On Sunday night, just hours before Drake turned 30, he released new music via a special birthday episode of OVO Sound Radio. Of the three new songs, "Two Birds, One Song" generated the most controversy, specifically for its many subliminals. Rather than let one of us monologue about the song, three Complex staffers discussed its knottier details as a group.
Was Drake Wrong to Diss Kid Cudi After His Breakdown?
Ross Scarano: Hip-hop has no Geneva Conventions for lyrical conflict. We only have the parameters of basic âgolden ruleâ human decency, and the intelligence to know when youâve said something hypocritical or unethicalâthat is, when youâve made an argument that either doesnât hold up to examination, or makes you look dim, or like an asshole. Which brings us to last nightâs care package from Drake, including the song âTwo Birds, One Stone,â in which he disses Kid Cudi. Presumably, itâs in response to a series of tweets Cudi wrote on Sep. 14, disparaging artist like Drake and Kanye West for using teams of songwriters while also claiming to be âtop 5.â Cudi wrote that theyâre âfake,â that theyâre âclowns,â that they do âcorny shit.â
Ghostwriting allegations will haunt Drake for the rest of his career; it will always be material to be used against him, and Iâm sure heâs aware of that. On âTwo Birds, One Stone,â the latest cantankerous chapter in Drakeâs post-Meek output, he raps, âYou were the man on the moon/Now you just go through your phases/Life of the angry and famous.â He continues a few bars later: âYou stay Xanâd and Percâd up/So when reality set in you donât gotta face it.â He ends the song moments later with, âLook what happens soon as you talk to me crazy/Is you crazy?â
To me, all of these lines sound aimed at Cudi. They dismiss him for his uneven output (true) and criticize him for his drug use and make light of his mental health problems. In light of Kid Cudiâs widely shared and widely embraced Facebook admission of his anxiety and suicidal thoughts, these lines land poorly. Heâs using the same tactic he took in dismantling Meek Mill with âBack to Backâ by trying to keep to the facts rather than resorting to fantastical claims of violence, or something similarly outlandish. But this song doesnât work like âBack to Backâ does. Calmly telling someone that theyâre using drugs to keep themselves from facing reality isnât the kind of thing you want to shout along to with friends when youâre out. Especially with the knowledge that Cudiâs reality is such a torturous, day-to-day struggle for the artist that heâs currently in rehab to keep from harming himself. In a different context, thatâs a statement that would work best during an intervention. (Itâs also something Cudi has admitted himself, soâŠ)
Drakeâs use of the word âcrazyâ feels especially immature and more than a little gross. But I feel this way because Iâm a Drake fan, and am fundamentally soft. I relish being soft. I wouldnât want to feel nothing in this situation. Some people might say this means Iâm not cut out for rap. I think that rap, like everything else, is always changing and getting better. These conversations count as growing pains.
Frazier Tharpe: Allâs fair in war. If presented to a supreme court panel of his peers, these bars would pass as acceptable, and on a technical level, much more inspired than âYou need to cud-iiiiit,â his previous diss. Kid Cudi didn't put himself in a position to receive any empathy or sympathy from the same guy who was happy to cameo in the video for a song he has nothing to do with just 8 years ago.
And yet, even as someone who relishes beef, the bars left a bad taste in my mouth last night as I muttered them to confirm what I just heard. I get annoyed when todayâs rap fans expect their fave to be politically correct in a D-I-S-S songâlast yearâs outrage that Drake would dare make fun of a woman out-earning a man was corny. (And if Meek had one clever bone in his body, heâd have used his diss to call Drake out and embrace his lady as being a boss, but I digress.) These Cudi shots though, theyâre just unnecessary. Mans asked for it, sure. Then a week later he scribed a heartbreaking note and more or less admitted his petty jabs were the source of inner turmoil and depression. Heâs rolling out his album from rehab right now. Dog was probably in a group therapy circle when this song dropped. The lines in âTwo Birdsââand I hadnât even caught the crazy line until you pointed it out, Rossâare the definition of kicking a man while heâs down. Clinically, literally, down. And self-imposed exile or not, Cudi was never a threat. âBack to Backâ has made The Boy bloodthirsty.
Zach Frydenlund: Thereâs no love in hip-hop, despite what VH1 would like you to believe. Yes, Drake did go low with his shot at Kid Cudi on âTwo Birds, One Stone,â but after all, this was a response to Cudi, and a better one than saying âYou need to Cud it.â At the end of the day, this is rap. Itâs not supposed to be nice all of the time. Drake is seen as a âsoft rapper,â which made the line surprising, if anything. I doubted that he would ever go to that point, but here we are. The ghostwriting allegations have put Drake on the defensive and heâs trying to prove that heâll go to the line with anyone, and cross it if necessary.
