You might be forgiven for dismissing Kanye West’s latest Twitter rant as just “‘Ye being ‘Ye.”
You might be, if it weren’t for the nuggets of truth contained within his long-winded free-for-all against Drake on Thursday evening (December 13). Not the least of which are his assertions that Drake bullies people with mental health issues.
“When Cudi was in the hospital he sent shots,” West tweeted, and later added, “You pick on people with mental health issues.”
Look past the ramblings, and Mr. West should be commended for finally calling Drake on his B.S.
Drake’s pattern of behavior since his ascendence into superstardom has been that of a bully. Whenever he catches a jab by someone above his pedigree – say, JAY-Z or Kendrick Lamar – he claims to take the “high road” by not responding. Yet, when he sees low-hanging fruit, such as Meek Mill, he goes into full attack mode.
This is Hip Hop. Drake is a master strategist, and battles have been part of the culture since damn near rap’s inception. To call him a bully for spitting battle bars is to decry Hip Hop as a whole. But where Drake has taken it too far is his bullying – allegedly on multiple occasions – of rappers in the midst of mental health crises.
The first glaring example of this was Drake’s needling of Kid Cudi after Cudi publicly declared he checked himself into a rehab facility because of suicidal ideations.
In response to Cudi’s emotion-fueled Twitter rant against Drizzy and, ironically, West, Drake ripped Cudi for his mental state.
“You stay Xannied and Perc’d up, so when reality set in, you don’t gotta face it…Look what happens soon as you talk to me crazy/Is you crazy?” he rapped on “Two Birds, One Stone.”
Ye’s response, meanwhile, went from angry to compassionate: he called Cudi his “brother” on stage not long after Cudi’s Twitter rant surfaced.
If Hip Hop is high school, Drake is often viewed as the smooth, cool kid everybody wants to be like, while Kanye is the erratic troublemaker people are equal-parts fascinated by and scared of.
In this situation, though, who’s the real jerk?
Drake’s response to a taste of his own medicine also rings of a bully’s rhetoric. Lest we forget, Pusha T – who, to continue the high school analogy, would be the real badass that Drake’s cool kid is afraid of – absolutely bodied Aubrey on “The Story of Adidon.” Many, including Drake, viewed him as crossing a line when he brutally roasted Drake’s chief producer, Noah “40” Shebib, for having multiple sclerosis.
Regardless of how you feel about Pusha T’s distasteful diss of 40 – which was akin to 2Pac taunting Prodigy for his sickle cell anemia – Drake’s complete lack of self-awareness in his response was cartoonish.
“Now when you mention defenseless people who are sick in the hospital that passed away, that really sent me to a place where, you know, I just believe then and believe now that there’s a price you have to pay for that,” Drake said on HBO’s The Shop. “It’s just, it’s over. Somebody’s gonna punch you in the fucking face.”
The nerve, the audacity of Aubrey to pick on a man in the hospital, and then turn around and want to throw hands at someone for doing the same thing? It’s a bully mindstate all around.
If Kanye’s tweets are to be believed, Drake sent him antagonizing tweets in the form of the purple devil emoji while Ye was struggling with this mental health.
This type of behavior is ironic coming from a rapper/singer who spends much of his time on the mic bragging about his player status, only to whine about the one that got away while he was living it up.
Drake either doesn’t understand mental illness, or he doesn’t care about the afflicted. The latter seems more likely, since literally thousands of pages of research, an entire career field of psychiatrists and therapists, and millions of afflicted people around the world will testify that mental illness is not only real, but extremely debilitating in certain instances.
Picking on people while they’re struggling with health issues doesn’t make you tough. It exposes your own weakness. People who deal with mental illness carry a burden that the rest of the world struggles to fathom – and it’s part of why people try to devalue it. They struggle to understand having an illness that attacks one of the most important functions of your body.
Regardless, it’s almost 2019. Drake should know better.
Mental illness is not a punchline.
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So if you pretend you have mental health issues and act “crazy” you can say and do whatever you want and if anyone responds you get to play the victim? I think Kanye pretending to be mentally Ill without getting diagnosed or treated is a disrespectful to everyone who really struggles with mental health issues. Kanye is a privledged millionaire with a family, why is he so worried about Drakes career?
