What year is it? Quick, someone pinch me! It would appear that we actually have a 90’s-esque rap beef on our hands. Strap yourselves in kids, it’s about to get interesting.
Previously, on “When Rappers Catch Feelings”…
Hip-hop fans were salivating when Meek Mill launched a scathing tirade on none other than the 6 God himself, Drake. Questioning the authenticity of Drake’s lyrics was always going to provoke a response, the ironically titled Charged Up; a moody, nonchalant track with some subtle jabs aimed at Meek and his crew.
Four days went by, and the closest we got to Meek Mill’s response were some more verbal barbs on Twitter, and a five hour radio snooze fest, in which Hot 97 DJ and New York rap royalty Funkmaster Flex, led his audience to believe he would be receiving a diss track from Meek himself, and would play it live on the air. After what seemed like 15000 replays of Fetty Wap’s Trap Queen, fans were left high and dry with no new track to sink their teeth into.
Fast forward to early Wednesday morning, where Drake has dropped track number two, Back to Back a track that is sure to finally provoke a response. The song is upbeat, hard hitting, and pulls no punches, even the album art is a direct jab at Meek and his home city of Philadelphia; a still image of a Toronto Blue Jays baseball player Joe Carter celebrating his walk-off home run, defeating none other than the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.
Back to Back is filled with classic insults and one liners, regarding topics such as Meek Mill supporting his girlfriend Nicki Minaj on tour, “Is that a world tour or your girl’s tour?” to Drake’s own take on the infamous “Drake the type of…” meme, “I’m not the type of n*gga to type to n*ggas”. But the most vicious barb of all is one that is sure to be replayed over and over, and serve as the moment that this went from harmless twitter banter to a full blown beef; “Trigger fingers turn to twitter fingers, you gettin’ bodied by a singin’ n*gga”.
A man of his word, and a living embodiment of his raps, Drake came through on his word, delivering six (of course) bottles of Dom Perignon to Charlamagne Tha God, who, although a long time critic of Toronto’s finest rapper, has been a long time radio rival of Funkmaster Flex and the Hot 97 Station as a whole.
As of writing this article, Meek Mill has only responded via Twitter yet again, apparently voicing his unfazed attitude towards the situation, one that he himself started:
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— Meek Mill (@MeekMill) July 29, 2015
Whatever happens next is sure to be riveting, and as a hip-hop fan, I’m glad I am along for the ride. Bring on round three.