Recently, Michael Eric Dyson took to Instagram to discuss Kendrick Lamar and Drake's beef and reflect on a conversation he once had with Jay-Z about it. According to him, the mogul called him up after hearing him defend the Toronto rapper.
"A very dear and good friend of mine disagrees with me bitterly. Well, I won't say bitterly, just aggressively and vigorously. His name is Sean Carter, better known as Jay-Z," he explained, as seen in a clip shared by DJ Akademiks. "He hit me up, and he vigorously disagreed with my particular position. He said it with dignity, he said it with respect, he articulated his idea intelligently."
Dyson went on to recall breaking down an essay he wrote about the beef for The Philadelphia Citizen, noting how Jay-Z kept it respectful throughout.
Michael Eric Dyson Defends Drake
"He did not get nasty and vicious with me. So the point is that I'm saying we can disagree with each other and not be nasty. I understand a rap battle is a rap battle, and you're trying to exploit your opponent's vulnerabilities. But in the age of social media, it hits different when you call somebody a pedophile or when you make arguments about domestic violence."
As for what Dyson said that led to Jay-Z's call in the first place, he compared Kendrick trying to revoke Drake's Black card to Donald Trump profiling immigrants. “Drake is being indicted by Kendrick Lamar implicitly and explicitly," he claimed during an episode of the Mohr Stories podcast. "‘Not Like Us,’ is a perfect anthem for the present president."
“‘You are not like us. You are Somalian, you are Ethiopian, you are Eritrean, you are Mexican, you are whatever, fill in the blank,’” he continued. “And so to me, that very theme, forget the song, the song is the song, whatever you think about it. But the notion itself is a man distinction, a big distinction, us versus them. And they're trying to de-Black Drake.”
