losing your integrity for a cheap line is Drake’s job.

[@ysy_y]

@@reillymcwriting Funny enough, the amount of 0-integrity cheap lines Drake used in this beef is easily over half-a-dozen

[@northrnstar]

​@@ysy_yonly half a dozen? i swore i counted more than that on only one song of his dissing kendrick

[@nelly6016]

Todd, there are PLENTY receipts of Drake being weird with minors, that’s not a accusation Kendrick just said out the blue

[@olive92]

right?? That 17 year old he kissed on stage AFTER learning she's 17?? AND Acknowledging it was wrong to do and he could go to jail?? His whole private conversations with MILLIE BOBBIE BROWN...A 14 YEAR OLD...THAT SHE SAID SHE SHOULDN'T TALK ABOUT PUBLICLY?? A TEXTBOOK SIGN OF GROOMING???

[@noiseformusic]

exactly. people have been talking about that for YEARS

[@ajstudios9210]

Ironically, Todd knew this himself and has mentioned that in his own past reviews about Drake.

[@Broski-Brodski]

Todd said himself in the last video that it looks like a lot of smoke and not a lot of fire, that’s why he’s uncomfortable with it

[@WhiteStripesStripiestFan]

Ikr. And that's what we are informed about. How about something else hidden?

[@logancade342]

I always laugh at "2Chainz said you good, but he lied." 😂 It's just so quick and to the point.

[@rd0676]

His tone in that kills me every time too. 2 chainz said you good (Yay!) but he lied (aww)

[@kbbd6999]

It's also funny because I'm pretty sure Drake did the song "no liez" with 2 Chainz

[@charlieseen]

Ikr, it's so blunt 😂

[@DaniDacey]

This wasn't one of Todd's best. I get he didn't want to wade into the cultural discussion surrounding the Drake/Kendrick beef, but you can't analyze it without that context. It's much bigger than "pop rap bad."

[@demonmurphy]

Yeah, this isn’t one of his better takes. Love you, Todd, but this ain’t it.

[@angel_of_rust]

he isn't the mouthpiece for this debacle that he think he is

[@thefelicits]

In fact it was his worst

[@DaniDacey]

@@thefelicits The longer I think about it, the worse it gets. How you can watch the pure Compton-ness of the video and say a shot of the crowd coming together was Kendrick "celebrating his fame"???

[@ZacksScraps]

FD Signifier just did 3.5 hours covering that if you want to get really in depth about it.

[@daniele.h7697]

The difference between Dre or Snoop using Ghost writers and Drake using Ghost writers is exactly what you actually said they admitted it and they own up to it, but Drake on the other hand will vehemently deny that he has Ghost riders and he wants everyone to believe that he is written everything that he says. It wouldn't be an issue if he wouldn't make it seem as if he said it all from the dome.

[@Christian-eq6pq]

He doesn’t use ghostwriters. He uses writers but it’s not a ghost writer. Quentin Miller was credited on the track and is a well known writer within the industry. Ghostwriter usually means you are taking or using a writer to not give them credit or payment.

[@sontho6995]

​@@Christian-eq6pqThe ghostwriting accusing came from drake's verse on RICO. That was meek mills song & drake's part was done by Quinton miller. He was never credited on rico.

[@fluidthought42]

​@@Christian-eq6pq The Weeknd has acused Drake of not crediting him for some songs he wrote for him, as have others

[@umusuuk]

Dre gets a lot of leeway on this because he's better known as a producer and an impresario. Snoop has sorta become just a cross-genre, cross-medium, cross-cultural icon he's not really seen in the same category. Snoop is also triple OG by now. He made his start in the LA freestyle cypher scene, he has his standing with the Crips, culminating with him in colors, cripwalking at the Superbowl Halftime show. He survived Suge Knight, he survived Master P, he survived rebranding himself as Snoop Lion, he made a Christian record with no profanity, he's been in movies, he's short hand for "smokes a lot of weed", he's friends with Martha Stewart. he's supposedly friends with Harry and William.

[@joplin4434]

@@Christian-eq6pq he took the Somerton approach of crediting after he got caught. And you should see the sample tracks he uses, he still doesn't disclose how much of "his" music is made by others

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

"Who is Kendrick in this?" He's the guy giving Drake enough rope.

[@brunop.8745]

"give your enemies enough rope to hang themselves and you'll save yourself the trouble", right?

[@spacejasontodd]

"Give any species too much rope and they'll fuck it up..."

[@harbingerofsalt]

I gently open the door. "Aubre-"

[@spacejasontodd]

@Comment_Leaver Dude I know, that one's from Roger Waters

[@-alovelygaycat-]

@@harbingerofsalt Was not expecting to find a Doki Doki Literature Club reference in the comments of a rap breakdown. Cool nonetheless though.

[@KettleBlacktheBat]

Todd, you missed a whole point though. If Drake is pop, he needs to stay pop. Stop taking from hip hop culture for a check then being like "Well, it was good to role play struggle. Time to be a suburban pop star again". Drake does more than flip flop between hip hop and pop, but he does the Malibu Most Wanted esque shit. He gathered up these mean, tough black guys to carry out dirty work to make himself seem "hard". To the point it has gotten actual people hurt because Drake wants to take people's shit and SWEAR he's about Mob Life. Tl;dr: I like Drake with the melodies. I don't like Drake when he act tough.