America land of the P.C. pussies…
Jay and kendrick have never blatantly dissed drake what so ever…
Meek came at drake 1st lets not forget.. what drake did to that boy was basically a response…
Joe budden was dissing drake, and compared to drake you can clearly make the argument that koe budden is a “low hanging fruit” and drake didnt respond
Drake going at Kanye actually defeats the purpose of much of this article.. Kanye is clearly the more popular 1 of the 2, and drake aint bowing down at all
Nice try though
Lol if you were to ask me if drake would be this big of an influence 8 years ago I’d tell you you are crazy but look at the boy!!! Living in yes head rent free – you can’t throw stones then play the mental illness card ye is a lot smarter than he portrays himself to be when he’s taking L’s. #facts
Drake is a sissy clown. The only reason he’s relevant is that this new generation is full of effeminate sissies that would rather tweet than battle and talk about their feelings rather than take care of their responsibility. You should be embarrassed to rep such a weak human being.
lol you described Kanye
Yep sounds like kanye to me and all his bitchassness to go with
I see right through kanye’s BS…he trying to play that mental illness card to try and get an entire community after drake…there’s no reason to go on that much of a tyraid if that wasnt the case…kanye seems somewhat obsessive over him..maybe his career..his came…something, hes crying for drakes attention.
“Low hanging fruit, such as Meek Mill” lol
Kanye has bipolar disorder, let’s be clear. It’s a mental illness where you walk the tight rope between sanity and insanity, and this is why a lot of people feel as if he’s faking it. If you listen to his lyrics, he hates to take his meds, but he is taking just enough to maintain some chemical imbalance…they’re supposed to control the overproduction of dopamine, the chemical that causes addiction/habitual traits. I never noticed Drake only picking on rappers with mental illness, but if he’s made aware, he should stop. But all in all, while Ye may not be able to control SOME of his rhetoric, he’s crazy enough as a fox to know that even bad press is good press, and he’s doing nothing more than prepping publicity for whatever he is about to drop….
Aaron Mckrell none of your points is valid so this article was a waste of your time & ours unfortunately.
You typed none of your points IS valid? Hahahaha. Dude, finish the 4th grade before trying to sound smart. If you’re lucky, you’ll meet your dad one day. Since you’re a Grayke fan, maybe pops will hang out with you if you have enough money…
Lol shut the fucc up with this nonsense
Also, a diss to Dre is a diss to yourself
Maybe it’s drakes ghostwriterswont go at the people above him. A good line like world tour/girls tour advertises their services. It’s the likes of Hov that purchases them for their labels, to make money off second rate mc’s that can’t write their own shit. Like Drake. Hip hops Fifth Harmony, a product manufactured for idiots
Foh only thing wrong with kanye is that his ego grew way out of control and took over, the writer of this article is as big of a pussy than kanye is
Nothing wrong with Kanye except for his mouth and attitude.
Drake got problems he can’t fucking deny it, he’s emotional depressed.
Kanye needs to sit his ass down. Mental illness issues or not. He’s fucking crazy. Even when it ain’t mental illness lmao. Honestly, though, I’ve had enough of ‘ye for a lifetime. His music is now subpar to me.
You sound like a SJW pussy. Any time you say the year and that someone should know better, you are saying you think you’re better than that person because they haven’t ‘evolved’ as fast as you did. It’s a gross statement, almost as bad as referring to yourself as being ‘woke’. Calling an adult a bully for his issues with another adult is hilarious. The world can be a cold place. Either learn to handle it, fight back or become food.
Drake is a bitch tho
There’s no denying that Drake’s a bitch. His rap voice is borderline baby talk.
Does this stunt mean that YHANDI is finished?
Being an asshole for self satisfaction is a mental illness? Maybe.
If someone is mentally ill, should they just be allowed to be a dick? Should you be forced to be nice to them based on societal standards?
Who doesn’t have depression or mental illness?
Does anyone care ? Can we put our headphones back on?
