Why DMX had a deep hatred of Drake: “I don’t like anything about him”
Although Yonkers legend DMX was known for his hard, tough exterior, many who were close to him knew him for being a source of positivity and a very religious, spiritual person. That said, he did have some strong opinions, and on one occasion, he publicly shared his disdain for Drake.
Although many wouldn’t label it a feud, there were tensions between the two artists that lasted for years until the two finally squashed it. Since he exploded onto the mainstream in the late ‘90s, DMX has been quite critical of certain figures in the music industry, and, to this day, Drake has been a polarising character.
As a biracial kid from the Toronto suburbs who got his start in acting, many people in hip-hop saw the former Degrassi star as an inauthentic imposter when he first arrived in the culture. However, with the backing of Lil Wayne and Young Money, many didn’t actively call him out.
Unfortunately for Drake, DMX did, and he did not hold back. During a 2012 appearance on the morning radio show The Breakfast Club, when asked about his opinion of Drake and his music, X swiftly stated, “I don’t like anything about Drake! I don’t like his f*cking voice; I don’t like the sh*t he talks about; I don’t like his face; I don’t like the way he walks. Nothing. I don’t like his haircut.”
At the time, Drake was rapidly rising in the culture, and as a respected veteran in the game, X’s opinion shook hip-hop and signalled that not everyone was prepared for or happy with Drake and his cultural takeover.
That same year, while speaking with RapFix Live, DMX continued to criticize Drake over his basic, emotional style of rapping, declaring, “He has talent, but it’s kinda redundant. It’s kinda the same all the time to me personally. It’s an annoying sound.” He even compared the Toronto native’s voice to the sounds of a running washing machine.
However, Drake’s style wasn’t the only thing DMX disliked about the ‘Hotline Bling’ rapper. X was extremely unhappy that Drake had reportedly been asked to curate a posthumous Aaliyah album. DMX was a close friend and collaborator of Aaliyah’s before her death in 2001 and felt that anybody involved should have, at the bare minimum, actually worked with the singer while she was alive.
Speaking directly to Drake through the interviewer, DMX explicitly stated, “I’m kinda feelin’ some kinda a way about the fact that you been commissioned, that you been blessed, you’ve been given the opportunity to do the Aaliyah album, yet you don’t include anybody that she worked with personally!”
He concluded, “How do you disregard what this woman did? What this beautiful angel did and say, ‘Oh OK, I’m gonna take it for myself because I’m hot right now, and I’m feelin’ myself!’ How do you just go there with it? Your balls ain’t that big, son.”