Drake and Kendrick Lamar are having a rap beef which just does not seem to die down. This debate has also made its way to the tennis world. At the Italian Open, in separate media interactions, WTA superstars Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff decided to weigh in on the feud that has taken the hip-hop world by surprise
Coco Gauff, who is an avid listener of both artists’ songs, sided with Kendrick Lamar. Apart from claiming that she simply liked the 36-year-old’s music more, Gauff also reasoned that Drake’s previous diss towards Serena Williams caused her to prefer the former. Here is how the conversation went –
Question: “A non-tennis question. It seems like it may have cooled down a little bit, but I’m curious if you had any thoughts about the feud between Drake and Kendrick?”
“To be honest, I like Kendrick’s songs more. Pretty much everybody I know is leaning towards him. But I do like Drake ass an artist as well. As far as like the rap battle is going on, the rap beef, definitely Kendrick is winning. Also Drake dissed Serena so I have to go with Kendrick, and Kendrick defended her,” Gauff answered.
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Naomi Osaka also prefers Kendrick Lamar over Drake. But Osaka’s decision has nothing to do with the diss that Gauff highlighted.
Kendrick or Drake? @naomiosaka gives her pick #IBI24 pic.twitter.com/lO4GH5Ynch
— TENNIS (@Tennis) May 8, 2024
The clay court season has been quite hectic with back-to-back WTA 1000 tournaments being scheduled within the span of one week. As controversial as the Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud is, it was great to see the players give their take on the same.
What Did Drake Say About Serena Williams?
Drake released a song “Middle of the Ocean” as part of his “Her Loss” album in 2022. During one of the verses from the nearly six-minute-long song, the Canadian superstar referred to Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, as a “groupie”.
“Sidebar, Serena, your husband a groupie
He claim we don’t got a problem but
No, boo, it is like you comin’ for sushi”
For many, the shade directed towards Ohanian came as a surprise. However, it is more than probable that Drake was referring to the brief moment that he was in a relationship with the tennis legend in 2015 as per E Online!.
So Alexis Ohanian decided to respond in a classy manner on X, referring to himself as the “best groupie” while posting a photo alongside his wife and daughter.
The reason I stay winning is because I’m relentless about being the absolute best at whatever I do — including being the best groupie for my wife & daughter. pic.twitter.com/oaEKuRWFnj
— Alexis Ohanian (@alexisohanian) November 4, 2022
The Drake-Lamar beef is expected to go on and it would be interesting to see what the rest of the American tennis fraternity says about the same. One thing is certain though, that Serena Williams remains the ‘Queen’ of American sport and her impact makes people like Coco Gauff too, take her side in controversies related to her.