“Only in America you can find a way to earn a healthy buck, and keep your attitude on self destruct”
You Americans so funny
Yes. It’s hilarious how we gave the world Hip-Hop, rock and roll, the Internet, the automobile, the smartphone and basically every relevant piece of technology of the modern era. Hey “European Guy”, do you speak german? No? You’re welcome. See, we are funny. Fuck boy. I like the way you quoted an americanbrapper by the way.
The USA didn’t invent the internet.
It was a British man. And the automobile was invented by a German man.
Okay. Your completely wrong. Don’t believe me? Look it up. First off, the first automobile was invented in France, and ran on steam. Second, the internet was not invented by a single person, or even a small handful of people. It was in fact hundreds of people and workers from all over the world developing new ideas.
You’re wrong, jackass. “The first workable prototype of the Internet came in the late 1960s with the creation of ARPANET, or the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. Originally funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, ARPANET used packet switching to allow multiple computers to communicate on a single network. The technology continued to grow in the 1970s after scientists Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf developed Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol, or TCP/IP” that’s for the internet. It’s not the department of defense of FRANCE! Hahaha. Idiot. The first idea before that was at MIT. A scientist from Ny. Jackass. Even Elon Musk credits the US for inventing the internet. It was Cold War military technology. YOU obviously didn’t look it up. The automobile: First SUCCESFUL gas powered car. Meaning not some bullshit in a lab. It was produced. Charles DURYEA. Hahahaha. Idiot. The first MASS produced and COMERCIALLY available vehicle, American. Nothing on the smart phone, the computer, hip hop or rock though, right? No answer on how well you speak German either, right fraulein? Hahahaha. Chump.
The internet, exchanging of files thru data over distance, was invented by one person. The idea of a “web”, IE more than one location doing the same thing, was actually invented by two other people. Not hundreds. All worked for the US government AKA the department of defense. Look it up. Moron. Hahahaha. So stupid.
Wrong.
Drake did attack Cudi on suicide watch and that is shitty, but Kanye acting as if he’s better is bullshit. Trump attacked people with mental disabilities and Kanye took up for him anyway. 69 is a pedo and Ye took up for him anyway. The point being Ye acts like he’s “enlightened” or somehow above Drake’s bs when he’s just as bad.
Trump didn’t attack people with mental disabilities. You saw thay BS on CNN. Seriously, look up the whole scenario you mindless NPC sheep.
This is the dumbest article ever written. Are you serious?
This article is trash. I’m not the biggest Drake fan but I can’t remember a beef he started. In addition you moving the goal post Push can y’all about 40s illness but Drake can’t throw jabs at Cudi’s mental state? Especially after Cudi threw jabs first ? Battle Rapper Meek Mill is Low hanging fruit ? KANYE OMARI WEST is being PICKED ON ? Your a joke.
Drake turned ‘diss tracks’ into ‘subliminals’ & that passive aggressive feminine vibe is ruining Hip Hop
He learned it from Jay Z, his real idol
This is stupid. Ye keeps saying he has some kind of “mental illness”, and then he goes on rants. It’s his reasoning for his ego. He can say anything he wants bcuz of his “illness”, meanwhile anyone who responds is a bully? Literally the dumbest fucking read of the day
The quotation marks around mental illness in your post are ridiculous. He shouldn’t be allowed to say whatever he wants, everyone is allowed to check him when he’s getting wild with his comments. We don’t know what Drake said to him so you can’t say “anyone who responds is a bully”… what would Drake be responding to? Who did Kanye threaten? What did Kanye say that would warrant a threat as a response? You don’t like Kanye saying wild things, that’s cool, many people including myself don’t. But that doesn’t mean he should be threatened for anything he has said. And threatening and provoking people who are mentally ill is fucked up. Failing to see that says more about you than it does about the behavior of the people in the article.
I thought there were no rules in rap beef? That was the narrative when his artist Pusher T was mocking people with Multiple Sclerosis.
Did I not call Pusha’s comments distasteful? Read more carefully.
