Drake can't catch a break. He was already forced to fend off attacks from some of the biggest names in hip-hop, and now he's got to deal with the rapper he's cited as his biggest influence: Kanye West. Drake and West have had a notoriously fickle relationship over the years, but the latter has once again declared war on the 6 God. He released a remix to "Like That," on The Download, and used the podcast platform to claim that Drake's career is "artificial." He made it clear that he views Drake's success as being much more calculated than fans realize.
Kanye West felt "Push Ups" was a boring diss song. Despite being widely praised by fans and critics, West felt the diss lacked punch because of who Drake has become. "Every bar that Drake said means nothing anymore," the rapper claimed. "Drop and give me 50, ain't nobody gonna drop and do sh*t. Your raps don't mean sh*t." West has been critical of Drake's extreme popularity in the past. He famously ranted about the radio play that the DJ Khaled and Drake single "For Free" received during a 2016 concert. He got more specific about why he felt this way, however, during the Download interview.
Kanye West Felt Drake's Diss Was "Artificial"
The "Carnival" rapper claimed that Drake is the beneficiary of the industry. "[It's] a bunch of middle men controlling the market," he said. "There are middle men saying 'this what diamonds cost'. And everybody running around. Drake, all this sh*t is artificial." West's remarks about Drake's bars should be taken with a grain of salt, though, given that Drake has been credited (and occasionally uncredited) as a writer on several of the rapper's hits. Drake wrote the chorus to West's 2018 song "Yikes," but was not officially credited because West's team claimed they "forgot."
Regardless of their prior collabs, Kanye West wants Drake gone. "That's why gods had to come," he asserted. "Pack that boy up." In a previous Download clip, West said that he was excited to team up with Future and Metro Boomin on what he called the "elimination" of Drake. In his estimation, ruining Drake's career is a professional as well as personal goal. "I'm tired of this guy f**king with me, so the fact that all these is coming together," he added. "We gon' tear the head off whoever they thought was in control." Time will tell if West and company succeed.