IDK Catches Heat For Suggesting Drake, Kendrick Lamar, & J. Cole Should Just Retire

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2023 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival - Weekend 2 - Day 3
INDIO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 23: Rapper IDK performs onstage during Weekend 2, Day 3 of the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 23, 2023 in Indio, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images for Coachella)
IDK's viral tweet did not go over like he intended.

The Big Three discussion has dominated the hip-hop space over the past few weeks. It's become such a notable talking point, in fact, that rappers who don't even have a connection to Drake, J. Cole or Kendrick Lamar have taken to social media to give their opinions on the trio's legacy. IDK is the latest rapper to get it on the discussion. Rather than debate which of the Big Three is the best, however, he took a broader stance that had some Twitter users up in arms.

IDK’s tweet was simple yet controversial. “The big 3 need to retire and make way," he wrote on March 30. Wanting to see rappers rise up and take the mantle is not an especially hot take, especially since the the trio of Drake, Cole and Kendrick have been making hits for close to 15 years. It was the suggestion that they should give up the mantle, however, that rubbed fans the wrong way. IDK's tweet was flooded with responses telling him to "snatch" the crown and put in work to "dethrone" the Big Three himself.

IDK Tweet Sparks Backlash

IDK addressed these responses the next day when he tweeted: "Dry humor doesn't work on this platform." The rapper's attempts to make light of the semi-viral tweet didn't stop fans from calling him out, though, so he decided to use Kendrick Lamar lyrics to bolster his original point. He retweeted a screenshot of 2010's "Monster Freestyle", in which K-Dot raps that JAY-Z should have retired. IDK posted the screenshot along with the message: "This is also Kendrick."

The parallel was obvious: young rappers want to elbow out the elders. IDK went on to tweet that fans take things too seriously when it comes to online discourse. A quick scroll through IDK's timeline proves that he's an enormous fan of the Big Three, so this clearly wasn't an instance of him trying to start beef. As far as he's concerned, he's keeping the competitive, youthful spirit of hip-hop alive, like Kendrick did before and like the rappers after him will do.

[Via]

About The Author
Elias Andrews is a music and entertainment writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH in 2024 as the lead night shift contributor, which means he covers new music releases on a weekly basis. In the year since joining, Elias has covered some of the biggest and most turbulent stories in the world of music. He covered the Drake and Kendrick Lamar battle, and the release of the disses “Family Matters” and “Meet the Grahams,” in particular, in real time. He has also detailed the ongoing list of allegations and criminal charges made against Diddy. Elias’ favorite artists are Andre 3000, MF Doom, pre-808s Kanye West and Tyler, The Creator. He loves L.A. hip-hop but not L.A. sports teams. The first album he ever bought was Big Willie Style by Will Smith, which he maintains is still a pretty good listen.
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