When Meek Mill picked up his phone and parted the Twitter seas, there was one particular word that came to my mind:
Amen to Meek Mill and his inability to stay quiet. Amen to Meek starting beef over one of the best songs on his new album, "Dreams Worth More Than Money." Amen to paying respects to the best in the rap game. And most importantly, amen to rap beef.
It's been a while since there's been a rap beef that caught my eye. We had Birdman throwing drinks at Lil Wayne (and maybe trying to kill him), but Weezy is by far the better rapper. Action Bronson apologized to Ghostface shortly after dissing the legend, and rightfully so. And there was Kendrick's "Control" verse that had everyone going crazy because K-Dot mentioned specific rappers, but that was more of a message to the rap community as a whole and less about attacking any specific individual. That last part is what makes this rap beef so special: Meek Mill directly came after Drake. This wasn't a sneak diss in a verse or a subtweet. There's little room left for interpretation here--this was a man calling another man a fraud.
I could spend hours telling you why Drake is a questionable dude who unquestionably makes great music. Or maybe I should dig deep on why Meek's inability to lower his voice comes with an ability to drop classics. The thing is, no matter what I do, Drake fans will be Drake fans, and Meek Mill fans will be Meek Mill fans--there are legitimate arguments on both sides that have less to do with changing the number of supporters for either rapper, but more to do with giving ammo to all parties involved.
If you’re a Drake fan, seeing another rapper tweet accusations won’t make you stop listening to Drake’s music. In your eyes, Meek is just another jealous artist that’s coming after a more successful Drake for his own personal gain–or maybe Meek’s just salty over Nicki. If this really does have Drake "Charged Up," you’re probably stoked for all the music that’s bound to be released.
If you’re a Meek Mill fan, this won’t make you stop listening to Meek’s music. In your eyes, Drake is a lightskin faker that uses ghostwriters while calling himself the best rapper in the game. If anything, you probably think Meek Mill is the realest in the game because he had the balls to call out one of the top artists in music after he apparently saw some fake and suspicious activity. And since Meek's roots are from battle rap, you probably can't wait for that fire diss track.
If you hate Drake, you'll still be sick of hearing Drake sing about his ex-girlfriends. If you hate Meek Mill, you'll still be sick of hearing Meek Mill yell in all of his songs. And if you're a fan of both artists (like myself) this is probably you:
This is nothing like "Tupac vs. Biggie." Man, this isn't even close to "Kanye vs. 50 Cent." This is a case where two of the best in hip-hop can both enter the ring, both throw haymakers, and both come out unharmed, having the same number of loyal fans, while simultaneously putting both of their names in music headlines everywhere. Sit back and enjoy it--this is a rare rap beef where everyone wins.
