Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake: Obama Predicted The Winner 8 Years Ago
Barack Obama had already predicted the winner of the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar rap beef eight years ago.
As the two Grammy-winning artists released diss tracks one after the other over the past week, a 2016 clip of the former president stating that Lamar would win in a rap battle over Drake resurfaced on social media.
Obama picked his winner in 2016 when asked by YouTuber Swoozie who he would side with in a theoretical battle between the industry giants.
"Gotta go with Kendrick. I'm just saying, I think Drake is an outstanding entertainer, but Kendrick, his lyrics -- his last album was outstanding," Obama said, referring to Lamar's critically acclaimed and multi-Grammy-winning "To Pimp a Butterfly."
"The best album, I think, of last year," the former president added.
Obama's prediction appears to have proven accurate as Lamar has emerged victorious in his rap battle with Drake in the eyes of many in the hip-hop community.
Even Drake fan DJ Akademiks admitted to "TMZ Live" that Lamar is winning the battle despite the Canadian rapper dropping "The Heart Part 6" Sunday in response to Lamar's "Not Like Us."
Meanwhile, this was not the only time Obama showed how big of a fan he was of Lamar.
In 2015, he named "How Much A Dollar Cost," from Lamar's "To Pimp a Butterfly," his favorite song of the year.
Lamar also met with Obama in the White House in January 2016 and discussed with the then-president topics such as youth mentoring and how it can save lives, according to Entertainment Weekly.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper, for his part, praised Obama for welcoming hip-hop artists into the White House to speak about causes close to their hearts.
"I think the world, not just hip-hop, owes him," Lamar said of the president during a 2016 interview with XXL. "We all have to give him his credit due for even allowing us into the building. We would probably never get inside that house ever again. Think about it like that."
He added, "You look at him as such a high figure in the world, but for him to embrace you and have a connection with you further than just being the president and make you feel like an actual friend, that's probably the best moment and one of his best characteristics."
