Last August, iLoveMakonnen hinted that he had had a hostile run-in with Drake at VMAs afterparty. "Idk what this is all about?" he tweeted. "@Drake I have no beef or animosity towards u, what happened just now is beyond me, I hope we can talk about this."
Makonnen spoke on the incident in an eye-opening new interview with The Fader, alleging that Drake accosted him and threatened to "fuck [him] up."
An excerpt:
I was threatened by others. Someone I so-called look up to. Saying, “We gon fuck you up the next time we see you.” And I was like, “Let me stop being me.” I started to go back to, “I’m just gonna go eat anything, and just be hiding myself and shit.” And then I was like, “No! I’m not doing that no more! I don’t give a fuck! I’m — me.” And that’s what led me to coming out and shit.
It was in the middle of the goddamn afterparty at the Up&Down club [in New York]. Everybody that was in there was in there. I’m in here around these Vanguard Awards and I’m accepted and I took pictures with Chainsmokers and G-Eazy and everybody and we all friends. And I’m here in the middle of the floor, no security, and they coming and I just step to the side and they see me and stop and the biggest motherfucker in the game goes, woo woo woo, “Next time I’ma fuck you up!”
And all security and everybody stop like, “What the fuck.” And the guys with me was like, “What you do?!”
I don't have nothing to say. All I did was smile. And I guess they took that as a threat. I was confused, like, “It can’t be little old me. I’m just a goddamned old record from way back when. What the fuck am I doing causing stresses and pains?”
Around all that security, the dude that’s doing it — we have a platinum-selling record together! The guy! The leader of the crew! This a nice VMA party, bruh. This ain’t no little back alley on the southside of Atlanta. Do you think I’m on some let’s buck shit?
I guess it came back from my freestyle, from that Tim Westwood. When I’m rapping, people think I’m throwing shots. I ain’t rapped no names! All I did was rap!
I was like, Let me go ahead and withdraw and put something out [on Twitter] in case some shit ever happen to me. ‘Cause everybody did see that, but I know everybody so scared of those motherfuckers that if anything did happen to me they’d just be like, “Yhh.” Then I went back to L.A., and then I moved here to Portland. [Pause] And if I look at your track record — when I was really in the streets selling dope you was on the goddamn TV screen-acting. I just met you on a song together and then y’all acted funny style on me. Or maybe I acted funny style on y’all. But somehow our relationship didn’t work out, and then the next time I saw you again you tried to threaten me.
The full interview is worth reading; Makonnen also discussed the process of coming out, moving to Portland, and his reaction to Migos' controversial comments regarding his sexuality. Read the interview here. Revisit Makonnen's HNHH digital cover story.