Snoop Dogg recently weighed in on Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s rap battle and took the time to thank them for bringing bars and good songs back to the music industry.
“The only thing I want to say about that whole scenario is that I want to give both of them a shoutout for raising the bar as far as lyrics, as far as song-making, and writing because the writing has been upped since the confrontation or whatever you call it, whatever they went through,” Snoop, 52, told Entertainment Tonight. “Those are my nephews. I’m not in the middle of it. I support both of them and that’s personal business, not my business.”
The West Coast rapper also thanked Drake and Kendrick Lamar for raising the bar in the music industry. “They made you rap again,” he said. “You can’t mumble your way and gimmick your way to a song no more, buddy. So, thank y’all.”
Drake and Lamar’s feud dates back to 2013 when Lamar dissed the Degrassi actor on Big Sean’s “Control.” Since then, they have exchanged subtle digs at each other, but tensions escalated in March when both artists released diss tracks accusing each other of serious allegations such as domestic abuse and sexual assault.
Although Snoop Dogg tried to remain neutral during the music feud, Drake released the track “Taylor Made Freestyle” in April, targeting Lamar once again. The song also included verses from Snoop and the late Tupac Shakur, which almost landed Drake a major lawsuit.
The track featured an AI-generated version of Tupac Shakur’s voice which his estate said is “a flagrant violation” of the law and a “blatant abuse” of his legacy.
“The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality,” litigator Howard King wrote in the letter. “Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time. The Estate would never have given its approval for this use.”