[@nervousallday]

FD Signifier points out that who Drake really wanted to be is J Cole. J Cole has done pop, but he's also still highly respected as a lyricist and a serious person. He's also biracial, and he has worked with all the same people as Drake. However, J Cole seems to know who he is and is secure and satisfied with being that person. That is why J Cole dipping out of this battle was so on brand for him and, in hindsight, the right thing to do.

[@samanteater]

I'm a white boy so I can't say how this affects "the culture", but it certainly affects my ability to take his music seriously when he puts on that awful faux-patois. There must be some sort of pathological thing going on with him because every time there's a new trend in rap, he jumps on it and then acts like he's been there from the start. I've been noticing this for years and I'm glad he's finally getting called the fuck out for it because it's just the corniest shit.

[@fluidthought42]

​@@daelen.cclark Yes and no. He recognizes that Drake's phoniness is bad for rap but connects it back to pop rap rather than to Drake's inability to be comfortable with not being accepted. Drake tried to make himself loved by everybody but instead became at most only tolerated by the public. He could've created an avenue for being an authentically corny dude who makes good pop with rap influences, but instead he tried to take over rap (and arguably did succeed for a while). That pathological need for validation became his undoing. The more he tried the faker he got and the more unlikable he became. When I hear Charli XCX or Rina Sawayama I hear people more authentic than Drake and they're pop as fuck. Drake overextended himself and pushed out mid constantly to feed the algorithm to stay #1 instead of cultivating talent that would be worthy of overshadowing him (like JID did to JCole). Drake tried to make himself bigger than the rest of rap and found himself forced outside of it instead.

[@ab2aasd]

​@@fluidthought42For a lot of the rap scene, I don't think they ever accepted him as an actual rapper. Him being marketable is the only reason he was kept around for so long

[@NorcalNoise]

I think the insult of being pop-[genre] has more to do with pop as an attempt to get popular rather than disparaging pop as a genre. The insistence that pop needed to be respected as a genre I think is different than the idea that pop is a tool to make money. Pop has proven that it can be as relevant and important as other genres; I think that's what poptimism was about. Pop was a genre that needed respect, and it's getting it because of the movement. By using "pop" as an adjective, however, the insult is meant to be "You are utilizing this genre as a disingenuous cash grab rather than as a respect for the genre." At least that's my view on it.

[@xraider9091]

bingo

[@majtechtings]

Man...this was a rollercoaster...a mixture of "Todd got a point!" And "Todd doesn't get it."

[@jogeller5731]

eh, i feel like he was never gonna get it, but i give him points for arriving at the conclusion “even as an outsider to the culture this is a huge win because drake is fake as hell and nobody wants any of that shit any longer”

[@majtechtings]

@@jogeller5731 I can agree with you on that.

[@chidorisnake22]

​@@daelen.cclark He missed a lot of critical analysis of the song that kinda requires at least a little more than surface knowledge on hip-hop and the cultural mindset behind it, such as the obvious Tekashi 69 reference at the end because he was a convicted kiddie diddler, the true purpose of the Atlanta bar setting up analogies for Drake's colonization of hip-hop culture, the lines he mistook for homophobic actually being about Drake's long history of both attaching himself (almost certainly inappropriately) to young girls while mistreating the adult women in his life, just to name a few that jump out immediately.

[@kaygeo]

@@bronmill33 Maybe I misread the review but wasn't that the point of the follow up line about Toronto? That Kendrick didn't need to be from Atlanta to convincingly write a bar about it and that he could have done the same thing about Toronto despite not being from there either

[@pixiel1xie]

I think Todd did whiff on a lot of the analysis about the beef specifically but I don’t think any of the rebuttals in the comments have actually answered his big picture question of what poptimism really means! The corrections note where his analysis missed, but they don’t actually explain why pop rap is a derogatory label or dispute his novel idea about connection of pop to the gay rights movement

[@BroudbrunMusicMerge]

"69 God" is a play on Drake calling himself "The 6 God," and Kendrick previously calling him a sex pest

[@breannaw7254]

Yep 😂 came here to say this thank u

[@MrDivined]

He is also referring to (comparing Drake to?) the rapper 6ix9ine who in 2015 was sued for SA of a minor, and got himself mixed up in street culture and a gang he really had nothing to do with, and ending up snitching on them.

[@sleepinbelle9627]

​@@MrDivined That's the most reasonable read I can see but if that's what he's going for then I feel like he should've pronounced "69" as two separate numbers to make it clearer. idk kendrick wrote that song in, like, 10 minutes maybe we shouldn't be too hard on him lmao.

[@baronvonbeandip]

It's not 69 god It's 16-eyein god

[@heavenlyjaded]

@@MrDivined yup was gonna say this

[@upsetstudios1819]

Someone on Instagram said, on a video about kids singing this song, that "this song is the most successful "stranger danger" campaign in history"

[@giantpinkcat]

Even the kids don't want Drake

[@morganqorishchi8181]

If this song keeps even one kid away from someone they look up to who's creeping on them, then it was all worth it. Seriously, my mom is a pediatric forensic psychologist and you have no idea how many people use a tiny bit of clout or a kid looking up to them to get access to them. If this makes kids go, "...this is sus", that's fantastic.

