Whenever Kendrick Lamar makes headlines I get contacted by media outlets, bloggers, content creators, biographers, graduate students, and teachers. Ever since Kendrick visited my classroom in 2015, I’ve been asked to provide commentary on his music and accomplishments. I thought about sitting this one out, because we definitely don’t need another think-piece, so this is not one. And we definitely don’t need white people analyzing Black culture and explaining it on social media. There’s plenty of brilliant Black cultural critics who are doing that right now and I’d encourage you to seek them out if you want to delve deeply into the context of this beef. That’s not my lane. What I do understand is education, especially its intersection with media and popular culture. So over the past week or two, a number of teachers, mostly white, have asked me this; As an educator, how are you making sense of the recent battle between Drake and Kendrick and what opportunities does it offer for learning? This is my response to those white teachers, and anyone else who recognizes the significance of this moment and the opportunities it presents for engaging young people in conversations about it in schools.
The first thing you should know is that it’s okay if you don’t know exactly what is going on! If you’ve been listening to the diss tracks, it’s easy to miss the layers of references. I don’t even catch them all and I listen to Hip Hop. The main point here is that you don’t have to be an expert to engage students in a thoughtful, reflective, and critical dialogue around what’s happening. Let them lead you. I remember when Childish Gambino dropped “This is America,” students who were usually quiet came into school the next day excited to talk about specific details like the biblical significance of the white horse in the music video! Then we turn around and describe these same students as unmotivated and disengaged when we return to the standard curriculum in which they don’t see themselves or their lives represented. This moment is an opportunity to connect with your students, practice humility, learn from them, and develop critical thinking and media literacy skills that are sorely needed in schools and society writ large. In the classroom, magic happens when we get out of the way and provide space for youth to talk about what matters to them. And right now, this matters.
Secondly, a word of caution from a self-declared Kendrick Lamar fan. No one is immune from critique. While Kendrick’s angle in this beef has been to take a moral superiority posture, his last album featured rapper Kodak Black, who was convicted of sexual assault. Kendrick himself tells us he is not a savior. It’s harmful when we frame these conflicts as good vs. evil, moral vs. immoral, trustworthy vs. liar, woke vs. commercial, or any other binary that doesn’t take into account the full and messy complexity of human nature. And lastly, we should remember – and invite our students to remember with us – that as we refresh our timelines waiting for the next track to drop, there is a genocide happening in Gaza right now. This fact can and should be part of the conversation.
One aspect of this rap beef that I haven’t seen discussed, and which is relevant for teachers to consider, is the way whiteness shapes our interpretation of how this is playing out. As a white teacher, my positionality affects the way I see, act, and interpret the world around me. White supremacy, especially in the context of hyper-capitalism, values competition. It’s predicated on the need for winners and losers. But there are toxic forms of competition and healthy versions. Dr. Chris Emdin of Columbia University reminds us that in Hip Hop, “we compete not to tear each other down, but to build each other up.” So, do we think Kendrick and Drake are attempting to build each other up? to help each other grow? or are they only consumed by the desire to tear down, destroy, and disrespect each other at all costs, women and children included? These are the kinds of questions that make the classroom the most exciting place to process this moment. But we owe it to our students, and ourselves, to recognize some important Hip Hop history.
There is a historical tradition in Hip Hop of the battle as an exercise in wit, creativity, spontaneity, cleverness, and linguistic dexterity. There is typically an ethos of care and respect present, even when disparaging your opponent. It’s almost like saying, “I’m coming for you with these bars as a way to challenge you to do better, to sharpen your own skills, and to grow from this exchange.” It’s competition as mutual self-improvement. It’s sport. It’s a call to elevate your game, sharpen your pen, come correct, and to do better. But is that what we’re witnessing right now? Or is it something else? Part of what makes this beef between Kendrick and Drake so compelling, is whether or not it can move Hip Hop forward. Any discussion of the beef should include this context of the battle and what it has represented in Hip Hop culture.
It’s critical to acknowledge there are multiple perspectives about whether or not this is good for Hip Hop. Many are celebrating the renewed lyricism that is a product of the exchanges between the two rappers. Some have argued that Kendrick pushed Drake to actually rap better, and Drake pushed Kendrick to actually release music! But this is a superficial reading. There’s more to what this moment offers us. There are opportunities to develop what Paulo Freire calls critical consciousness as we consider the politics of race, gender, misogyny, capitalism, colonization, cultural appropriation, and so many other topics as pointed out by Jeff Dess below. We should also acknowledge the public appetite of whiteness, to see two Black men very publicly tear each other down. There is a perverse voyeurism present, one that reflects the music industry’s commercialization of Black death that we’ve seen since the popularization of gangsta rap in the 1990s.
Those who want to discuss the beef in the classroom should cultivate a space for many perspectives and voices, including those who are critical of the beef. Quest Love of The Roots declared that “Hip Hop is Truly Dead,” citing the particularly personal nature of the diss tracks that go far beyond a friendly display of skill. His comments echo those by rapper and professor Dee-1 on social media, where he posted on instagram about the very real dangers of an escalation towards violence. He claims we are “addicted to dysfunction.” For those of us who lived through the 90s and witnessed two icons in Biggie and Pac getting gunned down, who remember the East Coast vs. West Coast beef, we can’t ignore this history. Nobody wants to see that travesty repeat itself. Ask your students, has our thirst for blood given us cultural amnesia? Young people in classrooms around the world are questioning how much of this beef is a spectacle and publicity stunt, and how much of it is a real conflict. If it’s the latter, what happens next? As consumers of this media, what is our responsibility to question its necessity, function, and popularity? Is beef necessary in Hip Hop? Is it a fundamental characteristic of Hip Hop? If yes, what if it wasn’t? What positives can and should come out of this conflict? Many of us believe Hip Hop has grown, evolved, and matured over the past 50 years, but in what ways does it continue to perpetuate harm, dysfunction, and death? These are essential questions for the lesson plan, y’all.
Several weeks ago, J. Cole tapped out of the conflict. He said it wasn’t serving him spiritually and he wanted to protect his peace. Many condemned him, claiming it was “not Hip Hop.” But here’s the thing. The beef we’re witnessing right now between Kendrick and Drake is Hip Hop – and so is J. Cole tapping out. Truth be told, J. Cole tapping out and being true to himself is more closely aligned with an element of Hip Hop called “knowledge of self,” which Hip Hop scholars emphasize as crucial to the culture. Both of these drastically different responses to what’s happening represent Hip Hop, and that’s one way of looking at the evolution. It has space for both. We can empower youth to act in ways that are aligned with their own desires, beliefs, and values when we affirm multiple ways of being.
Teachers who I’ve talked to recently shared that students are deeply invested in this rap beef. They’re analyzing lyrics that include triple entendres, identifying layers of allusions, conducting their own research, debating arguments, reading think-pieces, and engaging with each other inside and outside of school. This, in and of itself, is a worthy and positive outcome of the rap beef. We can channel this excitement into healthy and productive dialogue that deepens not only our understanding of this specific conflict, but what it shows us about ourselves.
Brian Mooney, Ph.D. (2024)
cover photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
Brian Mooney, Ph.D. 