Joe Budden has made a startling claim about Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s beef, claiming they spoke before engaging in lyrical warfare this past summer.
Speaking on the latest episode of his self-titled podcast, the former Slaughterhouse rapper cited insider speculation that the rap rivals “had a talk” before exhanging diss songs to outline the rules of battle.
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“I heard that Drake and Kendrick had a talk before any diss record was released. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I heard they spoke!” he said.
When pressed for more details about this alleged conversation, Budden said: “It went like the Teddy Pendergrass part of the shit,” referencing the dreamy yet disparaging intro of Kendrick’s “Euphoria,” which samples the soul singer’s 1981 track “You’re My Latest, My Greatest Inspiration.”
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“‘Hey, how do you want this go?'” he continued, imagining what Kendrick asked Drake during their alleged talk. “‘What we doing? Oh, we rapping? Okay, then let’s keep it umph.’ And he didn’t keep it umph so…
“It’s not even, like, real tea. It’s only tea ’cause to say it to him on the phone — like, I know what that’s like when you bouta fucking tear a n-gga. ‘Let me call him and make sure first. Hey man, we doing this for real?'”
Yooo!!! Joe budden said that drake and dot talked before any diss tracks came out and dot was warning the boy. 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/3LQ1Ry8Sa3
— Zac Chalmers (@zacchalmers88) September 11, 2024
Joe Budden has frequently involved himself in the beef between the Hip Hop heavyweights.
In July, Budden addressed Kendrick Lamar’s claim throughout the battle that Drake is an outsider in Hip Hop, questioning whether the Canadian truly belongs in the culture.
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“Culture is where Kendrick was shifting his conversation: how do you dress? Who’s your barber? Are you a good dad? Can you dance? Your slaps? What’s your hood? Did you have a nickname growing up? Shit like that is what Kendrick was leaning into to,” he said on the BagFuel podcast.
“Those people, I believe, created Hip Hop,” he added, forming a distinction between the originators and the imitators who merely observed the culture from afar and “wanted some of that.”
While Budden didn’t put Drake, a former teen actor who grew up in a Toronto suburb, in the latter category, he did criticize him for buying 2Pac’s $1 million ring and wearing Cam’ron’s pink fur coat while performing with Dipset.
“Even if that’s not your intent, you gotta know how that comes off,” he said. “I’ve never been around Drake and Kendrick, but to hear Kendrick say, ‘You run to Atlanta when you need a check balance…’
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“It’s like, ‘Oh, you noticed that too.’ ‘Cause I noticed that. I get what you trying to say. And you probably the only person that could say it, and it be effective and impactful.”
Budden went on to openly question whether Drake “cares” about Hip Hop culture, saying: “I won’t answer it, but maybe. Maybe.”
