During an appearance at Forbes Under 30 Summit, Metro Boomin weighed in on stan culture and how it impacted Drake and Kendrick Lamar‘s beef.
“I feel like the competition is great for the game,” Boomin said, according to Vibe. “Hip-Hop has always been a competitive genre. Even if just keeping it on music, it’s not serious how everybody tries to make it. Also with Hip-Hop, there’s a lot of ego involved. You’re supposed to feel like you’re the best.”
“Back in the day, Jay-Z and Nas went at it, I was a fan of both of them. Most people were,” he added. “It was like, ‘OK, it’s OK.’ It’s not like, ‘I had this side. I hate this side.’ The internet makes it a little too wild now.”
Metro Boomin when asked about the Drake Vs. Kendrick Lamar beef 👀
“As far as being diplomatic, it’s just entertainment, at the end of the day.”
“I have love & respect for all my collaborators. And I just want to see everybody do they best & help push [Rap] forward.” pic.twitter.com/o8qLNg3yuV
— NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) September 24, 2024
Ironically enough, Metro Boomin was a consistent fixture during the K. Dot and Drake beef. He produced “Like That” from his joint album with Future, aka the song in which Lamar initially dissed Drake.
In his response track “Family Matters,” Drake called out Metro Boomin by his government name: “Pluto sh*t make me’ sick to my stomach, we ain’t never really been through it / Leland Wayne, he a f**king lame, so I know he had to be an influence,” he raps.
At the end of the day, Boomin views rap feuds as “entertainment.”
“I have love and respect for all my collaborators,” he said. “I just want to see everyone do the best and help push this forward. We’re all here to deposit in and uplift this genre.”
As Blavity reported, André 3000 shared similar views about how rap beefs are good for the culture as long as they stay in the studio during his cover story with Crack Magazine in August.
“I got a little sad, at a certain point,” he said at the time. “In early rap battles, you had kids in the park rapping against each other. But it’s not just people rapping now. You got people with 100 employees. You have livelihoods, empires, companies, deals — all of it can be jeopardised. If you don’t have anything to lose, sure, go for it. But if I already made it, I’m not sure it’s even worth it any more.”