By Seb Joseph • December 3, 2024 •
The long-running feud between hip-hop heavyweights Kendrick Lamar and Drake took a sharp turn recently when Drake threatened legal action against his record label, accusing it of allegedly bankrolling influencers and bots to push a diss track against him. The twist — and the frenzy it sparked — captured the pulse of modern fandom: intense, hyper-digital and caught in a chaotic crossfire of art, commerce and reality.
Read on for the full breakdown:
The dark side of influencer marketing
Drake’s legal battle reveals a growing tension in the music industry around the murky influence of paid endorsements on an artist’s success. With influencers wielding immense power to shape a song’s trajectory, their opinions have become crucial to a track’s performance. While this machinery has driven billions of dollars for the industry and kept major acts top of the charts, it spotlights a troubling reality: success can be brought often at the expense of organic artistry. Drake’s legal action may have its roots in the tet-a-test with Lamar, but it’s really a challenge to a system that has shaped the music business for decades.
“For years, major labels have used digital marketing and other underground aggregators to push records and make them popular,” said Savannah Britt, CEO of The Brittprint Agency, a communications agency that has worked for clients including Fat Joe, Gucci Mane, DJ Khaled, 2 Chainz, Lil Yachty, Beats By Dre and Drake’s brand OVO. “It is a modern-day payola-like system that is often unregulated and flown under the radar. Ranging from Twitter/X aggregation systems, to playlisting, to influencer marketing — at every corner the labels are using money to push content forward.”
Intense tribalism
What started as a lyrical sparring match between Drake and Lamar has split hip-hop fans into two fiercely loyal camps: Drake’s mainstream appeal versus Lamar’s introspective depth.
On one level, the feud highlights hip-hop’s duality — commercial flash versus conscious commentary — while showing how deeply linked these two artists have become. Each escalation of their rivalry fuels the other, creating a cycle where controversy generates attention, demanding more controversy. It’s a spectacle-driven loop, emblematic of today’s creators radicalizing to satisfy ever-demanding audiences.
Drake’s legal team took it a step further, claiming UMG paid influencers to promote Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us” without disclosing financial ties — an allegation that, if true, highlights how fandom has evolved. Loyalty isn’t just passionate, it’s also more manufactured than ever.
“Once defined by shared admiration, modern fan communities have transformed into powerful, polarized factions,” said Saleha Malik, co-founder of boutique marketing agency S-Squared. “Platforms like Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram amplify these dynamics, enabling fans to engage in real-time, global discourse. This rivalry mirrors an intensified version of the digital tribalism we see elsewhere — where loyalty to an artist or creator becomes an extension of personal identity, often fueling heated debates and reinforcing echo chambers.”
The feud has become a grand production, with fans playing both audience and cast. Every diss, lyric or legal action is amplified into viral fodder, as James Kirkham, head of brand at soccer-themed messaging app, Cleats Club, pointed out: Drake and Lamar, like many creators today, are playwrights scripting feuds to keep their audiences hooked. The result? A blurred line between authentic drama and manufactured content, where even the chaos feels calculated — an endless chase for clicks over art.
“Fandom has always thrived on loyalty, but today so much is transactional too,” said Kirkham. “Artists leverage fanbases to propel streaming numbers, merch sales, and even cultural clout. This is nothing new for those of us who have spent any time working in music. Kendrick against Drake reveals the price of a loyalty where fans unwittingly become an active player in an artist’s commercial machine.”
Commercial exploitation
Kirkham’s point gets to a deeper truth: fans are no longer passive. Instead, they wield likes and shares as currency, gamifying streams and charts to celebrate data over art. Drake’s lawsuit hints at an algorithm-driven reality where fans are asked to choose between artistry and a metrics-fueled machine — one that increasingly exploits their royalty.
“That balance between artistry and algorithmic dominance feels more fragile than ever, and is the reason so many are looking to alternative spaces, social safe havens and more pure streams where algorithms are not in control,” said Kirkham.
The memes have won
This feud drives home a stark reality: entertainment is judged not just by quality but increasingly its ability to create hype. The memefication of this battle — and the alleged influencer-driven scheme to boost a diss track — underscores this shift. Fans aren’t chasing truth, whether it’s inflated numbers or lyrical accusations; they’re chasing noise. Success for creators is no longer just about success — it’s about being the loudest in the room. The memes have won.
“The latest update in the Kendrick versus Drake feud speaks to hype over authenticity,” said Britt. “This was a constant theme I saw play out during their beef when I noticed a lot of bars were being tossed around but no real receipts were produced. Ultimately, the artist with the catchiest bars and addictive instrumentals was declared the winner as we saw play out with the success of Kendrick’s ‘Not Like Us’.”
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