"Bro this is back peddling" — Internet reacts to Metro Boomin’s diplomatic answer to Kendrick Lamar and Drake's rap beef at Forbes summit

Metro Boomin recently opened up about the recent rap feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar that has taken the hip-hop industry by storm. The beef, which had been brewing for over a decade, came to a head with Lamar's surprise guest feature in the Metro and Future song Like That, released in March 2024.

During his Forbes Under 30 Summit panel on September 23, 2024, the record producer was asked about his thoughts on the diss battle between the two rappers. Metro said the competition was always great for rap as it was a "competitive genre", citing the feud between Jay-Z and Nas.

However, he added that stan culture made things weird and wild, with fans being forced to pick sides between the two rappers. He added that the diss battle was just entertainment, saying he loved and respected all his collaborators.

“As far as being diplomatic, it’s just entertainment, at the end of the day. I have love & respect for all my collaborators. And I just want to see everybody do they best & continue to help push [Rap] forward, because we're all here to deposit in and uplift this genre and push it forward, you know. This is our area, so it's really our responsibility to keep pushing it forward for the next one and so forth,” he said.

His diplomatic answer took many by surprise given that the record producer was firmly against Drake when the feud had been unfolding in real time. Some accused Metro Boomin of back peddling, with one person tweeting:

Many people pointed out that Metro Boomin had a direct hand in the rap beef as the Kendrick Lamar verse that kickstarted the feud was on his song. Like That was the sixth track from the album We Don't Trust You with Future.

"Metro Boomin KINDA had a hand in handing Kendrick the matches and the gasoline absolutely love this response though," one person tweeted.

"He started the whole beef btw," another person added.

"Metro you can’t back pedal the last 7 months man lol what," someone else commented.

"Saying this after he made bbl drizzy is crazy," another user noted.

However, others were more understanding of his answer, saying the response was expected as he was at a Forbes event.

"This man is at a FORBES event tf yall expect him to say it’s a different crowd over there," someone posted.

"Handled it like a real man," another person added.

"Nah he on that Forbes stage I understand what he doing," a user wrote.

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Metro Boomin had previously collaborated with Drake

Metro Boomin and Drake have collaborated several times in the past, with the record producer working on most of the songs in the Canadian rapper's collaborative 2015 album with Future, titled What a Time to Be Alive.

However, the two were rumored to have fallen out after Metro Boomin criticized award shows for picking Drake and 21 Savage's Her Loss for Best Rap Album over his Heroes & Villains. Her Loss won Hip Hop Album of the Year at the 2023 BET Awards. It also took home the Top Rap Album at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards.

The tweet has since been deleted. Many fans speculated that Drake was shading Metro Boomin for the deleted tweet when he talked about "tweet-and-deleters" in a Kick live stream in December.

“And to the rest of you. The non-believers, the underachievers, the tweet-and-deleters, you guys make me sick to my stomach, fam,” said Drake.

However, Metro Boomin quashed any presumptions of a beef between the two on X. On December 30, he responded to a tweet that asked if he and Drake had any bad blood between them. Metro replied saying that it was not deep at all.

Following this, Future and Metro Boomin released two back-to-back joint albums called We Don't Trust You and We Still Don't Trust You. Fans pointed out that several songs in both albums had subliminal shots directed at Drake, including Like That with Kendrick Lamar and Show of Hands with A$AP Rocky.

Drake also mentioned Metro Boomin in his diss tracks, Push Ups and Family Matters. In return, Metro released a diss beat called BBL Drizzy on May 5. The name was a subtle nod to the rumors that Drake had undergone cosmetic surgery, which originated in 2016.

The record producer offered a prize to budding rappers who delivered the best verse on the BBL Drizzy beat. Rapper Sexyy Red sampled the beat in her June track U My Everything, with Drake rapping over it.