[@averyeml]

Nah he’s “throwing around” accusations of Drake being a creep commensurate with the amount of creep we see from Drake. If it turns out he has never actually touched a minor inappropriately or sent them nsfw stuff or something, I actually won’t feel bad about what’s been said because he has done skeevy shit we CAN see. Like yeah if we had the kind of hard evidence that could throw him in jail he oughta be and someone probably would have by now, but telling a guy “I hear you like em young” when that guy has literally publicly texted 16 year olds and then coming to collect right after they turn 18 is pretty fair and the right level of callout. I mean shit my guy kissed a 17 year old ON STAGE even after learning she was 17. Like even if someone checks that hard drive and it’s clean, I’m not gonna feel bad that someone took shots at stuff they could see in front of them

[@alexos16]

where are yall getting the information that he texted 16 year olds and then started dating them when they turned 18? that literally never happened.

[@averyeml]

@@alexos16 I mean the first one that comes to mind is Millie Bobby Brown but in your defense you’re right, she wasn’t 16, she was definitely younger than that As for the coming to collect bit, I don’t remember her name or details but he was up close and personal with an 18 year old that people then dug into and found instances of him being reeeeeal close to when she was 16 too

[@alexos16]

@@averyeml you don’t know her name and you clearly don’t know the situation. she’s the daughter of a famous producer. he took a picture with her when she was 16 backstage at a rihanna concert and he then took another picture with her 2 years later. that’s it. fake reports started to flow that they were dating but that was immediately denied by her and most importantly by the timeline of events.

[@champ1159]

​@alexos16 He kissed Kylie Jenner when she was 16, he hung out with Hailey Bieber when she was 14 and took her on a date when she was 19

[@gRinchY-op5vr]

​@champ1159 ooops you gave them way too many names and situations 😂

[@channeycash2609]

Predicting the next video: "POP SONG REVIEW: Woman's World by Katy Perry"

[@j.roseee]

assuming that song actually becomes a hit

[@heymistercarter.]

Considering that song bricked immediately... I doubt it.

[@littlemshashtag]

Yes please! Or make yet another train records 💯

[@Jackrabbit7]

@@j.roseeeI hope he reviews it anyway, that song is so horrible but funny to make fun of

[@koelkastridder3388]

That is low hanging fruit, but it is the juiciest on the tree

[@Mr96POP]

A direct sequel to the last POP SONG REVIEW. Kendrick was toying with Drake the entire time.

[@MichaelKilley]

Yo another worst songs lister.

[@paulienuti8031]

I love your Content Mr. 96

[@dannydamnmendez]

Mr. 69 God

[@johnindigo5477]

Finally no country 😭 I fw it but nice breath of air

[@ritacirocavalcante]

I feel like this video is a (mostly failed, by design) attempt of Todd's to play devil's advocate. He recognizes Kendrick is the winner of this feud, that said win is a positive to the world at large, but he's not a paladin who's doing that out of the pureness of his heart, but a human who's driven by very human emotions.

[@mcolville]

Hey that was James Somerton's defense! "If I did that, I would have been caught already!"

[@BeautifulEarthJa]

😂😂😂

[@gongalicious]

I'd argue there is hard evidence that Drake acted inappropriately with minors. There's video of him kissing a 17 year old after he learns her age. He makes comments about her minor body. At the very least, we know that and I think that's enough to call him a predator.

[@wingracer1614]

None of that is illegal. Yes it's likely indicative of him doing such things or trying to do such things but it is nothing that could get him convicted of anything.

[@SlyRocko]

It isn't illegal in the state that he performed in. However, it is still incredibly disgusting that he went that far with his act. It is creepy to observe his general comments all the way to his physical contact with the girl AFTER he already knew her age. I doubt he went as far as to do any jailable offense, but in the court of public opinion I'd say that he's beyond cooked.

[@StillWaters101]

​@@wingracer1614 read the comment again, it didn't say Drake did anything illegal on stage with a minor, but inappropriate with a minor. If he does that in public, why care whether or not if he's getting away with far worse in private? Just keep you little sister from him, heck just keep the family away, jeez. Baca his bf has a weird case too, why is he around?! Why do people act like they cant see the writing on the wall when its in bold and highlighted.

[@StillWaters101]

​@@SlyRocko​ Agreed, the comment doesnt say Drake did anything illegal on stage with a minor, but inappropriate with a minor. If he does that in public, why care whether or not if he's getting away with far worse in private? Just keep your little sister from him, heck just keep the family away, jeez. Baca his bf has a weird case too, why is he around?! People who pretend they dont see the writing on the wall when its in bold and highlighted are the reason it took 30 yrs for RKelly to be locked away, 30 yrs AFTER ppl had saw with their own eyes his video with a 14yr year old and marriage license to a 15yr old.

