“Bro, This is Backpedaling” — Online Reactions to Metro Boomin’s Diplomatic Response to Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s Rap Beef at Forbes Summit

Metro Boomin recently shared his insights on the ongoing rap feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, which has captivated the hip-hop community. This rivalry, building up for more than a decade, reached its peak with Lamar’s unexpected guest feature on the Metro and Future track “Like That,”released in March 2024.

Speaking at the Forbes Under 30 Summit panel on September 23, 2024, the prominent record producer expressed his views on the diss battle between the two prolific rappers. Metro noted that competition is beneficial for rap, referring to it as a “competitive genre,”reminiscent of historic feuds like that of Jay-Z and Nas.

However, he mentioned that stan culture created a peculiar and chaotic atmosphere, compelling fans to choose sides in the conflicting narratives of both rappers. He emphasized that the diss battle should be viewed as mere entertainment, affirming his love and respect for all his collaborators.

“As far as being diplomatic, it’s just entertainment, at the end of the day. I have love & respect for all my collaborators. And I just want to see everybody do their best & continue to help push [Rap] forward, because we’re all here to deposit in and uplift this genre and push it forward, you know. This is our area, so it’s really our responsibility to keep pushing it forward for the next one and so forth,” he stated.

His measured response caught many off guard, especially since he had shown a more pronounced bias against Drake during the recent escalation of the feud. Critics accused Metro Boomin of backpedaling, with one user tweeting:

Notably, Metro Boomin played a pivotal role in the rap beef, as Kendrick Lamar’s verse that ignited the rivalry appeared on his track “Like That,”the sixth song from the album “We Don’t Trust You,”in collaboration with Future.

“Metro Boomin KINDA had a hand in handing Kendrick the matches and the gasoline. Absolutely love this response though,”one user tweeted.

“He started the whole beef btw,”another commenter stated.

“Metro you can’t back pedal the last 7 months man lol what,”someone else remarked.

“Saying this after he made BBL Drizzy is crazy,”another user mentioned.

On the other hand, some supporters found his diplomatic approach understandable, given the Forbes context.

“This man is at a FORBES event tf y’all expect him to say, it’s a different crowd over there,”one user argued.

“Handled it like a real man,”another commenter added.

“Nah he on that Forbes stage, I understand what he doing,”a different user commented.

Metro Boomin’s Past Collaboration with Drake

Metro Boomin has collaborated with Drake on multiple occasions, notably producing tracks for the Canadian rapper’s 2015 joint album with Future, titled “What a Time to Be Alive.”However, rumors of a fallout surfaced after Metro criticized award shows for selecting Drake and 21 Savage’s album “Her Loss”for Best Rap Album over his project “Heroes & Villains.””Her Loss,”won the Hip Hop Album of the Year at the 2023 BET Awards and the Top Rap Album at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards.

This tweet has since been deleted, and many fans speculated that Drake was dismissing Metro Boomin when he discussed “tweet-and-deleters”during a Kick live stream in December.

“And to the rest of you. The non-believers, the underachievers, the tweet-and-deleters, you guys make me sick to my stomach, fam,” Drake stated.

Nevertheless, Metro Boomin put rumors of a beef to rest on X, posting a response on December 30 to a user who inquired whether there was tension between him and Drake. Metro clarified that any issues were not significant.

Following this, Future and Metro Boomin launched two consecutive joint albums, “We Don’t Trust You”and “We Still Don’t Trust You.”Observers noted that several tracks within both albums included subliminal references directed at Drake, such as “Like That”featuring Kendrick Lamar and “Show of Hands”featuring A$AP Rocky.

Drake also referred to Metro Boomin in his diss tracks “Push Ups”and “Family Matters.”In response, Metro released a diss beat called “BBL Drizzy”on May 5, playfully alluding to rumors regarding Drake’s cosmetic surgery, which first emerged in 2016.

The record producer offered a prize to emerging rappers who could produce the best verse on the “BBL Drizzy”beat. Rapper Sexyy Red later sampled it in her June track “U My Everything,”featuring a verse from Drake.

Source