Michael Eric Dyson voiced his displeasure with Kendrick Lamar during an interview with Stephen A. Smith on Sunday, in which he reflected on his piece in The Philadelphia Citizen discussing the rapper’s feud with Drake. Dyson wrote in the article that he was unhappy with Lamar questioning Drake’s Blackness and bringing up his mixed-race background on multiple diss tracks. On “Euphoria,” Lamar raps: “I even hate when you say the word ‘n***a'” as well as “we don’t wanna hear you say ‘n***a’ no more.”
“I’m pissed that Drake gets dismissed, off the scene, when he’s been Drake for 15 years and you act like you didn’t know that. Now he’s not really Black?" Dyson argued. "Challenging his racial identity and saying he’s a culture vulture when he’s a Black man? ‘He’s from Canada, he ain’t real!’ Idris Elba is from the UK; people still love him on The Wire! So why is it that being from outside of our nationality raises suspicions about Drake.”
Michael Eric Dyson Attends Premiere Of "Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce"
From there, Dyson credited Lamar for being talented but said Drake is underrated. “Kendrick Lamar is a brilliant rapper and a formidable foe. But so is Drake," he said. "And what he’s done to expand the horizon of Hip Hop is underestimated, even artistically […] We have to stop this narrow, punishing, pernicious, limited viewpoint about Blackness.” He went on to compare Drake to former president Barack Obama. Check out the full comments below.
Michael Eric Dyson Comes To Drake's Defense
Lamar kicked off the feud with Drake by targeting him on "Like That" back in March. In the months since, the two have fired off several diss tracks at one another. Be on the lookout for further updates on Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s feud on HotNewHipHop.
[Via]