As the explosive rap feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake rages on, hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg is making it clear he’s staying out of the crosshairs. The iconic rapper recently gave his thoughts on the heated lyrical war between the two modern superstars, offering praise while declaring his neutrality.
“Well, the only thing I want to say about that whole scenario is that I want to give both of them a shout out for raising the bar as far as lyrics, as far as song-making and writing because the writing has been upped since the confrontation,” Snoop told Entertainment Tonight. “Those are my nephews. I’m not in the middle of it. I support both of them and that’s personal business, not my business.”
The 52-year-old West Coast legend made it clear he’s not taking sides in the bitter feud that kicked into high gear in March when Kendrick took verbal shots at Drake on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That.” Drake soon responded with the scathing “Push Ups” diss track, setting off an onslaught of brutally personal bars traded between the two rappers over the last two months.
While Snoop is steering clear of openly backing either party, he did compliment the level of lyricism and songwriting the conflict has inspired from the two hip-hop titans. “As far as what they did for the industry and the rap game, they made you rap again,” he explained. “You can’t mumble your way and gimmick your way to a song no more, buddy. So, thank y’all.”
The feud reached new controversial heights recently when Drake released “Taylor Made Freestyle” featuring artificial intelligence vocals impersonating the late Tupac Shakur. The unconventional move drew criticism and legal threats from Tupac’s estate, prompting Snoop to react on Instagram.
“They did what? When? How? Are you sure?” Snoop said in an April video, looking puzzled over the AI revelation before walking away adding “Y’all have a good night…I’m going back to bed.”
While he’s avoided throwing his full weight behind either Drake or Kendrick, Snoop did have some words for Drake following Kendrick’s blistering “Euphoria” diss track earlier this month. On the record, K-Dot calls out the “Canadiann***a” for using Tupac’s AI vocals, rapping “I’d rather do that than let a Canadian n***a make Pac turn in his grave.”
The feud has undoubtedly reached deeply personal levels, with both rappers making shocking claims about each other’s personal lives, relationships, and inner circles. Vicious diss tracks like Kendrick’s “Meet The Grahams” and Drake’s “Family Matters” have seen no shortage of explosive allegations.
Through it all, Snoop Dogg has maintained a neutral stance, showing love to his “nephews” Kendrick and Drake while avoiding fanning the flames of their combustible beef. For one of rap’s most iconic voices, it’s the classy way to handle two contemporaries he respects engaging in a generational lyrical battle for the ages.