Topline
Rapper Rick Ross’ feud with Drake reignited after he was apparently attacked in Vancouver after he reportedly played Kendrick Lamar’s diss track about Drake, “Not Like Us,” following his performance—which then sparked a back-and-forth on social media involving Ross, Drake and his ex-girlfriend Tia Kemp.
Key Facts
Video footage from Ross’ Ignite Music Festival performance in Vancouver appears to show the rapper being punched by concertgoers who also yelled expletives, which TMZ reported came after Ross ended his set by playing Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”
Though Ross has not directly addressed the incident, Drake (who is Canadian) liked a post on Instagram that detailed the alleged attack against Ross and warned people not to “come to Canada if you have issues with Drake.”
Drake posted a series of Instagram stories Monday night, in which he laughs and wishes his followers a happy Canada Day (which was Monday), offering “cheers to the whole country,” which some perceived as a shot at Ross.
Ross’ ex Tia Kemp, who is also the mother of one of Ross’ children and frequently clashes with Ross, commented on Drake’s latest Instagram post: “Drakeeeeee 🤩,” and Drake responded by calling her “my goat.”
Widely shared (but unconfirmed) screenshots show Ross making an apparently deleted comment, “Pedo vs granny,” on Drake’s post, as a dig at both Drake and Kemp (Lamar accuses Drake of pursuing minors in “Not Like Us,” which Drake denies).
Kemp responded to Ross’ alleged comment in a video on Instagram (which Drake liked), slamming his “granny” comment and pointing out Ross is also a grandfather.
How Did The Rick Ross-Drake Beef Start?
Ross and Drake, once frequent collaborators, traded bizarre allegations and diss tracks in a feud earlier this year that overlapped with Drake’s widely publicized beef with Lamar. “Push Ups,” a diss track Drake recorded primarily taking aim at Lamar, leaked in April and included a lyric thought to be aimed at Ross: “Every song that made it on the chart, he got from Drizzy” (Drizzy is a Drake nickname). Ross responded with “Champagne Moments,” in which he accused Drake of hiring ghostwriters for his raps as well as getting a variety of cosmetic procedures, including a nose job. Ross also sampled a years-old interview clip of Drake saying Ross is his “favorite person to rap with on any song.” Soon after Ross released “Champagne Moments,” Drake shared a screenshot of texts with his mother on his Instagram story in which he accused Ross of being “angry and racist” and joked that if he had gotten a nose job, he would’ve gotten himself and his mother a two-for-one deal. While promoting his diss track on social media, Ross consistently used the hashtag #BBLDrizzy, a reference to the Brazilian butt lift procedure. Drake has consistently denied getting a BBL, but the “BBL Drizzy” nickname stuck: Lamar accused Drake of getting a BBL on his diss track “Meet the Grahams,” and producer Metro Boomin released an instrumental beat he called “BBL Drizzy” in May—which Drake later used to troll his critics, rapping over the beat on Sexyy Red’s song “U My Everything.”
Key Background
Ross and Kemp have one son together, William Roberts III, who is 18 and graduated high school in June. The two have clashed multiple times just this year. When Ross and Drake’s beef heated up earlier this year, Kemp went on Instagram Live to urge Drake to call her, claiming she has disparaging information about Ross. Ross also posted a video in June celebrating his last child support payment (though it’s unclear which of his five children he was referring to). Kemp slammed him in response, alleging in a video that he has “eight, nine or ten” children—more than he has publicly claimed—and repeatedly insulted him as “fat” and “funky.”
Chief Critics
Several other critics trolled Ross over the alleged Vancouver attack, including 50 Cent, who posted several videos of the alleged attack and Kemp’s video response to his Instagram. “My guess is ya, won’t be going back to Canada,” 50 Cent said. Rapper Bobby Shmurda said “you have to see the video” in a now-deleted video he posted responding to the incident, in which he laughs for nearly a minute straight.
Tangent
Though the dust largely settled on Drake’s feud with Lamar by mid-May, their beef re-entered the spotlight on June 19 when Lamar hosted a star-studded concert in Los Angeles during which he performed “Not Like Us” five times in a row to close his set. He invited various Los Angeles celebrities to join him on stage, including rappers YG and Dr. Dre and NBA players DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook, in a show of West Coast unity. Lamar appeared to take shots at Drake while on stage: “Y’all ain’t gonna let nobody disrespect the West Coast, huh? Y’all ain’t gonna let nobody mock or imitate our legends, huh?” which many considered to reference Drake using the AI-generated voices of West Coast rappers Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur on his diss track, “Taylor Made Freestyle.” Lamar also shot a video for “Not Like Us” last week in Los Angeles, though its release date is not yet known.
Further Reading
Drake And Rick Ross Beef: What To Know About The Diss Tracks, Nose Job Allegations And ‘BBL Drizzy’ (Forbes)
Drake-Kendrick Lamar Feud Timeline: Lamar Performs Diss Tracks At Star-Studded ‘Pop Out’ Show (Forbes)
Here’s Who Joined Kendrick Lamar On Stage During Drake Diss: Dr. Dre, DeRozan, Westbrook, More (Forbes)
