Kanye West missed several release dates throughout the rollout for his tenth studio album, Donda. He did perform the album several times prior to the release.

Performing an unreleased album, from a career standpoint, was questionable behavior, although not completely out of character for a man who previously lived inside the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

What was Kanye searching for in these stadiums? I often wondered during the promotional tour.

Drake’s rollout for Certified Lover Boy, his sixth studio album, was much calmer. Presented as another collection of confessions came without spectacle. 

Drake’s dedication to self-documentation often includes family, friends, and frenemies. His style of lyricism is the writing of a caricaturist, able to restore memories and moments in musical form. 

Becoming a caricature in someone else’s story can be disheartening or downright disrespectful. Caricaturize art is what ended Paul Cézanne’s friendship with Émile Zola. 

I thought about Kanye West and Drake as Cézanne and Zola while hearing Kanye speak on Drink Champs about the psychological side of being a career rapper. 

Knowing Kanye’s feelings are still hurt by diss records and Instagram DMs like any ordinary man reinforces how wealth doesn’t heal the heart. 

It may seem rather immature, but when you consider how social media was solidified during the rise of Drake, Kanye, a superstar from the days of dial-up, is still adjusting his consciousness to a changing time. 

Big Sean has used “obsession” to describe the hold Drake has over Kanye. Regardless if that’s true, to Kanye’s point, no one really knows the truth behind their conflict. 

Especially with the way Drake flip-flops between innocent admirer and petty warmonger. 

Both Donda and Certified Lover Boy sound like the musings of two worldly men with the problems of Cain and Abel. Cain and Abel, as the sons of Adam and Eve, did not experience paradise, but they knew GOD. They sought GOD. One kept the sheep, one tilled the ground, both making offerings to the LORD. 

Perceived favoritism and jealousy brought a violent end to Cain and Abel’s earthly brotherhood. Kanye, as one of Drake’s most noteworthy influences, has experienced the result of his art creating more artists. To go from a hero to a competitor can make someone completely rethink a relationship.  

In rap, where brotherhood is paramount, relationships not only influence how music is made, but a rapper’s mental health. Although jealousy isn’t always the root of all collapsing kinships, it does create friction that develops into unfortunate actions that actualize into heartbreaking outcomes. 

I think rap, at times, underestimates conflict. Yes, it’s entertaining, but a dispute doesn’t have to get physical to be damaging. Money, status, power aren’t enough to alleviate the underlying problems that fester in a man’s mind when he can’t escape the need to be accepted, respected, and idolized. 

Cain wanted GOD’s respect. He wanted to be seen by the unseen. Regarded as special. More special than his brother. Rappers, when competing, don’t want our worship, but they do crave our attention. Without it, what are they but psalmists offering songs to the sky? 

Drake and Kanye’s decade-long conflict reaching a “positive” conclusion this year won’t be the most important moment of 2021, but it is a reminder that words do harm.

-by Yoh