Metro Boomin was among the notable celebrity guests, business leaders, and CEOs who addressed the audience at the Forbes Under 30 Summit taking place in Cincinnati, Ohio. This annual four-day business networking event is running from September 22 to September 25.
The Grammy-nominated producer kicked off the summit with an exhilarating hour-long live set, performing hits from his 2023 album Heroes and Villains, along with popular tracks from the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack.
On Monday, just a night after his performance, Metro Boomin participated in a live interview with Forbes’ Matt Craig, sharing insights into his creative process, the mindset behind various projects, and discussing the highly publicized “Drake vs Kendrick Lamar”rap beef.
“I think the competition is great for the game. Hip-hop has always been more of a competitive genre… Also with hip-hop, there’s a lot of ego involved, so you know, it’s really like you’re supposed to feel like you’re the best,”Metro Boomin stated.
Clips from Boomin’s Forbes interview quickly went viral across social media, prompting fans and critics alike to take to platforms like X (formerly Twitter) to respond and discuss his comments regarding the current state of hip-hop and the ongoing 2024 rap beef.
One user amusingly suggested that Metro played a crucial role in the recent tension between Kendrick and Drake, likely alluding to his production of the song “Like That,”which features Kendrick and Future, known for its aggressive lyrics aimed at Drizzy.
More reactions emerged, with netizens pointing out Metro Boomin’s role in “instigating”the Kendrick-Drake rap battle, some claiming his remarks at the Forbes Under 30 Summit showed him “backpedaling”on the 2024 rap beef.
“Bro this is back peddling. You gotta stand on what u was doing,”stated one user.
“Metro Boomin KINDA had a hand in handing Kendrick the matches and the gasoline. Absolutely love this response though,”said a fan.
“What an interesting perspective coming from him, but it’s very vague at the same time because he seems to be not choosing sides. But at the beginning it was clear who he was siding with,”another chimed in.
“Nah, Metro gotta stand on business. He wanted the beef and told everyone to pick a side and stay on it. Now he’s backpedaling. Lame move,”a critic stated.
“Sir, you made a whole beat and competition disrespecting dude. Stand on that!”said another.
“Bro’s the ultimate instigator,”another user stated.
Social media users also referenced Metro Boomin’s BBL Drizzy instrumental response, expressing their confusion at hearing his statements during this year’s Forbes Summit. This record, dropped amid the 2024 rap beef, premiered on May 05, 2024.
“Saying this after he made BBL Drizzy is crazy,”a user stated.
“MF be lying! He started the beef and then made a diss beat about Drake. Tf he talking about?”said another.
“Didn’t this n—a diss Drake with a beat?”another chimed in.
Defending Metro Boomin, some users suggested that the producer deliberately chose a more politically correct and diplomatic tone when discussing the 2024 rap beef.
“Bro he’s at a Forbes event not an Adam 22 podcast, this n—a gonna say what’s needed,”said one user.
“As far as being diplomatic, lol, Metro being as political and polite as possible,”said another.
“This man is at a FORBES event tf y’all expect him to say? It’s a different crowd over there,”a user claimed.
How is Metro Boomin connected to the “Drake vs Kendrick Lamar”beef?
The tension escalated following the release of Metro Boomin and Future’s collaboration album, We Don’t Trust You, which featured several artists known for their public feuds with Drake, taking shots at him during their features on the LP.
A notable single from this album, titled Like That (feat. Kendrick Lamar), quickly gained traction among fans and the hip-hop community, reaching the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. Several lines in Kendrick’s verse hinted at his relationships with Drake, J. Cole, and the wider music industry with aggressive lyrics like:
“Lost too many soldiers not to play it safe / If he walk around with that stick, it ain’t André 3K / Think I won’t drop the location? I still got PTSD / Motherf–k the big three, n—-a, it’s just big me.”
Shortly after the release of We Don’t Trust You, J. Cole launched a new mixtape titled MIGHT DELETE LATER. This project featured a now-deleted track called 7 Minute Drill, where Cole dedicated the entire track to taking shots at Kendrick Lamar, responding to his verse on Like That.
Metro Boomin and Future followed up with their second collaboration LP, We Still Don’t Trust You, which, like its predecessor, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 album charts. This release included further subtle disses directed at Drake from artists such as The Weeknd and A$AP Rocky.
A surprise collaboration from J. Cole also graced the album, as he had previously stepped back from the feud, having publicly apologized to Kendrick Lamar for 7 Minute Drill during his performance at the 2024 Dreamville Festival.
Pressure from fans for Drake to respond allegedly led the OVO CEO to leak “Push Ups” the same night We Still Don’t Trust You was released, before officially launching the diss track on all streaming platforms on April 19, 2024.
“What the f–k is this, a twenty-v-one, n—a? What’s a prince to a king? He a son, n—a / Get more love in the city that you from, n—a / Metro, shut your ho a– up and make some drums, n—a / Yeah, I’m the 6ix God, I’m the frontrunner,”Drake raps on Push Ups.
Within two weeks, the 2024 rap beef was in full swing, with Kendrick Lamar and Drake releasing multiple diss tracks back-to-back.
Amidst the highly volatile feud, Metro Boomin also contributed an instrumental diss track titled BBL Drizzy on social media, inviting fans and the music community to utilize the beat for their own remixes for a cash prize.
Though the intensity around the rap beef has somewhat faded, Kendrick Lamar’s Watch The Party Die was released just a week ago, which features lyrics that touch on his ongoing rivalry with Drake.
Kendrick’s Watch The Party Die was posted to the rapper’s Instagram concurrently with the 40th anniversary of the MTV VMAs. This new track serves as a follow-up to his Billboard No. 1 diss track Not Like Us, which was made available on streaming platforms on May 04, 2024, under an exclusive license through Interscope Records.
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