At this stage in the 2024 rap war, Kendrick Lamar is on top; at least, that's the opinion of Joe Budden.
During an appearance on a recent livestream from fellow Everyday Struggle alum Akademiks, Budden, who previously suggested that Cole should return to the fold by dissing Ye, said that Ak’s "calculator is broke" after he argued that Drake was "up 1-0" in the back-and-forth after this week’s "euphoria" release.
"I wanna see Drake bleed. I do," Budden told Ak after he questioned his claim of being the only "objective" voice on the topic. "But wait. I also wanna see my favorites bleed though. Pause. I wanna know how my favorites respond to getting punched in the face. And Drake has had a smooth ride his whole career except for that Pusha T fight. I wanna see what happens when someone is on your level is in front of your face."
Per Budden, this differs from the 6 God's prior feuds with King Push and Meek Mill. In the former, for example, Budden argued that Drake always had "plaque-shaming" to fall back on. But this time, he's facing someone he has to "respect," regardless of whether he likes him.
"I love Drake and I’mma love him more if he do what he needs to do," Budden said. "Finish your food."
Budden and his podcast team also broke down the latest diss, as well as speculated on when fans can expect something new from Drake. As seen in the full episode below, the general consensus, including from Ak in the aforementioned livestream clip, is that Drake is unlikely to let too much time pass before he comes at Kendrick again.
As for who's currently winning all of this, many have expressed their takes on the matter. Azealia Banks, for example, passionately gave the distinction to Drake in a recent series of IG updates. Cam'ron and Mase also handed the current victor title to the For All the Dogs artist.
