Photo by Marc Piasecki via Getty Images
Kanye and Drake‘s feud appears to have been reignited over the weekend. And it got heated in a hurry.
Rumors of escalating tensions between the rap stars were seemingly confirmed on Friday with the release of Trippie Redd’s new single “Betrayal,” where the Toronto rapper sent up a shot at Ye. “All these fools I’m beefin’ that I barely know/ Forty-five, forty-four (Burned out), let it go/ Ye ain’t changin’ shit for me, it’s set in stone,” Drake says on Redd’s new song, referring to the release date of his upcoming album, Certified Lover Boy.
Later that day, West clearly caught wind. And in a bizarrely personal string of since-deleted Instagram posts, not only shared a screenshot of a group text supposedly with Drake, but also posted the address of the “Know Yourself” rapper’s Toronto home. “I live for this. I’ve been fucked with by nerd ass jock n****s like you my whole life. You will never recover. I promise you,” Kanye wrote in the group thread, which included at least Virgil Abloh and another Drake adversary: Pusha T.
It isn’t entirely clear when or why the rappers rekindled this very public years-long standoff. Many have speculated the new chapter was sparked by a battle over a standalone release date for their respective incoming projects. Last month, as West’s new album, DONDA, entered the final stretch, Consequence implied the G.O.O.D. Music team intended to drop the project whenever Certified Lover Boy was slated to land (hence the “Betrayal” line.”) The following week, Drake claimed Certified Lover Boy was “cooked” and warned “anyone in the way” during an appearance on Sound 42’s Fri Yiy Friday broadcast. Then, at the second listening party for a freshly updated DONDA, Kanye added a few subliminals to the Playboi Carti collaboration, “Junya.” Then came the “Betrayal” bar. And now we’re here, watching two grown and grossly wealthy entertainers squabble over a calendar date in what is almost absolutely manufactured drama meant to promote their albums.
You can comb through Kanye’s posts and some of the reactions (including what may have been Drake’s) below.
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