War of Attrition
New York magazine|May 20 - June 02, 2024
In the Kendrick-vs.-Drake battle, no one wins.
CRAIG JENKINS
War of Attrition

FIVE WEEKS AFTER Kendrick Lamar's verse on the abrasive Future track "Like That," provocations seemed to corner Drake into using his typical methods against detractors: striking faster than opponents can anticipate and forcing them into embarrassing moves. The long-standing cold war between the two rap heavyweights came to a boil when each issued rapid-response diss tracks challenging the other's character. Drake's "Family Matters" and "The Heart Part 6" and Lamar's "meet the grahams" and "Not Like Us" were calculated acts of reputational damage whose density and discursiveness bore a closer resemblance to social media dustups than slower-simmering rap beefs past.

It was a public-relations coup getting Drake to infuse his gooey vocal samples, watery synths, and enveloping reverb with point-by-point rejections of grim accusations. In the miserable "The Heart Part 6," which cuts into Lamar's same-named song series, Drake denies accusations of pedophilia while cracking wise about molestation and calamitously misreading "Mother I Sober," a track about Lamar's mother's trauma. Drake insinuated that the self-professed Mr. Morale was not living up to the righteous ire of Lamar's back catalogue: ""The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice'/We get that you like to put gin in your juice/We get that you think that you Bishop in Juice/When you put your hands on your girl, is it self-defense 'cause she bigger than you?" Blowing up a potential victim's story for chart tallies doesn't scan as concern for her well-being. Lamar's "meet the grahams" purports to reveal a daughter Drake has been hiding, while "Matters" and "Heart" insist that pgLang cofounder Dave Free is secretly the father of one of Lamar's children. Fact-checks are in order, though fans' minds are already made up: If you stan Drake, Kendrick rehashed ten years of Twitter banter; if you keep a ranking of "Heart" parts, you celebrated an indiscriminate trouncing.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 20 - June 02, 2024 من New York magazine.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 20 - June 02, 2024 من New York magazine.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من NEW YORK MAGAZINE مشاهدة الكل
Trapped in Time
New York magazine

Trapped in Time

A woman relives the same day in a stunning Danish novel.

time-read
6 mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
Polyphonic City
New York magazine

Polyphonic City

A SOFT, SHIMMERING beauty permeates the images of Mumbai that open Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light. For all the nighttime bustle on display-the heave of people, the constant activity and chaos-Kapadia shoots with a flair for the illusory.

time-read
3 mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
Lear at the Fountain of Youth
New York magazine

Lear at the Fountain of Youth

Kenneth Branagh's production is nipped, tucked, and facile.

time-read
5 mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
A Belfast Lad Goes Home
New York magazine

A Belfast Lad Goes Home

After playing some iconic Americans, Anthony Boyle is a beloved IRA commander in a riveting new series about the Troubles.

time-read
5 mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
The Pluck of the Irish
New York magazine

The Pluck of the Irish

Artists from the Indiana-size island continue to dominate popular culture. Online, they've gained a rep as the \"good Europeans.\"

time-read
8 mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
Houston's on Houston
New York magazine

Houston's on Houston

The Corner Store is like an upscale chain for downtown scene-chasers.

time-read
3 mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
A Brownstone That's Pink Inside
New York magazine

A Brownstone That's Pink Inside

Artist Vivian Reiss's Murray Hill house of whimsy.

time-read
3 mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
These Jeans Made Me Gay
New York magazine

These Jeans Made Me Gay

The Citizens of Humanity Horseshoe pants complete my queer style.

time-read
2 mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
Manic, STONED, Throttle, No Brakes
New York magazine

Manic, STONED, Throttle, No Brakes

Less than six months after her Gagosian sölu show, the artist JAMIAN JULIANO-VILLAND lost her gallery and all her money and was preparing for an exhibition with two the biggest living American artists.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
WHO EVER THOUGHT THAT BRIGHT PINK MEAT THAT LASTS FOR WEEKS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
New York magazine

WHO EVER THOUGHT THAT BRIGHT PINK MEAT THAT LASTS FOR WEEKS WAS A GOOD IDEA?

Deli Meat Is Rotten

time-read
10+ mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024