Do I agree with taking shots at Cudi over mental health? No, but rap disses arenât meant to be respectful. Jay Z wasnât trying to be nice to Nas when he said he was going to leave a condom in his babyâs seat. You can say it was a different time, but beef has and will always be present in rap. Thereâs been far worse said in battle, and while that doesnât give Drake a pass, this is the nature of hip-hop culture, whether right or wrong. Far removed from the âDiss me and youâll never hear a reply for itâ days, Drake is now simply following in line with the unnerving tradition in rap to cross the line when battling with a lyrical foe. People cry for Drake to be more hip-hop, but when he follows the path set by Jay Z, 2Pac, Biggie, and many before him, those same people accusing of going too far.
Ross: Sure, but this kind of blanket thinking about the ânature of hip-hopâ and beef not being nice is also the argument some people use when defending homophobia or language about sexual assault or rape. Rap whatever you want, just be effective or clever or pointed. âBack to Backâ wasnât a perfect diss song (as Frazier pointed out, the way Nicki Minajâs earning ability is incorporated is a bit eyeroll-y), but it was something approaching it. âThis ainât what she meant when she told you to open up moreâ is brilliant and cutting because itâs criticizing Meek for his lack of emotional intelligence and openness. Something he seems to confirm with every instance of retrograde macho-bullshit homophobia in his Game disses.
Is Drake Dissing Pusha T? And Are the Lines Effective?
Frazier: Your Fave dissing clinically depressed dudes isnât the only headline from this song though. The veil over the Cudi subs is wafer-thin, but thereâs a murkier shot later in the song where Drake, of Degrassi child-star fame, takes rappers to task for blowing their drug dealer pasts out of proportionâand then beating their stale Scarface tales into the ground over the course of their careers as a redundant recurring theme. Who does this anonymous barb apply to? Some have theorized Rick Ross, but the reasoning is dubious. Drake has a beef with his mans, sure, but Ross has largely stayed out of it.
It could apply to Jay Z, on year 20 of his career and still flipping bars about flipping bricks since the â80s, and who appears to have a tenuous relationship with Drizzy currently.
And then thereâs Pusha T, the gameâs leading coke sponsor. These two have been on the precipice of beef for the better part of five years, a prospect Rap Twitter loves to salivate over. My two cents: Pusha is definitely the target. Will we see anything actually come of this? Probably not. Iâd fucking love that, but there have been so many opportunities for this to spill over from subliminals to full-on war. If you ask me âExodusâ and âNew God Flowâ were more disrespectful than any Meek Mill tweet. Meanwhile, Drakeâs dude Hush directly called Pusha out on Instagram last year. Everyone thinks Drakeâs Chapo line is the line to break the levees, but Iâm not convinced. Itâd be a hell of an early Christmas gift, though.
Ross: Insincere feelings are Drakeâs crack rap. If you canât rap about your past experiences, Drake wouldnât have a career. Many, many artists wouldn't. But are there expiration dates needed for certain life-altering moments? When does something become a crutch as opposed to a rich leitmotif for an entire career? There arenât clear answers to these questions. (Some of my favorite artists have turned over the same questions in every one of their projects.)
But if Drake wants to effectively diss Pusha, criticizing a backward gaze doesnât seem like the best plan of attack. Not to mention that, when heâs rapping at his best, Pusha is not someone you mistake for someone who bags weed while watching Pacino movies with friends, like some sort of mildly illegal sleepover party.
Zach: This seems like a damned if you do, damned if you donât situation for Drake. Donât go at Pusha and people will just say that heâs avoiding him while picking on Meek Mill and Kid Cudi. Go at Pusha and people gripe about the fact that Drake doesnât have the chops to call out anyoneâs past. All of that can be true and on âTwo Birds, One Stone,â Drake probably did takes shots at Pusha. Heâs allowed to do that. Theyâve been jabbing back and forth for years now and have yet to fully jump into a beef against one another. Maybe this is the final straw before an all-out battle, but thatâs still unlikely. Neither Pusha nor Drake has much to gain from an actual beef with each other, especially now that Kanye is basically BFFs with Drizzy. What we do know is that Drake is fully embracing the idea that itâs OVO vs. the World at the moment, which could mean more shots in the near future. We all know what Pusha can do with a mic, which means that this could get entertaining, and fast. Against Meek Mill people doubted whether or not Drake could even stand a chance. He not only held his own, but won, handily. It would be dumb to count him out against Pusha T.
Frazier: Pusha T is not Meek Mill. Just a word of advice, Champagne. âThe talk donât match the leathers/Swag donât match the sweatersâ is still the hardest subliminal ever levied at Aubrey.
I got the Orville Redenbacher ready.