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Kalan Hooks, ESPN
After nine diss tracks between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake, their rap beef seems to finally be over.
The musical feud made its way into the sports world. At the Italian Open, tennis stars Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff gave their opinions on who won the beef between the two rappers.
Both leaned in favor of Lamar.
Kendrick or Drake? @naomiosaka gives her pick 👀 #IBI24 pic.twitter.com/lO4GH5Ynch
— TENNIS (@Tennis) May 8, 2024
“I’m a neutral party,” Osaka told reporters at the Italian Open news conference, “but … Kendrick dropped some heat that last song.”
Gauff followed the same route as Osaka.
“I do like Drake as an artist, as well,” Gauff said. “But yeah, as far as like the rap battle that’s going on, the rap beef, I think definitely Kendrick is winning.”
Gauff also defended tennis legend Serena Williams in reference to Drake name-dropping her in “Middle of the Ocean,” a track released in November 2022. Williams and the Toronto rapper were romantically involved in the 2010s.
“Drake dissed Serena so I have to go with Kendrick” – Coco Gauff 🔥 #IBI24 pic.twitter.com/mC4Bf3QSgb
— TENNIS (@Tennis) May 9, 2024
“Also, Drake, like, dissed Serena, so I have to go with Kendrick,” Gauff said. “Kendrick defended her.”
The one-on-one battle between Drake and Lamar started with Drake’s “Push Ups,” followed by “Taylor Made Freestyle.” In response, Lamar released “euphoria,” a six-minute track in which the rapper outlined his dislikes of Drake, followed with “6:16 in LA.”
Drake responded Friday evening with “Family Matters,” to which Lamar had an instant reply minutes later with “Meet the Grahams.” A day later, Lamar dropped “Not Like Us.”
Osaka utilized the last song as part of her warmup.
“That last song is amazing and I played it walking onto the court so currently, I think Kendrick’s doing a great job,” Osaka said.
On Sunday, Drake released “The Heart Part 6,” which seemingly marked the end of the rap beef between the two. However, Osaka doesn’t want the battle to end.
“Technically, though, Kendrick dropped that song, and then Drake dropped ‘The Heart Part 6,'” Osaka said. “So, technically, Kendrick could drop another two if he wanted to, and me being a Kendrick fan, I haven’t gotten this many Kendrick songs in a very long time.”
With two wins under Osaka’s belt in the Italian Open, she will face Daria Kasatkina on Sunday. The No. 3-seeded Gauff will face Jaqueline Christian in the round of 32.