[@Kosithegod]

"23yo old drake kissed a 17 year old girl on the forehead once, so thats hard evidence that he r*p3s kids 10+ years later" - gongalicious

[@WilliamMaranciMashups]

drake covering “informer” is hilarious

[@pranavarora9976]

Even funnier knowing that f*cking Snow of all people is considered more respectful by his genre peers than Drake

[@fluffywolfo3663]

@@pranavarora9976unlike Drake, people respect his Jamaican accent lmao

[@jptcw2635]

You’re more respectful with your mashups

[@Jackrabbit7]

lol

[@GrantH]

A “lounge” piano cover of it too, there’s no way he could rap those verses at full speed.

[@mattmilliken1510]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="742">12:22</a> No.. no we wont. Because there is already evidence of him kissing a minor on the mouth on stage. Even if he couldn't be tried and convicted in court, I would not feel bad for calling him a predator.

[@dullahan4461]

I think the pop rap argument has a point but i think you misunderstood the point that Drake doesnt play it like hes a pop star like he is, he feigns being a hardcore rapper like those mentioned in the song. Its not saying that pop is a bad thing but more that Drake is attempting to water down the culture and point of rap for his own gain so he can pretend to be the king of that too

[@sebabandfriends3582]

Wow really Well fomulated comment.

[@dullahan4461]

@@sebabandfriends3582thanks man

[@LynnHermione]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="440">7:20</a> Ask someone 100% outside all of this, who is Kendrick? Kendrick is the spokesperson. you don't sing 6 times the same song unless the people you're singing to want to hear this six times. a lot of people evidently were sick of Drake already. Kendrick gave them a rallying point with really cool lyrics

[@seamusburke639]

For a lot of "Euphoria" I thought to myself THANK GOD SOMEONE FINALLY SAID IT.

[@Karsielatee]

@@seamusburke639 Exactly 😂

[@GentlemanOrcus1]

Honestly the biggest problem Drake had outside of super-plugged in music Reddit/KZbin, aka with normies, is that he put out like ten years of tedious forgettable music that was an almost immediate and noticeable drop from Nothing was the Same. For sure some highlights and good songs, popular dances and memes, good background and party music, but any artist who clearly thinks (and let's be honest for a while was) they're the biggest thing since MJ needs to put out much more consistent material... really outside the terrible controversies and the way he handled them, the main thing that did in MJ's career was a similarly long period of really uneven, tediously long albums that, even with some gems that people are rediscovering, still were not a patch on the "almost every song was a single" quality of Off the Wall - Dangerous.

[@seamusburke639]

@@GentlemanOrcus1 If you look back at Michael's last few records (Dangerous, HIStory, and Invincible), they're real overly long and have a lot of bitterness towards the media. You could cut those songs and every album would improve greatly. Even the singles he dropped got tedious because there were just so many of them, and when you didn't get another Billie Jean or Beat It, people just tuned out.

[@Jay_draco]

Bro there’s PLENTY of evidence and receipts of Drake’s relationships with underage girls

[@thoomolong]

Right. People acting like those accusations came out of thin air.

[@fleetwoodcraic4235]

It’s literally been a running joke for years now

[@theEumenides]

Exactly. I know basically nothing about the hip-hop/rap scene, and I'd heard about Drake's weirdness toward teenage girls. Before all this, it was literally all I knew about him.

[@doublemaycare7171]

Like, I'm not the only one who got bad vibes about him and Millie Bobby Brown. Drake, make friends your own age and leave her alone

[@zebsstudio9]

100%. thing is, most youtubers talking about this event have to call them 'allegations' because there could be risk of a lawsuit/other legal action otherwise. I think todd's just trying to play it safe.

[@DevNojo]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="665">11:05</a> "without any recipts" my guy, he brought a minor on stage, learned her age after hugging her and talked about how he liked her breasts. I'm pretty sure that counts.

[@oMuStiiA]

That was legal in the place it happened afaik, and to be clear I'm not saying that makes it okay, but it's still an important distinction to make. Todd is leery about spreading allegations about serious stuff that would cross into defamation because it could get Todd in trouble potentially. He makes it very clear he understands that Drake is a creep, but Kendrick isn't just accusing Drake of being a creep he's accusing Drake of stuff that would put him in jail if there was direct evidence to back it up and he was taken to court over it. What Todd means by "receipts" is actual evidence of crimes being committed that would be actionable in court. He doesn't want to get involved in spreading those sorts of claims thoughtlessly when the main accusations are coming from another artist who has beef with Drake and not like, actual victims, or the police, or people who were close to Drake whistleblowing about stuff they directly witnessed, etc. And that's a smart stance to take. It's one thing to say "Drake is a creep who felt up a 17 year old on video" and another thing to say "Drake committed statutory rape". Kendrick can probably get away with it because of the position he's in as a high profile artist, but as a much less famous KZbinr Todd is much more vulnerable to backlash if he starts spreading claims like that without any evidence to back it up.

[@jasonguarnieri4127]

I still can't believe Kendrick made Drake eat his parents.

[@LittleMissLounge]

😂 "His tears are so yummy!"

[@omgkthxbi]

the juneteenth show was a nice chili cook off lol

[@renaissanceweeb]

Drake is canadian. Kendrick dropped the video on July 4, many of the actors are wearing red white and blue. Kendrick fully embraced that this is the song of the summer and barbecued a subject of the king for independence day. God bless america.

