TDE's Punch Questions Elliott Wilson's Edit Of Kendrick Lamar's "Meet The Grahams"

BYGabriel Bras Nevares2.7K Views
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The One And Only, Dick Gregory, Album Release Event
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 16: Punch (Terrence Louis Henderson Jr.) attends The One And Only, Dick Gregory, Album Release Event on September 16, 2021 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Ella Hovsepian/Getty Images)
Elliott Wilson removed the verse on "Meet The Grahams" that claimed Drake has a secret daughter, which Punch thought was oddly selective.

Kendrick Lamar has removed copyright from almost every other person, page, account, content channel, or reactor posting his recent Drake diss tracks online... except for one. Moreover, Elliott Wilson had taken to Twitter with an edited version of his haunting song "Meet The Grahams" without the verse claiming that Drizzy has a secret daughter. Then, he expressed surprise when he realized that the copyright owner disabled the media on Twitter, for which people have many theories. TDE's president Punch had some words on the matter, and his statement on the edit is fueling other ideas as to why K.Dot would've wanted to take that down.

"Why would you request for it to be edited anyway? Did you ask for edits on anything else?" Punch asked Elliott Wilson, who invited him for a conversation in the replies on Twitter. Moreover, this lends credence to the speculative idea that Kendrick Lamar wants to keep the original version of the song intact because, even though his allegations are unverified, so are many of Drake's and ones on other of his own tracks. As such, Punch seems to be pointing at an apparent double standard in this beef that Wilson probably did not intend in the first place.

Punch Reacts To Elliott Wilson's Kendrick Lamar Edit

Regardless, the damage is there, and Kendrick Lamar and Drake seem no closer to providing proof on one another or burying the hatchet at any point in the future. Perhaps the battle isn't over yet despite what most folks are saying online, so we'll see if this changes at any point. Of course, there are people like Freddie Gibbs who rightfully concluded that the only real winners in this beef were the record labels. Maybe this scuffle over an edit also speaks to how hip-hop media was able to shift and mold this battle in their image for their own gain or benefit, but we're all complicit in that as fans.

Meanwhile, we can't help but wonder how this whole situation will age. Will we ever remember this edited version of "Meet The Grahams," and will "Not Like Us" keep its commercial staying power? No matter the case, this is going down in the history books one way or another. Kendrick Lamar and Drake went too hard, too quick, too low, and too impressively to not consider this one of the most memorable hip-hop moments of the past decade or so.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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