There’s no accent Drake can sell us, according to Kendrick Lamar. The conversations around his multiple personalities on the mic have lasted for over a decade now, whether or not you are merciful or merciless in your assessment. But according to Complex, there is one person whose criticisms of Drizzy’s Jamaican patois in particular come from a healthily self-aware place, and that’s Sean Paul.
During a recent interview with REAL 92.3 LA, he answered a question about how he really feels about the Toronto superstar’s occasional accent. “Probably what he thinks of my North American accent. Probably the same thing,” the Kingston native reportedly remarked. “It ain’t that great. … But it’s a thing. It’s a thing, man. You know, I mean, I’m proud that our culture has big players in the game loving it and wanted to say that. So, I’m not going to fight dude down for that.”
In addition to the Jamaican accent, the ICEMAN spitter has also employed a U.K. accent for his grime and drill explorations; spoken Spanish on collabs with Bad Bunny, Fuerza Regida, and more; and other cultural nods. These have always caused controversy and debate, but the K.Dot battle certainly amplified them for better or worse.
Drake Kendrick Lamar Beef
Elsewhere, with an accent or with no accent, Drake’s impact has big defenders. For example, during a recent stream with Adin Ross, Young Thug explained why he thinks his “Oh U Went” collaborator’s stamp is more consequential than Kendrick Lamar’s.
“I got to say Drake. He just did more, he put more people on,” he argued. “Not saying that Kendrick didn’t put nobody on, but Drake just did more. He put more people on and he got more numbers. Numbers-wise, statistically, impact on the culture, impact on the world. Kendrick Lamar got a hell of an impact. He’s for sure No. 1 ever in life who could possibly come out of L.A. Nobody in L.A. could never, ever, ever be better than him. He the GOAT of the whole West Coast, for sure. Well, I don’t know, I’d probably say Nipsey [Hussle], but number-wise… I like Nipsey better, too. But I think number-wise, Kendrick Lamar beat him.”