Fat Joe is an industry legend. He's been around for decades, beefed with some of the best rappers of all time, and lived to tell the tale. He knows a thing or two about beef protocol, which makes his remarks on the Drake versus Kendrick Lamar battle all the more insightful. The "Lean Back" rapper got on IG Live to discuss Drake's AI-generated diss, and determine whether Lamar still has a fighting chance to win the battle. He had a mixed opinion on the former, but he made his stance clear on the latter. As far as he's concerned, K. Dot has already lost.
Fat Joe stated that he doesn't prefer one artist over the over in the battle. "I got no horse in this game," he asserted. "I wish they would all get along." He did, however, say that he feels Drake came out on top. He pointed to the fact that Drake rattled off two diss tracks in the span of two weeks, while Lamar has failed to drop a proper response. "I don't think Kendrick's cooking up," he admitted. "It didn't take him three-four weeks. I think that's over." Joe's comments are not unique among hip-hop insiders. Many are waiting on Lamar to come back, and fear that he won't complete the battle that he effectively started with "Like That."
Fat Joe Believes That K. Dot Waited Too Long
Drake's second diss, "Taylor Made Freestyle," has been another major talking point. The rapper was forced to take the song down after 2Pac's estate threatened legal action. The estate claimed that the 6 God's antics were a "blatant abuse" of the late rapper's legacy. Fat Joe was much more complimentive of what Drake did, and even went as far as to say it pushed the boundaries for rap beef. "I thought it was creative," he noted. "Using the AI 2Pac, pushing the envelope." Joe may be displaying a bit of bias in this instance, however.
The New York rapper bumped heads with 2Pac at the height of the West Coast-East Coast beef in the 1990s. During an interview with Cam Capone News, Joe went as far as to claim that he made a collab "diss" album with The Notorious B.I.G. The latter died before it could be completed. "We made a bunch of songs," he recalled. "But it was like really disrespectful and hateful and so [Biggie] died and 'Pac died. They might have burnt them sh*ts, to be honest with you, 'cause you know, it was distasteful after the fact." Joe's experience lends credence to his desire to see Drake and Lamar smooth things over.
