Drake & Common Squash Beef "Man 2 Man"

Despite speculation claiming Drake and Common had harsh words toward one another at last weekend's Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, new reports claim the two hip-hop stars actually squashed recent tensions.

According to new reports, the rappers came face-to-face last Sunday (February 12).

Streetz Iz Watchin has learned that Common and Drake actually squashed their beef at the Grammys, clearing up previous reports that the two rappers almost got into a violent altercation. Apparently, both Drake and Common's entourages happened to be in the same area at the end of the Grammy red carpet, near where artists were being distributed their VIP credentials to enter the Staples Center, according to a source in the latter's camp. Common felt it was awkward for two men that had exchanged words in song to be in the same vicinity without saying anything to each other. With the two eyeballing each other intensely, Common asked Drake, "What's up?" Drake responded with a "What's up?" of his own, and Common tried to approach him with the intent of speaking to the Toronto rapper one on one. (Hip Hop Wired)

Despite some initial confusion, they came together and squashed their problems.

However, Drake's security and other members of his entourage defensively intervened in his progress. Allegedly Drake said, "Yo, I grew up listening to this dude, what's the problem?," while his security was telling Common, "We respect you, this isn't necessary." But Common wanted to talk to Drake "man to man," angered that two rivals would cross paths and just not speak. One of the members of Drake's crew turned out to be his father, Dennis Graham, who told Common the two artists "need to cut this out, y'all are better than this." According to the source, the elder Graham's intervention made Com change his approach, with cooler heads prevailing and the two rappers eventually going off to the side and speaking to each other alone. Holding true to the words he said in an interview moments before, Common and Drake exchanged pounds, and told everyone in their respective camps the beef had been squashed.

Now If we can get Nicki and Kim together.

Source: Hip Hop Wired

"Say My Name" Subliminal Rap Disses. Clever or Coward?

Dissing in hip-hop has always been a long traditional and rite of passage. No matter who you are, your status as the top emcee or femcee, you are likely to get dissed. If you are considered to be a top emcee you are more than likely to get dissed by someone on the come up who wants to make a name for themselves. Personally I see nothing wrong with that. I mean back in the day when you freestyled on the block, if you were nice, you weren't considered the best unless you went up against the best freestyler on the block.

Now the block has become the entire country, and even the entire world. In the words of the late great NOTORIOUS B.I.G "Whoever thought hip-hop would take it this far?" So with that being said, it's not uncommon for a relatively unknown rapper to come in the game and diss an established artist. 50 cent dropped "How to Rob" and he name dropped alot people in game, hell he even went after Brian Mcknight. Now what the hell would Mr. Back at one do to 50.

Okay let me get to the point. In the histroy of hip-hop rap disses. rappers have chose sometimes to say the name of the person their spitting lyrical venom at, and some choose not to. For example, Tupac said in his classic "Hit'em Up" record, "Biggie Smalls & Jr. Mafia some mark a$$ B!%ches". You have Nas's "Ether", Jay-Z's "Takeover" and more recently Common diss to Drake on "Stay Schemin" remix.

In today's hip-hop enviornmemnt, the disses are still coming, but they require a little imgaination. For example, when Drake disses Common he doesn't really say his name, when Nicki dissed Kim she never said her name, However to be fair Kim never said Nicki name either, but when you make an entire mixtape based of an artist album, with the artist decapited we kind of get the picture.

If you notice most of these artist I mentioned who says names came up in the 90's era of hip-hop and the latter came in in the new millenium. This kind of tells me its a generational thing. But does it matter, does it make you a weaker or stronger person by saying the name of the person your dissing? Is that to easy? Or is it clever to diss someone indirectly and we have to guess who it's about? Both are fine with me, I love a good battle, as long as it stays on wax. What do you think?