"At the end of the day, you still wanna make money" — Vybz Kartel explains why he rates Drake over Kendrick Lamar

On December 23, 2024, Vybz Kartel appeared on the Fix podcast, whose clip was posted by X user @keep6ixsolid, explaining why he rates Drake over Kendrick Lamar. Talking about striking a balance between art and commerce, Vybz said:

"At the end of the day, you still wanna make money. So, that's why me, I know a lot of people will come at me but I'll say it, that is why I'll always rate Drake over Kendrick. Because Drake figure out how to strike the balance between art and commerce."

Vybz Kartel further asked, "Who can sing along to ten of Kendrick's" tracks? Someone behind the camera seemingly sang one of Lamar's tracks so Vybz pointed at the person and called them "an exception to the rule", clarifying the question was for the masses.

According to a report by BBC dated August 2024, Vybz was imprisoned in 2014 in the case of killing Clive "Lizard' Williams in Jamaica, however, his conviction was overturned by judges in the UK in March 2024.

Reportedly, Drizzy supported Vybz's release from prison by posting a selfie on Instagram on July 31, 2024. In the selfie, the Passionfruit rapper sported a T-shirt that read “FREE KARTEL FREE WORLD BOSS”.

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Spotify hits back at Drake's accusations over Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us: Details explored

According to a report by Billboard Canada dated December 23, 2024, Spotify responded to Drake's accusations that the music streaming platform allegedly helped Universal Music Group falsely boost the streams of Kendrick Lamar's diss track Not Like Us. Spotify called Drizzy's accusations "false" and said that the rapper's legal petition was a “subversion of the normal judicial process.”

Denying the Family Matters rapper's accusations, Spotify's lawyers mentioned:

“The predicate of Petitioner’s entire request for discovery from Spotify is false. Spotify and UMG have never had any such arrangement.”

Spotify also criticized Drake for taking legal action and called his claims "speculative" and "far fetched". Additionally, the music streaming platform questioned why would it be a part of the feud between Drizzy and Kendrick Lamar involving UMG. Spotify's lawyers mentioned:

“What petitioner is seeking to do here … is to bypass the normal pleading requirements … and obtain by way of pre-action discovery that which it would only be entitled to seek were it to survive a motion to dismiss. This subversion of the normal judicial process should be rejected.”

Responding to Spotify's comments, Drake's legal team from the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher said that it wasn't surprising that the music streaming platform was trying to distance itself from "UMG’s allegedly manipulative practices to artificially inflate streaming numbers on behalf of one of its other artists."

Drizzy's lawyers added that if Spotify and UMG have nothing to hide then they should comply with the One Dance rapper's pre-action discovery request.

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In November 2024, Drizzy filed two legal petitions against Universal Music Group. In the first petition, the rapper alleged that UMG and Spotify artificially elevated the streams of Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us.

Additionally, in the second petition, Drizzy accused UMG of defamation claiming that the record label was aware of Lamar's diss tracks comprising offensive lyrics against him calling him a "p**ophile", yet the label released the song.