Drake Isn't Out of the Hot Seat Yet

Travis Scott is donating merch proceeds from his new single “4x4” to relief efforts for the LA fires. In other news: 

• Billboard Hot 100 📈

• Drake’s newest lawsuit is inspiring diss tracks 👀

• Joey Bada$$ just released more heat 🔥

• Industry Insights 🔎

Zias and B. Lou Respond to Drake’s Lawsuit With a Diss Track

When Drake withdrew his pre-action petition against UMG and Spotify on January 14, people began to think that maybe the rapper was done with “Not Like Us” once and for all. Wrong, he decided to choose even more violence. The next day, Drake filed a federal lawsuit against UMG for defamation and harassment.

In the new filings, his attorneys state that "beginning on May 4, 2024, and every day since, UMG has used its massive resources as the world’s most powerful music company to elevate a dangerous and inflammatory message that was designed to assassinate Drake’s character…”

The lawsuit also lists content creators that Drake’s team believes helped push promotion for “Not Like Us” forward thanks to UMG’s alleged “whitelisting”(AKA removing a song’s copyright restrictions on platforms like Youtube). 

To their surprise, popular streaming duo Zias and B. Lou were mentioned alongside Kai Cenat, RDC Gaming, and No Life Shaq.

Zias and B. Lou let their feelings out

The duo streamed on January 15, discussing being mentioned in Drake’s lawsuit and their perspective on the rap beef.

“I still fuck with Drake[‘s] music as an artist. I still fuck with Kendrick as an artist. Even outside of the beef, it didn’t make me want to not listen to Drake,” Zias said. 

“I was still rocking with Drake … That kind of rubbed me the wrong way a little bit,” B. Lou stated as well. But B. Lou decided to escalate his response by dropping the diss track “Certified Pssy Boy” on January 17. 

Sampling Metro’s “BBL Drizzy” beat, B. Lou spits that “N***** be goin’ out sad , Why is you worried ’bout us? Go get you a bag, N***** be goin’ out said, Certified p**** boy, we know he mad…” 

He makes sure to throw in plenty of jabs, like referencing the rumors of Drizzy’s alleged plastic surgery.

“Don’t trip ’bout a cop, brodie heard if we mentionin’ Shaq, N***** been federal, n***** bisexual, Knew he wasn’t cut, n**** took a knife to they butt,” B. Lou said on the record. 

Writing, recording, and creating the music video in under two days, B. Lou and Zias are getting support from those online over Drizzy’s latest Karen antics. While the rapper hasn’t responded yet to the diss track, it’s blatant that the content creators mentioned in the lawsuit and their fans are not feeling Champagne Papi right now.

Joey Bada$$ Throws Shade at J. Cole

It has been almost three years since Joey Bada$$ dropped his last album, 2000, in 2022. However, he decided to start the new year by cementing himself as “The Ruler” of the rap game with help from Conductor Williams. 

“This for every time they left me out the conversation, I'm back by popular demand and world domination, Too much West Coast d*** lickin', I'm hearin' n***** throwin' rocks, really ain't shit stickin', 'Cause if we talkin' bar-for-bar, really it's slim pickings,” the Brooklyn native said on the track. 

Continuing to stay on the West Coast’s head, the rapper has released another track titled “Sorry Not Sorry” (with production from Conductor Williams along with Mario Luciano) — firing shots at another hip-hop heavyweight. 

Joey Bada$$ wants all the smoke 

In the accompanying visuals, the rapper is dressed down in suits and streetwear’s finest, stirring up the continuing battle between the East and West Coasts. 

“51 Hart Street, 193 Vernon Avenue, N***** Wit Attitude mad I’m bigging up my city, that’s something I had to do,” referencing L.A. streets while also acknowledging Ray Vaughn’s (signed with TDE) response to “The Ruler’s Back” called “Crashout Heritage.” 

“What’s with the sneak dissing? Taking shots at us then hide the uzi, ‘Cause the only badass the world was recognizing is Boosie, Please don’t get confused with shooting them movies with really shooting, Was on Soul album so if you ask me, you look like a goofy…” Vaughn said on the track.

Joey Bada$$ hasn’t responded directly to Vaughn yet. Nevertheless, he had to tell the world how he felt about J. Cole, more specifically, Cole’s redacted K. Dot diss “7 Minute Drill.” 

“Might delete later, I know damn sure that Joey won’t, Fuck it, I want all the smoke,” the rapper proclaimed.

While some social media users aren’t feeling the newest tracks, others are curious to see if Cole World decides to let the choppa sing for real this time. Regardless, 2025 is shaping again to be an eventful year for rap beef.

• Ye is looking for new employees. The rapper is recruiting people to join his AI team at Yeezy. 

• You can now stay at Drizzy’s place for a hefty price. His Beverly Hills estate is available for rent for $250,000 a month.

• There’s updates in the trial against Takeoff’s alleged murderer. They will now be appearing in court on February 25, over two years since the crime took place. 

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