The rap war between Kendrick Lamar and Drake seems like it’s over. The winner by unanimous decision: Kendrick Lamar. But the beef is so culturally all-encompassing that even the secondary drama is going viral this week. Let me break it down for you. I’m also going to talk about the “Block Party” campaign, whether you should put pickles in your Dr. Pepper, and introduce you to my favorite new phrase: “That’s poop from a butt.”
What is “BBL Drizzy?”
This week’s viral videos are the thousands of version of the song “BBL Drizzy” that are blowing up all over social media. Let me explain: On one of the open salvos of the war between Drake and Kendrick, Drake put out the track “Push Ups,” where he tell Kendrick associate Metro Boomin’ to “shut yo ho-ass up and make some drums.” So last week, Metro took him up on the offer and released a track called “BBL Drizzy,” a remix of a song by King Willonius. “the “BBL” part of the title refers to Drake having supposedly undergone Brazilian butt-lift surgery. Anyway, Metro removed the copyright from the song, and told the public that he’d give $10,000 to whoever who made the best verse for the track. It all went viral, and literally the entire world started recording songs that attack Drake. Essentially Metro started handing out free bats and saying, “I’ll pay you to beat that dead horse over there.”
Here are only a few of the highlights of the tens of thousands of versions of BBL Drizzy:
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The original version’s laid-back 1970s vibe.
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YouTube rapper Packgod’s take.
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Jokey YouTube rapper Yukon’s version.
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Japanese version of BBL Drizzy.
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A harp version of BBL Drizzy.
If you had any doubts about who won the Great Rap War of 2024, Drake is out there getting dissed by a harp.
Kendrick vs. Drake feud encouraging literacy?
All wars have unintended consequence, and this one might be resulting in literacy. Or so says Ms. C., a teacher with a TikTok account. On a recent video she said: “I have students who hate reading that are doing the most meticulous, close reading of these lyrics that I have ever seen. They’re finding subtle quadruple entendres and explaining them eloquently to their peers.”
Why is “Blockout 2024” trending?
Earlier this week, TikTok user blockout2024 posted this video where they suggest that celebrities will lose money if people block them on social media. In a followup video, they explains “When we hate on them, they make money. When we praise them, they make money. But when we block their social media accounts and completely forget their names, they lose it all.”
The trend, alternately called “Celebrity Block Party” quickly caught on on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and everywhere else. Although the initial video seemed to have been posted in response to displays of wealth at the Met Gala early this week, a larger concern quickly coalesced: some celebrities, blockers believe, are not using their platforms to sufficiently support Palestine in its conflict with Israel. The main targets: Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift, both of whom are fairly centrist, bordering on apolitical.
It’s too soon to tell whether it’s working or not, but I’d put a lot of money on “It is not working.” Online activism doesn’t have a great track record. People online tend to overestimate their importance, and the Block Party campaign relies on fans of Taylor Swift caring about Palestine more than they care about getting updates from Swift. Maybe I’m cynical, but I don’t see that happening in large enough numbers to matter. If even a million followers blocked Taylor Swift because of this campaign, she’d have 282 million left. And that’s just on Instagram. Without commenting on the specifics of Middle East politics, the whole thing has a #Kony2012 vibe.
Bumble unveils the terrifying future of dating
Whitney Wolfe Herd, the CEO of dating site Bumble, unveiled a terrifying potential future for online dating in a recent interview with Bloomberg. Herd foresees a future where each user has an AI wingman/woman to help them connect. You’d tell your robot deeply personal things, and it would scan every other person’s AI wingperson to find a match. “There is a world where your dating concierge could go and date for you with another dating concierge. And then you don’t have to talk to 600 people,” Herd said.
While I’m generally in favor of not talking to people, as many have pointed out online, this is like a Black Mirror episode. Not in a general sense, but a specific episode: season 4, episode 4, “Hang the DJ.”
What’s the deal with Pickle Dr. Pepper?
Weird culinary TikTok trend of the week: pickles and Dr. Pepper. This video from TikTok’s Kayleeh109 has been viewed nearly 3 million times. It advises you to go to Sonic, fill a cup halfway with pickles, add Dr. Pepper, and then, presumably, drink it. My stomach is turning thinking about it, but I haven’t tried it, so how can I say? Judging by the response videos, people seem to like it. People down south, mainly. I’m still not convinced. It could be an elaborate prank designed to get me to drink something gross.
My favorite Gen-Z phrase ever: “That’s shit from a butt.”
There are bazillions of insults hurled online daily, but occasionally, a turn-of-phrase so perfectly captures a sentiment that it takes on a life of its own. Case-in-point: “That’s shit from a butt.” Although it was originally used to describe food (that looks like shit from a butt) the phrase is now used to describe anything that’s bad. A song you don’t like? Shit from a butt. Jerry Seinfeld’s new Netflix movie? Shit from a butt. Putting pickles in Dr. Pepper? Shit from a butt.