[@nimrodery]

We're not subjects we're just part of the Commonwealth, somebody needs to read some history.

[@Polk277]

@@nimroderyhe’s still constitutionally our King lmao

[@JemaKnight]

​@@nimroderyAustralian here. Until we become republics we're going to need to eat shit on this.

[@xamp_exclammark]

Kendrick of all artists weaponizing nationalism is wild

[@nimrodery]

@@JemaKnight You can if you like, I prefer saying "until America gets better schools we're going to hear more stupid shit."

[@DeepCDiva]

Im glad you touched a bit on the "Master Manipulator" lines because i almost feel like Kendrick expected more? Drake was so big and got around the industry so much i think Kendrick expected something from that angle that never came to fruition because it turns out no one was buying Drake's shtick for a good while. Its such an overwhelming victory that even calling Drake "master manipulator" feels weird.

[@GamerTowerDX]

"I thought you were stronger"

[@DeepCDiva]

​@@GamerTowerDX literally this! Imagine singing that Drakes a MASTER at getting people to his side but people are seeing through it and Drake's answer is "im too rich and famous to abuse little girls." lmao

[@shaynethomas8880]

its hilarious that theres so much of what kendrick did that you don't get yet still deeply agree with his side of the argument over drake's

[@morganqorishchi8181]

That's because there's just so little to Drake's side that even my 95 year old grandpa in Uzbekistan, having read the translated lyrics, sides with Kendrick. It's just THAT obvious.

[@shaynethomas8880]

@@morganqorishchi8181 omg hilarious please make a yt video of that if you havent done so already. The world needs to see these things lol

[@thefelicits]

I find this video really sad coming from a professional music reviewer, he truly didn't get 90% of what the songs were about

[@oMuStiiA]

@@thefelicits he's a professional POP reviewer, he's experienced in a specific genre, he says himself in the video he's outside of his wheelhouse when talking about hip-hop.

[@enemycrumbles]

Todd breaking down Kendrick’s calculated offense and Drake’s disastrous tactics like Stephen A Smith pointing out flaws in the Celtic’s defense is something I didn’t know I needed

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

Fun fact: when you aren't subscribed to Nebula anymore but still have the app and are signed in, you still get notifications for every creator you're subbed to. I've known this was coming all day and have just been waiting around for it.

[@sandenson]

This is how I found out there's a Nebula app

[@the_newt_nest]

Hell yeah, early crew

[@elbruces]

I still think that "69 god" is a reference to Takashi 6ix9ine, who also put street gangsters on his payroll in order to try to purchase street cred for cash. That didn't end well for him, and it's starting to get Drake in similar trouble as well.

[@andylin9523]

It’s also because drake calls himself the 6 god, he also has a song called 9 which was supposed to be an anthem for Toronto aka the 6. I like Todd and I know he admits he’s not equipped to talk about rap deeply but when he mockingly calls Kendrick fans annoying for looking too deep when a line like 69 god makes no sense to him it makes that same point he makes ring just as hollow. You’re criticizing and analyzing songs for KZbin clout while at the same time calling Kendrick a fame chaser when the guy hasn’t been active on socials for literal years before this beef.

[@joelowdon1615]

It definitely is. It's a play on Drake calling him self the 6 God and a nod to Tekashi 6ix9ine also a sex offender

[@lockedlov9937]

This video should have been a collab with The Rap Critic because I think you dropped the ball on this one 😅

[@Hey-Its-Dingo]

A great take down of Drake's accusations against Kendrick abusing his ex-wife is a music historian pointing out that Kendrick released a whole EP about his relationship issues with her that already went into all his own faults, and even covered the very things Drake accused him of, and that EP was released years ago. So Drake's accusation was basically the music equivalent of people dragging out James Gunn's old tweets and opinions that he has already long done the work to change and atone for.

[@Hey-Its-Dingo]

I am white, and "Not Like Us" was only the 4th Kendrick song I have ever actually heard, so I could be misremembering if it was an EP or a full album, but the point is that Kendrick had already made music examining what he did wrong in that relationship to lead to it ending, so Drake bringing it up is just musical name searching.

[@OfficialROZWBRAZEL]

What’s the article from the Onion? “Man Always Gets Little Rush Out Of Telling People John Lennon Beat Wife”

[@dtowns]

Kendrick doesn’t have an ex wife bro.

[@SlyRocko]

​@@Hey-Its-Dingo The album you are thinking of is "Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers", where most of the songs basically just break down his character. Many of the songs go through heavy topics in his mind, and lists the good and bad he has either experienced or performed. The song "Mother I Sober" has a section where his fiance confronts him about his infidelity. Despite the act, she still recommended him to therapy. In the end of the song, he wants to set himself free of the "chains" keeping him flawed, and as a result atone for his sins. It is crazy how much Drake has completely ruined his arguments. Not only are they already outdated because of Kendrick's album, Drake's "The Heart Part 6" takes his stupidity further by completely misinterpreting "Mother I Sober" and coming to a conclusion that doesn't exist at all. Now he's trying to save face by "moving on" and claiming he doesn't care that the potential biggest hit of 2024 is calling him a pdf. Also, I hope you get to enjoy some of Kendrick's other songs. A lot of it is very deep, but he balances it out by also making some of them bangers :)

[@samanteater]

​​@@SlyRockoThe Heart Part 6 is insane to me. Like, even if Kendrick WAS molested, how the hell would bringing that up be some kind of sick burn? Like, "look at this stupid motherfucker, getting taken advantage of by people he trusted! What a clown!" ???

