Drake and Kendrick Lamar opened the floodgates to a litany of rap feuds. In the name of hip-hop as a sport, rappers used the very personal beef as an excuse for lyrical exercise. Kendrick repped west coast purity and emboldened other west coast rappers to rep their region harder than ever. Meanwhile, a rapper like Joey Bada$$ looked at this as the perfect opportunity to welcome all challengers and certify himself as the best in the world. This sparked a battle with Ray Vaughn and dozens of other side bouts.

There were no real stakes involved in all of this, battling just for the sake of it. It’s pure in spirit though, and a lot safer than the initial east vs west feud. Now that the smoke seems cleared, Joey Bada$$ is reflecting on what it all meant for hip-hop as a culture and a sport. Re

See Full Page