A few days before Christmas, right after Common released his ninth studio record The Dreamer/The Believer, the rapper confirmed that portions of the song “Sweet” antagonizing singing rappers were actually a take-down of local hero Drake. This generated immediate controversy and confusion amongst music fans: Common’s a deserved legend, but has long since polished smooth his rugged-raw emcee posturing. And for a long time after its release, Common caught flack for 2002’s Electric Circus, an experimental record (widely attributed to then-girlfriend Erykah Badu’s influence) that was considered too left-field, too “soft” for the rap climes of that time. Drake has talked about being influenced by the conscious fold of hip-hop that Common has strong ties to.
Things were quiet until three days ago when a response from Drake surfaced on a new Rick Ross mixtape, Rich Forever. Among other ambiguous barbs on “Stay Schemin’” Drake raps, “Back when if a ni**a reached it was for the weapon / Nowadays ni**as reach just to sell they record.” Today Common delivered a reworked version of that song with a line that made Twitter explode: “You ain’t wettin’ nobody ni**a, you Canada Dry.”
I hit up VICE Canada‘s Patrick McGuire to see if he could help decode this bizarre feud.
Anupa: Hello Patrick, what do you think of this beef between Common and Drake?
Patrick: I think it’s really really stupid and boring and it seems like Drake has a lot of pent up aggressive energy he just decided to blast off on the first person that gave him a weird eyebrow. And if that’s what his “Stay Schemin’” verse is about like, cmon, really?
COMMON
I don’t even like common
Anupa: Like at all?
Patrick: I mean he’s fine
I like Be
Lissa Monet just pointed out on Twitter that he read poetry at the White House, which is great and all! But let’s not all of a sudden switch to trigger talk? He dated Erykah Badu, he’s better than this. She’d be disappointed in him I’m sure, threatening a Canadian child actor.
Anupa: So you are essentially with my thing that THEY ARE THE SAME PERSON
Patrick: Yeah maybe this is just some kind of bizarro universe collision and they can’t handle it, looking into the mirror
Anupa: Did you think Drake would respond?
Patrick: I mean I guess. He seems to be enjoying his self-propagated mafioso image lately.
Why do his disses have to be so aggressive though? It’d be cool if they were actually funny
Anupa: Drake’s not really a funny rapper though
Someone else on Twitter just said that beef sells records, which makes sense, and I mean it’s pretty obvs that Common did it to put his name out there even more since he’s pushing a new album…but I think that’s why this whole thing just feels kind of phony and showy
Patrick: Yeah that’s always what it’s about isn’t it?
Common needs to grow up
Anupa: Do you think either of them is REALLY MAD is what I’m saying too?
Patrick: It’s incredibly boring. Yeah I think Drake is, I think he’s really sensitive and upset haha
Anupa: If I were to give it to someone, I’d give it to Common though. It is just sad that he thinks this is a worthwhile cause.
Patrick: Common is battling a severe case of irrelevancy. I think they both lose.
Anupa: He proved he’s a better rapper but no one really cares abt that anymore LOL
Patrick: Yeah but at this point his cultural responsibilities are way wider reaching than rap ability
Anupa: Do you think rap beefs are pointless in general?
Patrick: Pretty much. Some of them are at least funny. I liked Tyler, the Creator and Bruno Mars a lot. If that counts.
Anupa: Bruno Mars looks like an Oompa Loompa.
Patrick: He looks like Josh McIntyre from the Toronto rock band Little Girls.
Anupa: The best thing to come out of this beef I think is that it will bring more attention to Canada Dry.
Patrick: Hahah I missed that, what does this have to do with ginger ale?
Anupa: “You ain’t wettin’ nobody ni**a, you Canada Dry.”
Patrick: Oh I should probably listen to that before we continue hahah
Anupa: BAHA u didn’t? OMG ok listen to it
Patrick: Hahahahaa that shitty cover art
Anupa: The cover art is the best part
Patrick: I told you I thought this was boring haha
Anupa: I thought so too but then I listened to Common’s song and thought it was hysterical. Also I really like “Stay Schemin’” in general.
Patrick: Maybe French Montana will beef with him now that Common cut him off of the song.
hahahaha
“You a bitch cause you clean”
He’s gonna get a call from Erykah, if she even talks to him anymore
“Make no mistake, I’m talking to Drake”
Oh really??
I’m sorry the “Headlines” parody wasn’t obvious!
Anupa: That part where he sings that bit from “Headlines” made me spit out coffee
Patrick: Why is he dragging Destiny’s Child into this, Beyonce just had a baby.
Disrespectful
Is Common a misogynist?
Anupa: PROB
Patrick: Also I feel like the Drake verse is half at Pusha T anyway
Anupa: That “beef” actually saddened me. And THAT there is the problem with Drake though, he’s a pussyfooter.
Patrick: And ultimately tacking on a verse to a song that just came out when you don’t have the instrumental sounds like you’re recording it on a TalkBoy from Home Alone.
Anupa: It’s too thirsty a move for a grown-ass man
Patrick: Yeah he’s the one that needs the ginger ale!
Anupa Mistry writes regularly about music for Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter at @_anupa.
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