Hi, Anthony Fantano here, the internet's busiest music nerd. Hope you're doing well, and it's time for a track review. Seems that we are starting 2025 off with the biggest beef in hip hop that honestly just refuses to die.

Yes, even though Drake definitively took the L against Kendrick Lamar in their multi-track, back and forth in the spring and summer of last year. I mean, it was such a huge event of cultural singularity. The beef in and of itself is difficult to forget. But multiple things have happened in the wake of this beef that continues to remind us of the whole situation.

Frankly, in my opinion, it's starting to become a detriment to Drake. His image, his vibe, his career, his narrative. Sure, if you just look at the streaming numbers, it would seem that Drake is still doing well in terms of people consuming his music, generally speaking. But this beef and everything that's transpired since is certainly not doing anything to make him Mr. Likable in the eyes of the music listening public.

Enter this brand new freestyle that Drake dropped on social media, but then, I guess, quickly removed. However, when you're the number one guy, people tend to watch and follow every move that you make and essentially copy this stuff and repost it all over social media. So even if Drake has taken it down, it's already out there.

And honestly, looking at these bars, I'm kind of floored at the content of this freestyle. Let's look into it. "My name's Aubrey Drake Graham and I'm here to say", a really classic way to start off a verse. "People in the rap game are very mean to me as of late." A bit of a slant rhyme there, I would say.

"I don't even know what I did. I just write songs that make people want to sing, dance, and clap their hands." I mean, facts, I've clapped my hands to a Drake song or two, that's true, but I feel like Drake is just showcasing a really high lack of self-awareness here, as if this whole beef thing wasn't super polarizing and as if he didn't make any wrong or embarrassing moves in this beef that could potentially turn people against him. Not to mention all the subliminals and shots he's thrown at various people leading up to that point.

"Sometimes Drizzy sings, sometimes Drizzy raps. It seems like all my haters do against me is plan." That's not even a rhyme. What is he doing here? "But I'm not here to talk about a rapper named Pusha T, and especially not one called Kung Fu Kenny. My beef today is with a YouTuber named Anthony." What did I do? I'm just over here calling balls and strikes, giving my opinion.

I've got nothing personally against Aubrey Drake Graham, especially after he sent me that cookie recipe. I still use that recipe to this day. Admittedly, too much. I've gotten pretty fat off those vegan cookies. That might have actually been Drake's plan, like fatten me up and then kill me through the high levels of carbs I'm ingesting on a regular basis and clog my heart up with cholesterol. But apparently that's his plan, make me suffer a slow death. Well, after this, I can guarantee you I'm not eating another single vegan cookie.

"Heh, looks more like a melon to me. First, he gave me a 6, and I tried not to care, but then he gave my next album a five, and nothing was the same. Gave my mixtape an eight, so I thought things were great." Okay, all the album references. Come on, man.

Okay, okay, okay. Obviously, I'm being silly. I'm just kidding. I'm trolling. I'm going to admit to you that this is a lie. What I've just told you is a lie. This is, in fact, not Drake's freestyle. I just want to be clear and honest with you. I'm not trying to pull the wool over your eyes. Wouldn't want anyone to think that I'm being nefarious and trying to trick them into thinking Drake made a silly rap.

But the truth is, Drake did actually drop a freestyle here. And pretty much all the content in this "Fighting Irish" freestyle is just afterthoughts following this Kendrick beef. And of course, as a result of this, Drake is very much in his feelings, not feeling very good, not feeling very happy, feeling somewhat betrayed by individuals that he references specifically in these bars, too, with Drake saying, "The world fell in love with the gimmicks, even my brothers got tickets / Seemed like they loved every minute / I know this shit is personal to us, and it wasn't just business / Analyzin' behavioral patterns, it's somewhat suspicious."

Unfortunately, I feel like Drake is in a bit of a crisis here in terms of his identity or what he thinks he is in the eyes of his fans and those who have praised him for his popularity in the past. At the end of the day, you're an entertainer, and you engaged in a rap beef that while I'm sure it was personal on some level for both you and Kendrick, ultimately, at the end of the day, for everybody who was outside of this thing, even a little bit, just looking at the back and forth that you guys had, it is a form of entertainment.

For anybody who is not inside that beef and has essentially no skin in that game, they're going to view this as something to gawk at, a spectacle of sorts. The thing is, you're categorizing this whole beef, and I guess in a way, what Kendrick did as gimmicks. Were you not also engaging in those gimmicks, creating your own gimmicks, doing the gimmicks, too? Doing a whole silly AI song with Snoop Dogg's voice and Tupac's voice. And you did a whole music video where you crushed the good kid, m.A.A.d city car.

It's just weird because it's like Drake has a complete rolodex of every memory where somebody has slighted him or upset him in some way. But when it comes to stuff that he has done that might have been silly or embarrassing or hurtful to others, it just goes into the memory hole. It's gone.

There's a series of lines here in reference to trading watches and so on and so forth that a lot of people have essentially said is in reference to LeBron. I guess, Drake is unhappy with maybe recent footage of LeBron wrapping music from Kendrick's latest album. I'm sure given the content and associations they have had in the past, Drake maybe was hoping that LeBron wouldn't so much be on Kendrick's side or would have a bit of sympathy for Drake here. While it is true that in the past, LeBron has messed with Drake's music and has supported Drake, like in the midst of the Pusha T beef, I mean, LeBron has made it no secret, he's also a fan of Kendrick Lamar, too.

The final verse in this freestyle portrays Kendrick Lamar's actions in the beef and his success and his win here as him, just some magic BS he pulled off, pulling a rabbit out of a hat, essentially. Which I don't know about that, the guy actually put in the work and outwrote you and out-songed you.

Either way, at this point, months after this beef has essentially finished, the court of public opinion's decision here has already been made. It's not going to change. You're not going to undo it at this point. So again, I just don't really see what Drake could possibly gain from referencing this beef more on this freestyle. Especially on a track that musically flow-wise, and vocally, is absolutely boring and uninspired. It's like your average Drake diary song with the same near monotone flow and delivery, cringeworthy bars, and similes about being close like "ovens and kitchens."

And musically speaking, this track is completely and utterly forgettable. What happened to the Drake era where we were actually getting songs that had compelling and memorable music in them? Either great instrumentals, and shout out to Conductor Williams, but I don't think this is one of his most standout beats, and furthermore, you can't even really hear the production anyway because of the way the track is recorded and released to the internet.

"Figure we was always going to be close like ovens and kitchens."

It's like a very lofi room ambiance type recording. But like, what is Drake doing? The guy who's known for writing anthems and hits and making songs that really truly appeal on the base level of songdom, choruses, verses, standout, sticky melodies, continually in the wake of this beef, and even in the midst of this beef, we have just not been getting that Drake. Where is the hitmaker Drake? I mean, maybe he'll return at some point, but for right now, he is out to fucking lunch.

That's all I've got to say about this freestyle. Let me know what you guys think of it down in the comments. I'm sure you will.

Drake. Fighting Irish. Forever.