The recent beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake took over the hip-hop world. Fans and artists took sides, while legends commented on the effect the back and forth diss tracks had on the industry. While the rivals boosted sales and attention for hip-hop, was it actually good for the genre?
One of the most surprising takes came from The Roots’ Questlove. The Oscar winner took to Instagram to criticize the feud. “Nobody won the war. This wasn’t about skill,” he wrote. “This was a wrestling match level mudslinging and takedown by any means necessary — women & children (& actual facts) be damned. Same audience wanting blood will soon put up ‘rip’ posts like they weren’t part of the problem. Hip Hop truly is dead.”
Considering that he’s been involved in past beefs, fans weren’t on board with his opinion on all the fun they were having. Now, the Grammy winner is taking a less reactionary position and explaining why his feelings on the subject were so emotionally charged.
“I was there at the Source Awards when the shit really hit the fan in 1995,” he told NPR. “And I was there in 1997. That was a ‘What now?’ moment for Hip-Hop — Tupac and Biggie, embroiled in a battle. I’ve never seen a battle in which it ends well.”
Questlove artist went on to describe how the rivalry coincides with the tumultuous climate that we currently live in.
“We’re living in a polarizing time. We’re living in a time right now where World War III can easily break out at any moment,” he said. “We’re living in a time when civil war can break out at any moment in the United States. We’re living in a time where the uncertainty of something jumping off is just in the air… For me it’s like, I’ve seen this movie before—and I’m triggered. The aftereffect of Tupac and Biggie was just a 30-year travel into darkness.”
“Triggered” is probably the best word for his initial comments, as they likely came from an extremely emotional place. The way the feud escalated so quickly may have taken him back to how he felt in the ‘90s when everything went horribly wrong and we lost two legends.
Questlove is right. We don’t know what will cause the downfall of this crazy world, but we really hope it’s not something as ridiculous as a rap beef.