[@Stevofaves]

Todd, there is footage of Drake kissing a 17 year old on his stage, finding out, talking about how hot she is and kissing her again. These accusations aren't in a vacuum man lol

[@ArizonanSummer]

I hate that I’m about to be the guy to defend this, but in Colorado where it happened, 17 is the age of consent which makes it legal and the girl has spoken directly about how she has no ill will about it.

[@Shsjier]

​@@ArizonanSummerno ones suggesting it's illegal. Being a 30 yr old man and waiting untill girls turn 18 and then taking them on a date the next day isnt illegal either. But its creepy as f

[@joplin4434]

@@ArizonanSummer you should hate yourself even more, as drake says "I cannot go to jail yet", he thought he was commiting a crime. Will never get why ytp are so fast to jump to the defense of nonces

[@dennett316]

@@ArizonanSummer A grown man shouldn't be sniffing around 16 to 17 year olds...it's creepy as fuck. It's meant for them to be with someone close to their age range in a sexual way and not face charges. Not so old perverts can keep a chart of the age of consent per region so they know just how young they can go. He was also sending Millie Bobby Brown dating advice at the age of 14...that's just fucked up in so many ways. There's also his "interest" in girls high school basketball. He sniffs around children, talks to them, ingratiates himself, then waits for the legal barrier to pass before he makes his move. That shit is grooming, and it's gross as fuck. The guy is a creep.

[@scramblemindjumble]

I remember he talked specifically about how her .. chest … felt good. Man is a menace

[@emhornerbooks]

I have such mixed feelings about "poptimism." It shouldn't be about discounting artistry and authenticity; it should be about recognizing that artistry and authenticity can be found in more places than some critics might realize. A lot of 60s folk music and 80s punk music was absolutely commercial and cynically marketed, although there was also songs that will last for decades. And there's music that is 100% pure pop that is meaningful and aesthetically ambitious. We don't have to say "all music is good," or "all popular music is good." We can say "fantastic music can pop up everywhere, even in genres that are highly driven by commercial concerns."

[@killitwithfire5377]

This is so frustrating to me in the context of „authenticity“ and „posers“ in subcultures. We complain about people only doing it because they like the aesthetic but did the Sex Pistols not deliberately choose their aesthetic?? Music is a performance art, why do we have to shit on people for putting on a performance? Taylor Swifts bedazzled playsuits are as much of a costume as Kurt Cobains bleached hair and stubble. I wish we could just stop fighting over genres and take music for what it is.

[@Mi55os]

Yeah exactly, I thought that was poptism is, no ?

[@puffitale]

The whole “poptimism is because pop music is gay and people now respect gays so people now respect pop music” left a bad taste in my mouth. It's such a weird justification of the movement. Pop music is music. Music is an art form and should be celebrated and critiqued as such, not just instantly dismissed because of glossy aesthetics. I mean, look at the conversation around Jojo Siwa, Chappel Roan and what they're doing right now. By Todd’s explanation, Karma’s a Bitch & My Kink is Karma would be seen as both highly respected pieces of musicianship and visual artistry - mainly because both Jojo & Chappell identify as gay. But in reality, Jojo’s Karma is a trainwreck of a poorly thought through but still excessive but not in a fun way terribleness, whilst Chappell Karma is good songwriting killer vocals and a music video that feels like it comes out of John Waters’ Baltimore. Whatever Jojo’s doing feels like she's following a bullet list written in a hacky “how to transition from kid star to serious adult artist” ebook she got for free off Amazon Unlimted, whilst Chappell’s doing her ~art.~ The two are not the same and if Todd’s theory was true - which it’s not - they would be. Instead, it’s more along the lines of a changing of the guard as the old rock superiority critics are being left behind by younger critics who can't simply deny that Carly Rae Jepson makes some damn good music.

[@8bitdiedie]

Copying and pasting this comment cause I’m too lazy to write it again: The Poptimism conversation made some good points but it ALWAYS neglected how Pop music is this huge cultural force that tends to ‘water-down’ other cultures. Hip hop, Latin music, country etc. have all been watered down in the world of pop music in ways that remove or downplay important cultural elements of those genres. Even queer culture is watered down in pop music in comparison to the OG house and disco music scenes, but a lot of modern queer people don’t know that because they’ve been fed a narrative about pop being authentically queer. Poptimism wants to frame Pop music as the underdog SO badly that they forget pop music is literally the opposite of an underdog in any context other than critical acclaim. Pop music is the status quo and that comes with a huge amount of reckless commercialism, rainbow capitalism and music history revisionism.

[@Idunnoyouguessit]

R&B is still frustratingly absent from the conversation

[@WillieMartin-t7k]

I respect what homeboy is saying in the video trying to make his point, but he missed a lot of the points Kendrick was making, and just adds to Kendrick’s point when he says “they not like us” The whole poptimism point with drake, just showed me yeah you just don’t understand

[@PrincessBaby305]

Kendrick firing back about Cole saying they're the big 3 is because Kendrick doesn't want to be in any category with drake. So I could see him taking it as an insult even if you didn't think coles words were insulting.

