Kendrick’s Drake-Villain Origin Story Begins With DMX

Photo: Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images

The Drake–versus–Kendrick Lamar rap spat is the stuff of blog-era millennial dreams. The artists have circled each other for more than a decade, slinging subliminal barbs back and forth since 2012. But over the past 12 years, there’s only been one outright name-mentioning slug shot on Lamar’s 2013’s “Control” on which K. Dot fired off the most respectfully threatening barrage against the biggest rappers of the time. Pretty much every rapper he names — J. Cole, Big K.R.I.T., and Wale — took being targeted by one of the greatest at the time as an honor. Drake, though? Not so much. “It just wasn’t real to me,” he told Hot 97’s Angie Martinez. “I saw him after that and it was just like love, so it’s like was that real or was that for the people? Those were harsh words, you can’t just say that and see me like, ‘Yeah, man, what’s up,’ pretending like nothing ever happened.”

From then on, the relationship would be up and down. Kendrick would tell DJ Whoo Kid in 2014 that he couldn’t make music with the Canadian anymore because “we come from two different worlds, two different backgrounds,” and that he couldn’t see it “playin’ out as entertaining.” So yes, “Control” provided some insight into how different they were as people. But it didn’t mark the beginning of their feud, as we learned on Kendrick’s recent diss records, the delightfully spiteful “Euphoria” and “6:16 in LA,” where Lamar bombards Drake for becoming a meme, paying for friendships, and being an overall “terrible person.” The most noticeable diss comes from “Euphoria” when Dot goes down a list of all the things he hates about Drake (the way he walks, talks, dresses, along with sneak disses and insert transphobic line here). It’s not only a hilariously petty harangue on Drake’s character — and fashion sense — but a hat tip to the actual start of this beef in the first place: the late rapper DMX.

In February of 2012, DMX hopped on Power 105.1’s “Breakfast Club” and went in on Drake’s, well, everything. Angela Yee asked if the New York icon liked Drake and he flat out said, “no.” When pressed by DJ Envy, DMX shrugged and said, “I don’t like anything about Drake. I don’t like his fucking voice. I don’t like what he talks about. I don’t like his face. I don’t like the way he walks, like, nothin’. I don’t like his haircut. Imma … lemme stop right there.” At the time, this shit was delectable for the backpack rap fans who weren’t really into Drake’s sobby energy. Later that year, DMX made an appearance on Whoolywood, where he told DJ Whoo Kid that his issues with Drake “ain’t that serious.” X started to tell a story about a girl who went on tour with him but, curiously, decided against stirring more drama. But, he said that things between them were cool enough that he wouldn’t beat him up in an elevator if he saw him. Which, ya know, I think is pretty generous.

Both DMX interviews were hilarious enough for any rap fan with a sense of humor to appreciate the sadboi being taken down a peg. Among those people? Kendrick Lamar. Despite collaborations in 2011 and 2012 on Drake’s “Buried Alive” and Kendrick’s “Poetic Justice,” respectively, Kendrick would pop in on the show and joyously tell the story of first hearing X’s “Breakfast Club” interview. After a long night on tour, Lamar was woken up by his crew losing their minds. “I’m wondering why these niggas in the front of the bus just crackin’ up, hittin’ walls and shit,” he said swinging his arms, “I’m like, ‘Dawg, what the fuck you niggas talkin’ bout?’ They mute, they stop laughin’, right? I just hear X goin’ off on the laptop, just spazzin’.” Yup, that was it. After this moment, the two would never make music together again (“Fuckin’ Problems,” which dropped in October 2012, was a widely circulated beat that Drake passed to Dot, who recorded a verse for it but then passed it back to Drake, who eventually gave it to A$AP Rocky, allowing him to keep all the previously recorded verses). Their relationship would also sour behind the scenes, with multiple volleys being launched from each titan but never, until now, getting into the muck of their personal issues.

Despite the DMX drama going down a year earlier, “Control” and its aftermath — which, as Drake told Vibe in 2014, kinda fucked with the rollout of his 2013 album, Nothing Was the Same — may have been the loudest siren initiating the Aubrey and Dot cold war. Drake dropped “The Language” on 2013’s NWTS, which came out the gate with a sub at K. Dot: “I don’t know why they been lyin’ but yo shit is not that inspirin’.” Later in that same verse he spews, “Fuck any nigga that’s talking that shit just to get a reaction …” and later, “I am the kid with the motor mouth / I am the one you should worry ’bout.” On Jay Rock’s “Pay for It,” Lamar fires back, “Been dissectin’ your motormouth, til I break down the engine / This ain’t no warnin’ shot, this a relevant henchmen / See my opponent, then — cease your existence”

The DMX thing speaks to the root of all the mess. These guys at the top of the mountain couldn’t be on more different paths. Drake, if he came from Dot’s world, wouldn’t have survived given his slinky backbone, while Drake believes that K.Dot’s greatness is illegitimate because of how long he takes between albums. One is Abercrombie & Fitch and boat shoes, the other is white tank tops and Nike Cortezes. Neither are really putting it on for real, but it still clashes.