Rappers' feud made a circus of hip hop

What is particularly ugly about this conflict is how it reflects the darker corners of the internet

- VERNON AYIKU

The beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake has been cooking since 2013. The unspoken rule of a rap battle is that there are no rules. But Drake vs. Lamar quickly became an information race rather than a competition to determine the better rapper, Vernon Ayiku writes.

Grown men trivializing pedophilia, domestic abuse and child abandonment is disgusting and is so far from what hip-hop is supposed to represent that we should rethink our love for both guys

Let's talk about Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar, for real. Now that the dust has settled and the fiercest hip-hop rivalry since Biggie and Tupac is seemingly over, it's clear who the real losers of this beef are: the fans.

On March 26, when Lamar threw the first punch of this heavyweight fight with a guest verse on Future and Metro Boomin's "Like That," longtime fans of both rappers immediately knew the bell had rung.

For years, Drake's and Lamar's fans have wanted to see the two duke it out. As far back as 2013, the rappers quietly dissed each other pretty consistently, their insults usually relegated to a sneaky line or two on a verse, as on Lamar's 2015 hit "King Kunta" ("I can dig rapping, but a rapper with a ghostwriter?/What the f--k happened?") or Drake's 2013 track "The Language" ("I don't know why they been lyin but your 8-t is not that inspirin"").

Only the most keen-eared of listeners were following what was believed to be a healthy ongoing competition between two of the generation's greatest.