“There’s no question that Kendrick is the victor,” Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) told The Hill on Wednesday. “I mean, he’s the better artist overall. He’s a pillar of the culture.”
Earlier this year, Bowman started the Congressional Hip Hop Power and Justice Task Force with a coalition of Democrats.
While Bowman said the task force wasn’t structured to cover rap beefs, he called it “a platform and a pathway to policy discussions” that people in the community care about.
“Hopefully, it inspires others to keep the culture going in the most in the best ways possible,” Bowman said of the rap battle, which he also said is “bringing attention to the culture” and “showing the creative brilliance of emcees.”
The battle between Kendrick and Drake dates back to 2013. But it flared up following the release of Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That,” on which Lamar took aim at Drake and J. Cole, saying they are not rap’s “Big Three.”
“I mean, this is a big part of hip-hop that hasn’t been around in a while,” Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), the first member of Generation Z to join Congress, said in an interview.
Frost also said there’s no question which rapper comes out on top.
“I’m going to back the American, as a congressman,” Frost said of Lamar, adding that the Toronto-born Drake has “waved the white flag,” as Lamar’s latest diss track, “Not Like Us,” climbs the charts.
The Hill’s Aris Foley and Cheyanne Daniels has more here.
