Ice Cube Doesn’t Like To See Rappers Beef Amid Kendrick Lamar-Drake Feud

As Drake and Kendrick Lamar go at each other’s throats with increasingly ugly diss tracks, Ice Cube says this kind of entertainment isn’t fun to watch.

“Beefs are — you know, they’re volatile,” said Ice Cube, 54, in an interview with CTV’s Etalk. Though the chat happened on April 12, the comments resurfaced following the escalation between Lamar, 36, and Drake, 37. Drake alleged on his “Family Values” diss track that Lamar physically assaulted his wife, Whitney Alford; Lamar responded by referring to Drake as a “certified pedophile” on his song “Not Like Us.”

Ice Cube warned that rappers need to be “careful that a beef doesn’t turn into a murder. Back in the day, you do a diss record, but it would stay kinda somewhat in the hip-hop community. Now, it’s all over the world. All walks of life know what’s going on and you know, some people can’t really take that kind of humiliation.”

On May 7, a shooting took place at Drake’s home in Toronto, Canada. A currently unknown assailant shot Drake’s security guard, who was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries. The following day, the Toronto Police Department apprehended an intruder who attempted to gain access to Drake’s home, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Ice Cube told the Canadian outlet that he doesn’t “really like seeing rappers beef. I don’t think it’s necessary to have a great career, but it happens. It’s part of the game, and I think when you’re in a beef, you can’t really hold back. It’s like being in a fight. You can’t really half punch, you gotta go all the way.”

Ice Cube survived a litany of rap battles. In the late 1980s, he famously clashed with his former group, N.W.A., over a royalty dispute. After a back-and-forth, Ice Cube released his second album, Death Certificate, which contained “No Vaseline,” considered one of the most severe, devastating diss tracks. Ice Cube would also clash with Common, Cypress Hill and Mack 10 (with whom Ice Cube still has bad blood as of 2023, per Vibe.)

When Ice Cube spoke to Etalk, the beef was between Lamar and Drake with J. Cole. After Lamar dropped a disrespectful verse on Metro Boomin and Future’s “Like That,” Cole, 39, responded with “7 Minute Drill,” a song that he’d ultimately pull from streaming services out of regret. Cole called the diss track the “lamest s—t I ever did in my f—kin’ life” and bowed out of the feud. Since then, Drake and Lamar have continued to fight, while Cole has spent his time relaxing on the beach.