LL Cool J praises the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef
One of this year’s hip-hop highlights has been the battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, which dominated April and May earlier this year. It had fans and artists talking and revived a sense of competition in rap.
Everybody in the culture from Joe Budden to DJ Akademiks were talking about it and rappers from Rick Ross to Travis Scott ended up getting roped into the beef. However, LL Cool J has recently come out singing the praises of Drake and Lamar, claiming it was a great thing for music.
In an interview with Bootleg Kev, LL Cool J admitted that as a fan, he was highly entertained by the battle and didn’t agree with those who said it was detrimental to the culture. In fact, concerning the Drake and K.Dot feud, LL stated, “I thought it was great for hip-hop,” he noted. “Thought it was the right thing.”
LL Cool J revealed his thoughts about the feud, saying, “I thought they both did well. They held their own.” He continued, “I thought Kendrick won. But I thought that Drake, by no means did he embarrass himself… He definitely showed up.”
LL Cool J is no stranger to feuds. In the 1990s, following a lyric delivered by Canibus, LL Cool J entered a battle with the Bronx emcee. He took it personally when Canibus rhymed, “Yo L, is that mic on your arm? Let me borrow that.”
The emcee (real name James Smith) says that battles are good but can deter those involved. Expanding on this, he asserted, “The key to that stuff is as long it doesn’t distract you from your ultimate goal.”
Comparing rap battles to sports and his love for it, LL Cool J concluded, “It’s a wonderful thing to participate in. I love it, man. This is no different from LeBron and Steph. Jordan, when he was coming in, and Magic was going out. It ain’t no different.”