Stephen A's Take: Kendrick is booked in Toronto. What should Drake do next?

Published Dec 5, 2024, 9:00 PM

Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.

I need to address the latest turn in the Kendrick versus Drake saga, as in Kendrick Lamar. The Toronto Bluejay's tweeted yesterday that Kendrick Lamar will be coming to the Six to perform at their home stadium. Some say the date of the concert right before Father's Day, adds insult to injury for Drake, who has taken legal.

Action against Not Like Us and now sees.

His rival likely to play to a sold out stadium in his city.

Understanding, Drake's a bit sensitive in these times and his feelings, and.

Don't ask me how, but I know that he has seen this show, and I know that he has seen some of the things that I have said about this yeah, about him on this show. This is Drake, y'all know this Drake right me know, y'all know it's in right. You know, we ain't seen him in a while. That's what I'm saying. You know, that's him, right, that's Drake to Drake, the artist extraordinariy. I did not say or echo a single negative thing about you.

You're a phenomenal artist, your big time. What I said was fact, Not Like Us got you.

I even pointed out how the line about accusing you of being a pedophile or anybody paying attention to that.

They just think it's lyrics.

It's bars being dropped and he got the better you.

What I'm saying is, you don't go to lawyer route in hip hop over son like this.

You take it to the studio, you take it to the streets. That's all I said. I didn't sit up there and say you can't answer Kendrick Lamar.

I said you better figure out a way to do so, meaning you have the capability, I think, to pull it off.

That's all.

It's not a crime for somebody to say he got you. He got you on that one. Not like Us it was big time.

You can get.

Lawyers involved and talk about people engaging in boxing, Payol and all of this other stuff to.

Buffer and uplift his numbers.

But damn it, when you go to the streets, everybody know what not like Us is.

Because they know.

What not like Us is, and who did it with Russell Westbrook and de mort DeRozan and Lebron James, your boy oh bopping and weaving to it getting their groove onto it, yo, bro. All we're saying is go back in that studio. Ain't nothing but respect.

You're great, you Drake.

This is what you've done. Ain't nothing but respect. You had a concert, bro, I was featured at your concert in trowing you. I wouldn't allowed no shit like that to happen if I didn't have respect and love for you. You had a Toronto Raptors game. I'm gonna roll right up to you. I always roll right up to your see you. Nothing but respect, nothing but respect. That's not the point. The point is Kendrick got you with that song. Come back with one of yours. That's all I'm saying. Come back with yours. This is what you do. You come back with yours, or you say.

Damn, he got me, that's all.

Weren't nobody looking for fights in the streets. We damn surean wasn't looking for some trial and court or some law fare as they say, well look at anything like that. We were looking for you to come back with y'all. He got you.

You got him. He got you, and you.

Either keep going or you stop and concede.

He got me. That's all. That's not negative.

It's facts. He got you right now. That gonna mean you can't get him later and if you don't get him later to say.

He got you.

But if you're gonna be silent, if you're gonna ghost everybody, if you're gonna go down under, if you're gonna rely on lawyers, then it's not a good look because that ain't what hip hop is, that's all. And if that's how you feel, then they write when they say you're not like us.

Not every industry ain't like that.

And I got that part. That's all I'm saying. Come back with your own joint or concede that he got you.

Other industries, like I was saying, can go to the route of lawyers. Not here bob over a song.

No, No, it doesn't look good.

That's it. That's all I'm saying.

If you find that disrespectful in any way, my apologies.

That's not my intent. I did mean it when I said he got you on this song.

You got to get him back, or you got to concede he got you and take the lawyers out of it, because the longer you keep the lawyers in it, the worse you gonna look. The public made that statement when the numbers for Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us went up the minute your lawsuit was filed or not filed, but you were probing, looking into bringing lawyers into the equation to take legal action.

The minute that happened, the numbers went up. That's why. Why is that?

Because the streets are telling you though, bro, we don't roll like that. We don't roll like that, not in hip hop, not in hip hop.