JAY-Z Shares Why Drake & Kendrick Lamar’s Beef Didn’t Sit Right with Him.
JAY-Z sat down with GQ for a rare interview as part of the promo run for recently announced Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint anniversary shows at New York’s Yankee Stadium in July. During the conversation, the legendary emcee was asked about his views on the 2024 rap battle between two rap greats, Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
“We love the excitement and I love the sparring and the music you get, but in this day and age, there’s so much negative stuff that comes with it that you almost wish it didn’t happen,” he said. “Now, people that like Kendrick hate Drake, no matter what he makes or says. And it goes far, too. It’s like attacks on his character [and family]. I don’t know if I love that. I don’t know if it’s helpful to our growth.”
“I hate that I have this point of view because I know what it sounds like, I know what it feels like. I hate it!” he added, subtly referencing his own history with rap beefs. “It’s just how I feel.”
“I think we can achieve the same thing, as far as sparring with music, with collaborations more so than breaking the whole thing apart.”
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The rapper then shared his feelings for J. Cole. “I don’t have any negative feelings for him. I’m actually super proud of him and what he’s done … [DJ] Clue sent [J. Cole’s Birthday Blizzard ’26 tape] to me actually, not Cole. I’m a fan of hip-hop and this culture. I’m listening to it all. I play it all. I’m playing songs that most people haven’t heard of.”
He was also asked about some new music from him. “I have a lot of scratch ideas and they’re all bad [laughs]. I got to be honest … I don’t know what I need to create currently that’s going to fulfil me and make me happy, because that’s most important,” he said. “I know I just got to be honest about what I feel and where I am. Maybe I’m overthinking it. Maybe I’m stopping myself from just creating.
Whatever it is, it just needs to be a true representation of how I feel. Trying to create something that people like is where I think a lot of artists get jammed up. And people can feel that because it’s not authentic. I just got to make something timeless that I really love and that’s really honest and true to who I am.”
Check out the full interview below.
