{"id":562255,"date":"2026-03-25T01:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T01:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/562255\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T01:00:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T01:00:07","slug":"jay-z-weighs-in-on-drake-kendrick-lamar-feud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/562255\/","title":{"rendered":"Jay-Z Weighs in on Drake-Kendrick Lamar Feud"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tJay-Z<\/a>\u00a0is questioning the role of rap battles in modern hip-hop as he weighs in on the ongoing feud<\/a> between\u00a0Drake<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Kendrick Lamar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn an\u00a0interview with\u00a0GQ<\/a>, the rap icon and business mogul addressed the high-profile clash publicly for the first time, framing the moment as a potential setback for the culture\u2019s global growth.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMan, this is taking us a couple steps back,\u201d Hov said of his reaction to the scathing war of words between the two hitmakers. He also questioned whether battling amongst rap artists is reflective of hip-hop\u2019s progression.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve just grown so much that \u2014 I guess I\u2019m going to say it \u2014 I don\u2019t know if battling needs to be part of the culture anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHowever, following those initial thoughts, Hov admitted that his stance on rap battles can be viewed as hypocritical given his own history of rhyme wars, particularly his clash with Nas during the early aughts.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 56-year-old also addressed speculation that he and Roc Nation played a role in fueling divisions by\u00a0selecting Kendrick Lamar to headline<\/a>\u00a0the Apple Music Super Bowl 2025 halftime show.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe dismissed suggestions that the decision reflected a long-standing bias or rivalry against Drake, whom he\u2019s collaborated with on multiple occasions.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI chose the guy that was having a monster year,\u201d Hov told\u00a0the outlet while defending his selection of Lamar as headliner. \u201cI think it was the right choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGoing further, he scoffed at the thought that he\u2019s in cahoots with others in an attempt to\u00a0sabotage and humiliate<\/a>\u00a0Drake, pointing to his own reputation and status while insisting such insecurity is beneath him. \u201cWhat do I care about them two guys battling,\u201d the Brooklyn native added.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhat\u2019s that got to do with me? Have at it. They drag everybody in it, like everyone\u2019s part of this conspiracy to undermine Drake, I guess. But, it\u2019s like, what the fuck? I\u2019m fucking Jay-Z! [Laughs.] All due respect to him. I\u2019m fucking Hov. Respectfully. It doesn\u2019t make any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDespite distancing himself from the conflict, Jay-Z expressed concern about the broader impact of the feud, particularly the backlash directed at Drake following the release of Kendrick Lamar\u2019s diss track \u201cNot Like Us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNow, people that like Kendrick hate Drake, no matter what he makes. It\u2019s like an attack on his character.\u00a0I don\u2019t know if I love that<\/a>. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s helpful to our growth where the fallout lands, especially on social media.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n

\n\tJay-Z\u2019s sit-down with\u00a0GQ\u00a0comes as he prepares for a slate of live performances in celebration of the 30th anniversary of his debut album,\u00a0Reasonable Doubt,\u00a0and the 25th anniversary of\u00a0The Blueprint. He is currently set to headline the Roots Picnic<\/a> in May, and will perform two concerts at Yankee Stadium<\/a> in July.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThis story was originally published on VIBE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jay-Z\u00a0is questioning the role of rap battles in modern hip-hop as he weighs in on the ongoing feud…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":562256,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,2905,134,22026,21233,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-562255","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-drake","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-jay-z","13":"tag-kendrick-lamar","14":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=562255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/562256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=562255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=562255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=562255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}