Rap “beef” as a public spectacle is a dangerous game that artists rarely win

The shooting of a security guard nearby the house of Drake in Toronto is the newest chapter within the ongoing beef between the Canadian rapper and his Pulitizer Prize-winning rival Kendrick Lamar.

Rap battles have historically been a way for emcees to showcase their lyrical superiority over others through the art of dissent or irreverence. As the name suggests, dissidents have all the time attempted to make jokes through many means, including the specter of violence and humor. Since hip-hop went global, media and corporations have exploited the spectacle of violence—including rap battles—for financial gain.

In fact, shortly after the song's release “Like that“” with a pointed, aggressive verse from Lamar, posters appeared in New York and Los Angeles reading: “Hip-hop is a competitive sport.”

These billboards were sponsored by Spotify and RapCaviarthe service that curates Spotify's popular hip-hop playlist.

But the history of violence projected onto rappers and the profitability of their deaths suggests that Spotify and RapCaviar could also be profiting more from fomenting this conflict than the artists.

More people were probably in search of the music of Tupac Shakur And Notoriously BIG after her tragic death within the late Nineties. Since then, rappers have liked Pop Smoke And Juice WRLDto call just a couple of, became increasingly popular after they died.

As a Hip hop artist which examines the best way black art and black individuals are exploited and erased from history, the widespread promotion of beef and conflict between rappers is dangerous. Conflict could also be lucrative for some parties and is unlikely to vanish from the culture, but Spotify's invitation to view hip-hop as a competitive sport for its global audience makes it particularly problematic.

“Battle Royale”?

The feud between Lamar and Drake has been simmering for years and gained public attention in 2023 when Drake and J Cole selected the song “Ego shooter.”

In this song, Cole rejects critics' attempts to pit top-selling rappers against one another:

“I adore it after they argue with the hardest presenter. / Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or I? / We're the massive three like we began a league, / but straight away I feel like Muhammad Ali.”

Lamar apparently didn't just like the comparison. In a song released in March 2024, Kendrick tried to distinguish himself from J. Cole and Drake: “Like that”:

Given the long history of witty puns amongst rappers, it's comprehensible that hip-hop fans are all in favour of who takes the crown as the very best amongst their favorite rappers.

Longtime fans can remember the skill with which he did it Count Coolout described in exaggerated terms about fictional universes where people rocked out to the “disco mania” of the Nineteen Eighties in a spot called “Rhythmvania.”

Even more famous: Roxanne Shante was the beginning of “The Roxanne Wars” in 1984. The rap group “UTFO” wrote a song a couple of “snooty” girl they called “Roxanne.” The then 14-year-old rapper adopted the name and released her “Roxanne's Revenge,” which proclaimed her superior rapping skills.

Today's dissidents proceed a convention that dates back to the beginnings of hip-hop, only now for a worldwide audience.

The current portrayal of rap battles as a public spectacle pits modern rappers like Drake and Lamar against one another in similar competitions Ralph Ellison described as “Battle Royale.”

Ellison's groundbreaking novel states: “Invisible man“Wealthy white men gather a bunch of black men and encourage them to fight until just one is left standing. The winner receives a prize for his or her efforts. But considering what it takes to win, it's hard to say whether he actually won anything.

Diss tracks beyond rap

The flood of diss songs and the media coverage of every salvo reveal something in regards to the values ​​of the artists, their audience and the industry.

The dissidents that audiences eagerly consumed upon the discharge of every track included violence, childhood assault victim blaming, accusations of pedophilia, misogyny and homophobia and transphobia. As fans reward disrespect with attention and streaming and social media platforms become profitable, people vulnerable to the sort of attacks artists use against one another must contend with damaging words from global superstars and “joke people.” as answer.

The songs and media coverage also show how even perceived dissidents are promoted in other musical genres and across cultures.

On Taylor Swift's latest album, for instance, one in every of the songs on “The Tortured Poets Department“ is rumored the long-standing feud between Swift and Kim Kardashian and her former husband Ye (formerly Kanye West).

The rumors triggered her Explaining Vogue 2024 the “year of the diss track”.

The dissident even found his strategy to the USA 2024 presidential election. President Joe Biden released one Advertisement online dissident GOP rival Donald Trump. The ad shows Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris and within the background Kendrick raps:

“It's all the time been about love and hate, now I would like to say I'm the most important hater. / I hate the best way you walk, the best way you talk, / I hate the best way you dress./

But in politics and sports like skilled wrestling, trash talk is commonly understood by audiences and competitors as a performance quite than reality.

If rap is definitely viewed as a competitive sport akin to skilled wrestling, and Spotify invites us to gawk at it, then rappers is likely to be more like interchangeable objects that add excitement to the conversation – the chair being broken over someone's head, the ring into which wrestlers are thrown, or turnbuckle into which an opponent's face is smashed.

When something terrible ultimately happens, it's hardly seen as a tragedy after they're destroyed – and there's not even a temporary lull in streaming their music after they disappear.