I’m not talking about what could’ve happened. What DID happen is they helped him immensely. Kendrick met Cole tryna slime him for the XXL Freshman slot. Cole met him and they chopped it up and he introduced him to a bunch of people. Produced for him. Collabed with him. All that. Kendrick was a nobody then. Cole was the first artist on Roc Nation. He was already up. Drake same shyt. Like I said before. Anyone trying to dismiss the biggest rapper in the game taking a nikka on tour. Giving him a solo song on his biggest album up until that point. And featuring on his leading single is either a covert narcissist or a dikkrider. If I ever see a nikka who received helped say “oh I didn’t ask u to help me..” lets me know they ain’t shyt as a person. Like I said. U can speak about what Kendrick would’ve and could’ve done but I’m speaking about what he DID do. And what DID happen. All that other shyt is irrelevant. U can hate Drake and also admit to how much these nikkas helped Kendrick. It’s dishonest af to say anything otherwise. Drake did shyt for Kendrick a lot of artists wouldn’t do for their own artists. Kanye ain’t even do that for Big Sean for instance. And the crazy shyt is. U nikkas try to dismiss it when KENDRICK HIMSELF is on video admitting this.
Ok so lets take Kendrick being an ascendent talent who was already primed to blow when Drake decided to fukk with him off the table. We’ll simply acknowledge that Drake taking Kendrick on tour and putting him on Take Care was a great look (which I never disputed) Does that indebt Kendrick to Drake for the rest of their lives and careers? Before 2014 Kendrick NEVER outright disrespected Drake. He DID give Drake props for taking him on tour. He DID call Drake a great artist. Does that mean that in muthafukking HIP HOP of all genres, that Kendrick now can’t challenge for the top spot? Kendrick said it plain on Control. “I got love for all of you, but this is HIP HOP and them nikkas should know what time it is.”
DRAKE made it a personal thing like he was affronted at the thought of anyone daring to want to be number one. Its why his actions should forever be looked at with a side eye, because he didn’t do the things he did “for” Kendrick. He did it as a strategic move to keep ascending nikkas under his thumb. Thats why I said I applaud Kendrick for understanding his own talent and value. Drake showed his hand instead of playing it cool. And it was bytch made behavior. Your an MC yourself. I know for a fact that if another MC gave you a look and expected that look to keep you from staking your claim you’d probably smack that nikka in the face. Just because I once gave you a loaf of bread that doesn’t mean I can stop you from one day coming to eat the whole feast, provided you worked to make it to the table.
When it comes to Kendrick and Cole. Yes Cole produced on Dot’s breakthrough mixtape. Kendrick returned the favor by being on Cole’s sophomore album. Kendrick was also on Revenge of The Dreamers 3. Its not like Kendrick never spoke or acknowledged Cole again after Hiiipower. Between Cole and Kendrick there’s no history of personal animosity like there is with Dot and Drake. The fact they never did an album together is just par for the course when it comes to the music industry. The ground is LITTERED with Collab albums that never happened. Nas and Mobb Deep. Nas and Common. Black Thought and Common. Ice Cube and Dr Dre. Beanie Sigel and Scarface. Ghostface Killah and MF Doom. Juelz Santana and Lil Wayne. And on and on and on…
Now coming to the actual battle. Again, I think Cole overestimated his friendship with Kendrick and underestimated just how much Kendrick has come to loathe Drake over the years. And even taking Drake’s bytch ass reaction to Control out of the mix. Drake himself seems to be a snake whose helping hand is always tipped with poison. There’s a reason why Weeknd, Rocky, Ross, Future and Metro all said “fukk Drake”. There’s a reason why literally NOBODY in the industry except for maybe 21 Savage stood up for Drake when he was getting his ass whopped. There’s a reason why it seemed like the entire Hip Hop world danced on his grave while shouting “A MINOOOOORRRR” at the top of their lungs. And it AIN’T just “jealousy”. Drake been moving foul for years behind the scenes. fukking nikkas girls and wives. Stealing nikkas songs. Jacking nikkas waves. Kendrick himself said “you KNOW we got some shyt to address” and I don’t think he was blowing smoke. Drake ain’t no benevolent angel his damn self.
So between the three of them, Cole might be the better of them from a “moralistic” point of view, we don’t know them so we can’t say for sure. But his naiveté got him jammed up. And he’s got to take responsibility for that. Ain’t no friends amongst competitors. He spent a decade proclaiming himself the sharpest MC. The deadliest. The BEST. And he got comfortable with that big three talk thinking all three of them would walk off into the sunset with individual legacies intact. And I can even give him the benefit of the doubt when thinking that because after Mr Morale it looked like Kendrick might be going in another direction.
But the MOMENT Kendrick said “F U C K the big three” he should’ve known it was up. He had all the opportunity in the world to check the temperature with Kendrick. He didn’t. He went against his better judgement and actually did what a goddamn MC is SUPPOSED to do. Just turns out a fake ass “brotherhood” with a nikka who told the world he was smoking on top 5’s meant more to him than defending the legacy he spent a painstaking number of years building up.