Why Drake Dissed Jay Z

The panderer of yore, a grating character eager to get into everyone’s good graces with his stereotypically Canadian charm, has been replaced by a self-assured mogul type. In a recent Rolling Stone interview, which came with a pair of controversies, Drake made an accurate but disparaging observation about Jay Z, for whom he’s consistently professed admiration and respect: “It’s like Hov can’t drop bars these days without at least four art references. I would love to collect at some point, but I think the whole Rap/art world thing is getting kind of corny,” he said in the interview.

Jay Z, ostensibly offended by the comment, addressed Drake on a recent verse: “Sorry Mrs. Drizzy for so much art/Silly me, rappin’ ’bout shit that I really bought/While these rappers rap about guns that they ain’t shot/And a bunch of other silly shit that they ain’t got.” It was a weak diss, and back-and-forth barbs have been central to the ethos and pendulum swing of hip-hop since forever, but nowadays they're received differently. Drake, playing it smart, hasn’t responded; in similar beefs with rappers Common and Kendrick Lamar, he took to subliminally dissing each on record but leaving it at that. “I don’t want confrontation because it’s stressful, man…I try and avoid shit like that for the sake of my career,” he told Rolling Stone.

Drake seems to relish being calm and calculated over being rash and reactionary, using it as yet more power with which to sculpt his dream career trajectory. The one-sided Jay Z melee was quickly forgotten, as tabloids printed news of a rekindled relationship between Drake and Rihanna. The two were spotted hanging out in Europe, as she accompanied him on the final leg of his tour. Neither camp has confirmed the romance, but a dalliance with Rihanna, who is among the reigning and most influential pop stars of the time, certainly wouldn’t hurt his status.

 There’s also the possibility of a return to acting, a proposition made almost certain by an impressive recent appearance as the host and musical guest of Saturday Night Live.

Either way, he’s poised to eclipse the rap sphere and Worst Behavior Drake is fully aware of that prophesied fact:

 “I'm tired of hearin' 'bout who you checkin' for now/Just give it time, we'll see who's still around a decade from now.”