[@piedpiper1172]

Cole showed the all time best survival instinct in this. Took his track down and went home lol.

[@PrincessBaby305]

@piedpiper1172 I read a comment that said Cole must feel like the person who missed their flight on 9/11 and I felt bad I laughed so damn hard

[@LicoriceLain]

@@PrincessBaby305 But then he dropped that dogshit track after the feud ended.

[@PrincessBaby305]

@LicoriceLain oh I haven't even listened to it lol I'll have to check it out

[@maxlimit9129]

@@PrincessBaby305 apparently ScHoolboy Q warned Cole about how far Kendrick was planning on taking things and if that's true Cole owes Q a life debt

[@libreysoberana3823]

I appreciate hearing your take on this beef/cultural event from a pop critic's perspective. Growing up listening to reggaeton, I've always been fascinated by its global appeal, especially in recent years. It would be neat to see you explore this in a future video. Regarding your point about Kendrick "liking being famous," I get what you are saying, but I also think we should consider making a distinction between the desire for "fame" and the need for "reverence." If Kendrick were solely after fame, his approach would likely be different-he'd take fewer artistic risks, release more commercially-driven albums, and focus on maintaining a constant presence in the media. However, Kendrick's career trajectory suggests that his primary motivation is a deep respect for hip hop culture and a desire to elevate it. He immerses himself in the genre's history and continually hones his craft with each new project. Simply put, Kendrick cares deeply about not just what he does but why he does it. The best indication of this to me was when he called Drake a "colonizer." Colonizers seize and exploit natural resources for their benefit, rewriting and erasing local memory in the process. There's violence in this practice, and that's why Kendrick takes issue with Drake.

[@Crow7878]

One of the weird details about the Not Like Us video: he chose to release it on the Fourth of July. Even the release date is a subtle diss about Drake being Canadian.

[@GentlemanOrcus1]

Good point

[@hugobecookin]

And his Pop-out concert was on Juneteenth. All angles

[@Karkitts]

oh Todd.... this is up there in the same category as your Barbie review for me, and I dont mean that in a good way, respectfully. Feels like some things were missed/misunderstood a lot is all...

[@GamingtheOtter]

No ovho's were hurt during the making of this Todd In The Shadows Review. Thank you!

[@fluffywolfo3663]

@@GamingtheOtter not PHYSICALLY…

[@NeonTwilight]

He kissed a 17 year old, I don't feel bad for calling him a weirdo. I wont even if it turns out it "wasn't worse" than a kiss cause thats weird behavior regardless.

[@WhiteStripesStripiestFan]

17 year olds, they're hyping about stuffed animals and hydro flasks and grades, I mean I've been that age and isn't interested in people above that age. So what Drake did should be thrown into jail

[@romaretaylor9953]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@WhiteStripesStripiestFanStuffed animals? 17 year olds aren’t 9 years old they’re about to be in College,some of em have jobs. Sure It’s weird but I can leave it at that

[@TacticusPrime]

People are weird as hell about that shit. Canada's age of consent is 16. 18 is only the age of consent in 11 of the 50 states. The others are either 16 or 17. Drake is a culture vulture and a womanizer and probably a groomer, but come on. Kissing a 17yo isn't the main thing wrong with Drake.

[@neverendinglute3125]

You have no idea how many times I’ve had to stop kids from singing this at a daycare.

[@sarinabina5487]

LMAO

[@321gofast7]

Kendrick made the most effective child safety PSA in years

[@vinnyfromvenus8188]

lmao why stop them?

[@accountwontlastlong1]

@@vinnyfromvenus8188 Bad language I guess.

[@neverendinglute3125]

@@vinnyfromvenus8188 did you miss the part where he mentioned how much the song had to be censored for the radio edit? I do think kids should be aware of people who prey on them but really shouting certified ped*phile doesn’t really teach them shit. I’d even say they’re not taking it seriously they just like the beat. If any of the little kids ask about what that word means they’re just as likely going to ask the other kids rather than staff which leads to a conversation where kids may end up having to be suspended or kicked out of the daycare after an investigation because conversations about that between kids can be viewed as the beginning of pier on pier. It is something the younger kids need to be sat down by their parents or guardians to talk about in a serious way rather than learning (incorrectly) what s*x is from a kid 2.5x their age (which again. Depending on all that’s said, could be a form of s*xual harassment). There’s also the fact that it’s being sung so blatantly near kids who may have had something happen to them and them being too uncomfortable to tell them to stop singing about it (we had a kid leave because of this and another is getting depressed over it). It also says the N word which kids aren’t supposed to say at the daycare and we’ve already had issues with parents over.

[@tha_jet_king3537]

The evidence of drake being a groomer is everywhere , note that this is a rap battle IF the opponent is a known groomer then they’re definitely going to be called a pdf 💀

[@mightyfilm]

You know, last year when I was at the TMNT Mutant Mayhem movie, I cringed like hell when one of them said something to the extent of wanting to hang out with Drake because he was a nice guy. I thought, yeah, that line's going to come back and bite them in the ass and already dated the movie 2 years ago when it was probably written.