I usually don’t wallow in the comments section thanks to the trolls who can’t hold rational thoughts to save their lives. Checking these comments only affirms my avoidance. Most of the people in this comment section went after Kanye, but this editorial isn’t about him. It’s about Drake, and commenters’ lack of insight into this means that they’re either a) just as narrow-minded as Drake or b) completely oblivious. In any case, keep yourself in the ’90s by disparaging or ignoring mental illness. The rest of us will gladly move forward.
It’s about Drake based on what a lot of what Kanye west said about him , the article is above if you need to reread.
Obviously aaron is one of those kanye dick riders who thinks he’s the greatest ever and is trying to rile people up in support of kanye but making it look like drake is bullying him so that kanye can come out as the victim, in hopes that everyone will love kanye and forget about all the shit he’s been pulling, nice try in attempting to bring kanye back to his old glory by victimizing him but he’s a wrap, stick a fork in him
In 2018 Drake is a “bully” In hip hop. Jesus, what would ye have done if he had to deal with the likes of early 90’s Cube, or 2pac?
Mental illness is no joke but this is getting ridiculous.
If Hip Hop isn’t good for ye’s health, he should get the fcuk out…tap out….ain’t nobody tryna make Hip Hop safe for him… he might need to fall back, just like he did when he realized he was a puppet in a red hat….
He was the puppet? Oh, and Jayz, Pusha T, ect… Performing at a Hillary Clinton rally for free is what exactly? I mean, cmon lol. HILLARY? Just goes to show who runs Hollywood and the music industries.
FYI, Jayz isn’t a big boss in the music biz. The real big names aren’t talked about, and they still own Jayz, Dr Dre, Diddy. The real music moguls are mega billionaires, not just touching a billion or two.
Your point does not negate the facts, as the relate to ye
And FYI, Kanye and Trump have been friends for many years. It doesn’t make him a puppet to support his friend.
Snoop used to like Trump. OBAMA used to like Trump. HILLARY used to like Trump. Oprah used to like Trump. Lil Jon used to like Trump. Mayweather liked Trump. 50 uses to like Trump. Ellen used to like Trump.
…… My point, is that they all used to like him, and nothing changed expect his office. Trump was always just as outspoken in his past, and always spoke his mind politically, yet they all loved him. Then he’s a republican. And they hate him. Democrats run the media, music industries, ect.
Used to…used to…you’re talking politics…smh…I’m talking about a potentially unstable man getting used like a pawn because he won’t fall back and analyze…he’s still saying, Look At Me! I’m talking about Kanye, by the way…
I love Kanye, but this article is retarded. It’s entertainment. Your the same kind of writer that would have called out Eminem a decade ago for dissing all kinds of people and destroying their careers lol. Eminem sucks now tho. I don’t Ike MGK one bit, but idk how anyone really likes that robot flow Em does these days. But hey, if u like it, who cares, right? Live n let live, we’ve all got different tastes.
The fact that you called an article about mental health retarded…says all we need to know about you smh
Aaron, Keep your politically correct bullshit away from hip hop.
Ok. Lets keep it real. Drake is considered the softest rapper in the game. Too soft for “real hiphop” and now he is bully? Lol. If he showed love to Kanye, he’d be dissed for being to political correct. This dude will never win amongst the critics. On Kanye’s illness will continue as long as Drake continues his domination of the game. Respect bosses only. Sorry if that statement injured you lightweights
Pity 2Pac & B.I.G died over real beef. And the rap media was asking What Now??? 20 years later and the media puts forward fake beefs almost everyday of the week.
the wackest article written on this page in years
All of the Drake lovers/haters of this article do not address the blatant hypocrisy Drake showed in his response to the Pusha T 40 line. I think there are no limits in rap beef, but I hate hypocrites. Suicidal thoughts are just as life threatening as MS, and mental illness is not something you choose to live with (also like MS). Yet it’s cool to diss someone with mental issues, not cool to diss someone with the physical. It makes no sense.
Boy this editorial really is…lacking
Ya using mental illness for clout just like Kanye. Editorial is trash I’m sure ya can do better.
Drake + Illumanti = Take Care 😉
Peace be to Christ, the One True God. Let the Crusades begin…
Father protect Kanye and President TRUMP against these wolves. May they be slaughtered #inJesusNameIpray