Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s track-for-track rap war dominated hip-hop discussion. Although Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” eventually became the standout (and chart-topping) song from the feud, many have already forgotten another song that kicked things off.
Metro Boomin and Future’s “Like That” could easily be considered the launch point. Despite gaining the support of Kendrick Lamar’s massive fan base, Metro Boomin isn’t exactly a fan of stan culture. Yesterday (September 23), during a Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit panel, Metro Boomin seemingly cited stan culture as the root cause for today’s “weird” rap beefs.
“I feel like the competition is great for the game,” he said. “Hip-hop has always been more of a competitive genre even if just keeping it on music, and it’s not serious how everybody tries to make it. Because also with Hip Hop, there’s a lot of ego involved. You’re supposed to feel like you’re the best. Everybody from the highest to the lowest guy is supposed to at least feel like you’re the best. So when two of the top dogs in the game and you both feel like you’re the best, it’s like okay, now we gotta have a showdown.”
Metro Boomin then referred to Jay-Z and Nas’ infamous diss tracks before turning his attention to stan culture, saying: “But I just feel like more today with stan culture, it makes it kind of weird. Because back in the day, JAY-Z and Nas went at it. But I was a fan of both of them. And most people were! And it was like, it’s okay. It was like not I hate this side [or] I hate that side. The internet just makes it a little too wild now.”
I’m not sure those he were alive to witness Jay-Z and Nas’ clash remember it quite this way (myself, included).