[@mightyfilm]

@@daelen.cclark Seems I wasn't the only one that thought that. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bHvLn5mchb-enZY

[@GrandArchPriestOfTheAlgorithm]

I swear, Todd is coordinating with his Nebula brothers.

[@chrilborn4138]

Okay it's not just me lol

[@base4yrface]

@@chrilborn4138 I'm what the culture feeling

[@thedude4840]

Literally what they made nebula to do. Olson, Hbomb, Ellis, and Todd. A quartet of annoying overpaid and over played idiots who talk about nonsense. And try to elevate their pop culture talk to somethigg by respectable.

[@cyelemental]

They literally have a Discord, it was discussed during the Somerton kerfuffle

[@boloid_]

It's not just the timing, i see a lot of the same points being brought up.

[@stllr_]

you HAVE to see the FD Signifier movie about this beef that dropped today. it adds a lot of useful context to this and why kendrick came at drake for the reasons he did, and the underlying history that made him take the first public shot. there's a whole new light to see this in and it goes so deep. i'm not saying you have to cover it but if you've been thinking about it for this long i think you can absolutely respect the additional cultural stuff that comes with it

[@striderstache99]

THANK YOU.

[@stllr_]

@@striderstache99you're welcome. the people need to know.

[@BrendanJSmith]

Kendrick killing Drake’s career will go down as one of the most decade-defining moments of the 2020s. Drake has now officially joined the ranks of all the other 2010s icons who wouldn't survive the next decade.

[@BrolyChan]

One thing i love about this whole thing is that J.Cole realized what was about to happen and distanced himself immediately. The dude did the smart thing and just hung out on the beach while this whole thing was going down.

[@GamerTowerDX]

If there's a "greatest sidesteps in pop culture history" list J.Cole dodging this feud is one of them (idk what else would be on that list)

[@radhinkabagaskara5595]

Cole was warned by ScHoolboy Q to not participating in the beef, because it will gets ugly. And it did. Q was a good friend.

[@SeanStrife]

@@radhinkabagaskara5595 And now the J.Cole memes are the second-best part of the Kendrick/Drake beef.

[@fleetwoodcraic4235]

I got the vibe that J Cole thought it was gonna be more of a hip hop rivalry between the big 3, to prove who the best writer is. He probably backed out after hearing Kendrick had a personal grudge with drake, and I’ve always got the sense Cole and Kendrick are on decent enough terms

[@Ma5jay5dontxdoxthat]

​@@fleetwoodcraic4235 I wouldn't be surprised J. Cole seems to be at worst decent terms with everyone usually.

[@goingunder2548]

Kendrick 2011: 'Don't ask for your favourite rapper (he dead)' HE WAS PLANNING THIS FOR A LONG TIME

[@judgesaturn507]

Kendrick 2015: 'I was gonna kill a couple rappers but they did it to themselves'

[@ratedr7845]

i don't know if he wanted to decimate drake, but i think he wanted to decimate somebody and drake happened to be a good target

[@amolveira]

@@ratedr7845I think it’s both actually. Kendrick has been looking for someone to go at ever since the control verse, but Drake is absolutely his number 1 choice of who he’d like to smoke

[@Ludwig_Perpenhente]

​@@amolveira I mean who wouldn't? Drake really was the type of whippersnapper.

[@via2014]

Amen

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Honestly i do like that Todd did another video explaining how cooked Drake got because i feel like we're underestimating the amount of cooked Drake career could be after this and how long it might take for him to make a attempt at a recovery and even then who even knows if a recovery would save his career or get him back on the same levels he was on before this

[@TheKidwonda]

Depends on what your definition of cooked is. He broke out in 2009…and it’s 2024. He is about to turn 40 in a couple of years. I say that to say the most important part of his career has taken place. The run was the run. He was still the most streamed artist on Spotify as of July 2024. I’m going to say something that I have yet to read in the comments. Of all the over analysis being done no one has failed to realize this one nugget: THIS BEEF DID NOT CHANGE HOW FANS FEEL ABOUT DRAKE. If you didn’t like him before this beef didn’t change that and if you did like him before…this beef didn’t change that. If you go through the comments it’s not hard to ascertain that a lot of these people aren’t actual Drake fans. There’s a difference between wanting someone to be cooked/cancelled and actually thinking it’s going to happen

[@fatnin13]

@@TheKidwonda We'll see in a span of 2 years.

[@dogsandyoga1743]

FD signifier just dropped a (3 and a half hour) full breakdown, of both the history of the beef, and a deep dive analysis of the social and cultural themes addressed in it. Definitely worth a view, even if you aren't a fan of either artist..

[@nervousallday]

F.D. Signifier has a close to 3.5 hours breakdown of the whole battle and Drake's career and his relationship to hip-hop. It explains it with detail. The TL;DR breakdown for it is that, yes, in fact culture does matter and Fiq does a splendid job of spelling out why Drake is where he is now: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3bWl2qHoq59irM

[@umusuuk]

we need an emergency podcast of FD and Todd hashing out what they thought about the songs from their own perspevctives.

[@asdfkgkspr284]

@@umusuuk I'm good on Todd's perspective after this