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Netizens have reacted to Drake's OVO announcing a new collaboration with the NFL. On Tuesday, December 10, October's Very Own announced its latest merchandise collaboration when it teased a pair of jackets on Instagram Stories and announced a release date of December 13.
The timing of the collaboration is significant as the NFL chose Kendrick Lamar to headline the Super Bowl LIX halftime show on February 9, 2025. It will be Lamar's second appearance at a Super Bowl halftime show after his 2022 performance at the SoFi Stadium alongside Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.
The feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar is considered one of the most iconic feuds in hip-hop history. Although the battle of the diss tracks seems to have subsided, Drake recently filed pre-action petitions against Universal Music Group (UMG) alleging that the label used bots, payolas and combined with Spotify, Apple, and iHeartMusic to artificially inflate the popularity of K Dot's Not Like Us.
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The news of OVO label's collaboration with the NFL has resulted in fans discussing it at length on social media. One fan even talked about Jay-Z's alleged involvement in the fiasco since the NFL partnered with Roc Nation and Apple Music to select Kendrick Lamar for the Super Bowl LIX's halftime show.
"Jay-Z is messy," one wrote on X.
"Bro sold out Jay Z," opined another.
One person talked about the prospects of Drizzy and Kendrick Lamar performing together at the Super Bowl LIX halftime show.
"Imagine him and Kendrick perform for the Superbowl halftime show," they wrote on X.
"It’s him getting better deals than Kendrick with the same companies," another added.
"Do they even know that he’s… yknow… not like us?" quipped a user on X.
Some other reactions on X are as follows:
"A Christmas collaboration for Christmas Football Games on Netflix after saying no to the halftime show is nasty work," a fan wrote.
"Check Drake phone for calls & contact with Tony Buzbee," another fan chimed in.
"Hip hop a** with out drake negativity cool positivity wins it all tho let them boys eat," another inferred on X.
This isn't the first time Drake's October's Very Own has collaborated with the NFL. The two companies have done a handful of projects together in the past. However, the timing of the collaboration is what is causing a stir on the internet.
Exploring the battle of diss tracks between Drake and Kendrick Lamar
The battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar has been a major focal point of hip-hop discourses over the past few months. The feud between the two rappers has been going on for years but peaked in the middle of 2024.
Drizzy and K Dot's relationship was amicable at the beginning of their respective careers, with the two even collaborating on songs like Buried Alive Interlude (2011) and Poetic Justice (2012). Lamar even headlined the opening act of Drizzy's Club Paradise Tour in 2012.
In 2013, Kendrick Lamar fired shots at Drake and other rappers in Big Sean's Control. However, the Compton rapper described the jibe as an instance of a 'friendly competition.'
Fast forward to March 22, 2024, Kendrick Lamar released Like That, dissing J. Cole and Drake. It was a reply to J. Cole's First Person Shooter, in which the rapper had described himself, Drizzy, and K Dot as part of a 'big three.'
Drizzy's reply came in his tracks Push Ups and Taylor Made Freestyle in April. However, Drizzy had to take the latter down because of copyright claims filed by Tupac Shakur's estate due to Shakur's AI-generated vocals allegedly being used in the song. Lamar responded by dropping Euphoria and 6.16 in LA.
The feud peaked when Drizzy dropped Family Matters on May 3, accusing Kendrick Lamar of domestic violence and alleging that one of K Dot's children was fathered by his longtime creative partner, Dave Free. The response from Lamar came within an hour in the form of Meet the Grahams.
The song was a letter addressed to various members of the Grahams family, including his son Adonis and parents Dennis and Sandra Graham. In addition to calling Drizzy a s*xual predator, the song alleged that he was fathering a secret daughter in addition to Adonis.
The next day, Lamar released Not Like Us, expanding on the claims made in Meet the Grahams. In the track, Lamar even called Drake a 'certified p*dophile.'
Drizzy's response finally came on May 5 in the form of The Heart Part 6. In the track, Drake defended himself by denying the allegations and explaining that his team fed Lamar false information about a secret child.
The diss track battle seems to have calmed down, but Drizzy's pre-action petition against UMG adds another chapter to the feud.
