"Culture is where Kendrick was shifting his conversation"— Joe Budden weighs in on the debate surrounding Drake as a hip-hop outsider 

On Monday, July 1, media personality, broadcaster, cultural critic, and retired rapper Joe Budden appeared on Hynaken and Es$o’s podcast BagFuel, where he shared his opinion on the Drake and Kendrick Lamar feud. The Everyday Struggle host particularly weighed in on K-Dot calling Drizzy a “colonizer” in his diss track Not Like Us and shared that he did not fully agree with the rapper.

“Culture is where Kendrick was shifting his conversation: How do you dress? Who’s your barber? Are you a good dad? Can you dance? Your slaps? What’s your hood? Did you have a nickname growing up? Sh*t like that is what Kendrick was leaning into. Those people, I believe, created hip-hop,” Budden stated.

At the same time, Joe added that he has “never been around” Drake and Kendrick Lamar to make a suitable analysis of the situation.

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Joe Budden called out Drake for buying Tupac Shakur’s iconic ring

Kendrick Lamar dissed Drake via Not Like Us, where he rapped, “You run to Atlanta when you need a few dollars/ No, you not a colleague, you a f*ckin’ colonizer.” Recently, Joe Budden referred to this and got candid about whether K-Dot’s accusations were right and whether Drake was an integral part of hip-hop culture or not during his appearance on the BagFuel podcast.

He claimed that the Pulitzer Prize winner was perhaps hinting that the hip-hop culture was built by the community as a whole and not a single person such as himself or Drizzy. Joe Budden further added that all of them today were mere imitators who were observing the culture created by those who came before them and “wanted some of that too.”

Having said that, he did not agree or disagree with K-Dot that 6 God was a “colonizer,” but explained why he understood why the former said what he said.

The former Love & Hip-Hop: New York cast member mentioned that Drake purchasing Tupac Shakur’s $1 million ring or wearing Cam’ron’s iconic pink fur coat during his performance at The Apollo with Dipset sent out the wrong message, which he himself did not appreciate.

“Even if that’s not your intent, you gotta know how that comes off. I have never been around Drake and Kendrick, but to hear Kendrick say, ‘You run to Atlanta when you need a cheque balance…’ It’s like, ‘Oh, you noticed that too.’ Cause, I noticed that. I get what you trying to say,” Joe Budden noted.

The Couples Therapy star also shared that perhaps K-Dot was the “only person” who could say that to Drake while ensuring that he was “effective and impactful.” Budden wrapped up by expressing his doubt about whether Drake really “cares” about hip-hop culture but refused to “answer” it himself, adding, “Maybe.” He also quipped that he may get into a lot of “trouble” for his remarks.

Notably, this is not the first time Joe Budden has been candid about the rap battle between Drake and Kendrick. Last month, he claimed that he helped Lamar and Pusha T defeat the Toronto native.

He took to his X Spaces and shared that his history with Drake helped K-Dot and his associates win the feud with 6 God.

“I don’t think any one man takes down Drake. I think I passed the baton to Pusha. I think Push passed the baton to Kendrick. And the job is done now,” he shared.

In his podcast, he also shared how he “absolutely love Drake getting his a*s kicked” and added that his analysis did not stem from personal bias but rather “real conversation” in the hip-hop industry. He also mentioned that he was a “culture people” or someone who preferred creative authenticity, compared to Drizzy, who was a “numbers people” and prioritized commercial success.

For those unaware, the OVO Sound founder and Joe Budden beefed in the past. While Drake took jabs at him on his songs 4 PM in Calabasas and 8 AM in Charlotte, Budden dissed him on Making a Murderer Pt. 1 and Afraid.

Last year, things even got more tense when Drizzy slid into the DMs of Joe after the latter publicly slammed his studio album For All the Dogs. The Canadian rapper allegedly messaged him by writing:

“Take a chill pill, Anthony. Have a drink. Throw on some instrumentals. Maybe write one of those, ‘Fellas, do your thing, lemme do my thing’ joints for old time’s sake. A little radio play would do you some good, papa.”

Joe Budden read it out loud during his eponymous podcast and responded that he was “happier” than ever and did not have time to “beef” with anyone, adding that he didn’t really get Drake’s message.