Joe Budden claims he sent Pusha T and Kendrick Lamar to defeat Drake
Former rapper turned podcaster Joe Budden has stated that he is responsible for opening the floodgates concerning the numerous battles against Drake over recent years. From Pusha T to Kanye West and, most recently, Kendrick Lamar, the Toronto emcee has come under a lot of fire.
During a recent Twitter post, the ‘Pump It Up’ artist claimed that Drake’s defeat was a group effort and asserted that he “passed the baton” to Pusha T, who then gave it to Lamar. Budden and the Scorpion icon have been feuding for several years.
During a conversation on the online JBTV After Hours show, Budden admitted that although his comments may “come off the wrong way” or “sound narcissistic,” his social media back-and-forth with the ‘God’s Plan’ artist made it easier for Pusha T to release his iconic diss track, ‘The Story of Adidon’, in 2018.
Asserting how it took more than a single individual to defeat Drake, Budden began, “I don’t think any one man takes down Drake. I think that was a baton. I think I passed the baton to Push. I think Push passed the baton to Kendrick, and the job is done now. That’s how I feel in my head and in my heart.”
Many in hip-hop have said that Drake had to get knocked down a few pegs for the greater good of the culture. In an interview with Justin Laboy earlier this year, the legendary producer Kanye West insisted that hip-hop was “energized” by the collapse of Drake and asserted that “Everybody is very, very excited about the elimination of Drake.”
Budden seems to be one of these people excited about Drake’s downfall. However, some of the rapper’s biggest fans, alongside DJ Akademiks, retaliated against Budden’s claims. One user wrote, “What they all FAIL to realize is Drake has something that NONE of them have…. THE WOMEN & POP CULTURE!!!! don’t @ Me… this IS NOT a RAP Battle!!!! It’s the Music Business!!!!”
Others agreed with these comments about popularity, as another wrote, “This further proves that Drake won.. these guys are doing their best to build these narratives, and it’s only proving that they ALL begging, wack & weak individuals looking to fight Drake for solely being successful.”