Oh But When a Man Says It, It Hits?!

On Kendrick, Megan, and their mutual opp Aubrey

I can’t believe we still have another month of Aries in Mars. For the astrology illiterate and agnostic, Mars is the planet of aggression, action, conflict, and assertion. The sign Aries is ruled by Mars and has been hanging out on Mars since April 30th. Before this, we experienced Mercury (planet of communication) retrograde in the sign of Aries and a lunar eclipse in Aries. Aries and Mars represent war, competition, and fighting words. Whether or not you believe in astrology, it would be hard to disagree that this energy has permeated much of what is happening in the world.

Rap beef is already hypermasculine and antagonistic, so I suppose it’s fitting to see it happen at a time like this, but to be frank, I’m tired. I have not bothered to listen to 6:16 in LA, read the lyrics, or see the social media reactions. I’m sure it is filled with the double entendres and clever wordplay that Kendrick has proven to master. I also wouldn’t be surprised if it gave me a few cackles like Euphoria did, but my interest has waned. I am not anti-rap beef, especially when it’s happening between two artists with so much influence. My weariness with this beef is that it has become another instance where fans are much more receptive to a man saying something a woman has already said about a prominent man who is a weirdo.

Nearly a month ago, when these lyrical tirades kicked off, I posted a TikTok crowning Megan Thee Stallion as the true winner of this Drake vs. Kendrick beef. Why? Because of Drake’s choice to respond to Kendrick (who we already know is a superior rapper) but not to respond to Megan Thee Stallion, who called out his BBL scars, etched abs, cringey relationship with minors, culture cosplaying, and bad bitch antics (all digs that Kendrick regurgitated in Euphoria) is a reinforcement of how much he hates women. He either did not respond because he doesn’t take her seriously as a rapper or because his only response would be to continue to spew out the misogynistic disses which are PLAYED. Drake has a formula, and it works, but if he was a superior MC, he’d have a response for Meg because Hiss was scathing, and he caught the most hits out of everyone she addressed on that record. Perhaps he didn’t respond because he knew he had no ground to stand on coming at her in the first place, but in that instance, he should’ve done the J.Cole thing and apologized. There is also a case for him not responding because Mrs. Petty chose to take one line and go off the rails, which took some of the heat off of him. There was a fan theory in the comments that suggested Drake conspired with her to distract from the embarrassment; it wouldn’t be the first time she took up for a man who didn’t deserve it. This TikTok has now garnered over 180K views, and while people continue to argue with each other in the comments sections, all I can think about is how what’s even more corny than Drake’s antics is the misogynoir that continues to permeate the genre and the community that upholds it.

There was absolutely no reason for Kendrick to start running off at the mouth on Like That other than to begin a dick-measuring contest with two rappers who have been considered his peers for the duration of his career but whom he feels are beneath him. This becomes evident on Euphoria, where Kendrick makes clear that he simply hates Drake, and there’s really no deep meaning for it. Megan, on the other hand, had reason for smoke. This is a woman who has been denigrated by the media, fans, and rappers who have sided with a mediocre R&B(?) artist who was convicted of shooting her in the foot. She has been on the receiving end of Drake’s little slick ass comments for a year. The source of this beef is more warranted than Kendrick wanting Drake and J. Cole to stop regarding him as one of them.

Predictably, there were a lot of misogynistic comments on my TikTok, diminishing Megan’s talent as an MC, claiming that we would’ve been mad if Drake came at a woman (as if it’s not something he does ALL THE TIME), but the one that blew me the most was this:

“So it’s about K.Dot and Drake but you feel the need to mention some bop?”

Let me tell you something, commercial (male-identified) hip-hop would cease to exist without “bops.” Without women to brag about, use as props, denigrate, or beef over, there would be very little for Drake and rappers like him to talk about. There would be no one to assert their dominance over, validate their fragile sense of manhood, or give them leverage over their competitors. With more women rappers taking center stage, evolving their artistry, and making music that makes other women feel good, someone like Drake, who at one point had a largely female audience, becomes obsolete. He’s not even masking the misogyny anymore. And if it’s okay for Drake and rappers like him to strike low blows at women or use the wives and baby mamas of their male competitors to strike low blows against them, why doesn’t a woman’s well-crafted and hilarious response to those low blows not hold as much weight as those same insults that have been recycled and thrown by a male rapper? We all know the answer, and I’m tired of hearing it. Personally, I would love to see all parties involved log off and go read bell hooks.

READING

Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements edited by Adrienne Maree Brown and Walidah Imarsisha

Photo credit

This is an Octavia E. Butler-inspired collection of Afro-futurist, science fiction, and speculative fiction short stories by a diverse group of writers. I found this at Housing Works Bookstore a couple of years ago and finally cracked it open because I was looking for something to inspire hope. Some of these stories are more captivating than others, but on average, they are about 20 pages or less, so all of them are fairly digestible. This is a great book for discovering BIPOC sci-fi and spec-fic writers.

WATCHING

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

I finally gave this a watch after it was assigned in a film course I’m taking. The composition of this film is breathtaking, and the love story is beautiful. After watching this, I learned that this was co-lead actress Adéle Haenel’s (who I now regret calling French Syndey Sweeney in my head) last completed film. She retired from film because she was “[defending] a capitalist, patriarchal, racist, sexist world of structural inequality. This means that this industry works hand in hand with the global economic order, in which all lives are not equal”. More of this carrying on from the privileged and elite! Imagine if someone like Margot Robbie or one of the 12 other actresses who look like her made this kind of move. Hollywood would be scrambling! (Probably not, though).

LISTENING

I love LMBZ Mashups, and this latest one of Nasty by Tinashe and Da’ Dip by Freak Nasty really lifts my spirits. I’m currently bedridden and recovering from surgery, but when I play this, I’m instantly transported to Freaknik ‘94.

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LaChelle