For what might be the first time this year, Drake has publicly encountered a person he thought was a good friend but was, in actuality, a close ally to the man he was beefing with: Kendrick Lamar.
On Saturday night, Demar DeRozan’s Sacramento Kings played in an intense overtime game against the Toronto Raptors. NBA legend Vince Carter’s jersey was being retired during the game, so Drake, who is from Toronto, decided to pop out for the festivities.
DeRozan was once a star player for the Raptors and close friends with Drake, but since he was seen dancing on stage to “Not Like Us” at Lamar’s Pop Out show, there seems to be a rift between the two.
During the game, Drake was being interviewed by the local broadcast, discussing the game and Carter’s jersey retirement when he seemingly said out of nowhere, “If you ever put up a DeRozan banner, I’ll go up there & pull it down myself.”
This made it clear that he was no longer friends with the NBA veteran.
During the closing moments of the game Drake and his close friend, Chubbs, were seen staring intensely at the King’s guard. When the game ended, and the Raptors walked out with a win, the camera seemed to catch the Toronto rapper saying, “F**k outta here, p*ssy.”
That was only the beginning of the petty behavior. At the postgame press conference, DeRozan was asked about Drake’s “banner” comment. In response, he said, “He gon’ have a long way to climb to take it down. Good luck.”
DeRozan also posted a clip from the movie “Friday” on his Instagram story that night. It’s from the scene where Chris Tucker’s character claims that he only gets tough when Deebo is not around. Deebo happens to be one of DeRozan’s many nicknames.
Prior to this recent encounter, DeRozan did not appear to have any problems with Drake. When asked about his relationship with Lamar, Drake, and cameo in the “Not Like Us” video, DeRozan did not think any of it was a big deal.
During a July interview with The Sacramento Bee, he said, “It was fun to be a part of (‘Not Like Us’). For that moment, it was so much bigger than what people look at it as a beef between (Lamar) and Drake. It brought our whole city together in a different type of light where there wasn’t no issues, no violence. Everybody was coming together in a peaceful manner and that was the beauty out of those moments.”
He later added, “Kendrick is basically family. Obviously we’re from the same city, but that’s family. Whatever I ever need from him, I ask him and vice versa. When he did the song, he asked me to be a part of it, and whatever it is he’s doing, I’m going to be a part of it without a thought. That’s kind of always been our relationship.”
When he was asked about Drake, he shared, “Drake’s still my man, still my man, none of it changed.”
Well, it seems that for Drake, things have changed.