The artist formerly known as Kanye West made more controversial statements about Kendrick Lamar and Drake during an interview with Akademiks, where he sported black Ku Klux Klan-style gear after first greeting the streamer wearing a Sean John shirt and swastika chain. The interview, which hit Rumble and X over the weekend, follows a string of outrageous Nazi-themed social media posts from Ye—who previously seemed to side with his former tour partner during the massive Kendrick-Drake beef that dominated 2024.
“Why do they want somebody with no hits like Kendrick to do the Super Bowl?” asked Ye, who earlier this year posted both “I’m a Nazi” and “After further reflection I’ve come to the realization that I’m not a Nazi” on Elon Musk’s controversial platform formerly called Twitter.
Later in the conversation, Akademiks asked Ye to explain “the real thing” between him and Drake, mentioning he was “confused” by their complex relationship over the years.
“It’s like family members that you don’t fuck with,” Ye responded. “One thing is, Drake is a million times better than Kendrick and a million times more important.”
From there, Ye seemingly argued that Kendrick’s 2022 album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers is basically a “direct copy” of his own 2016 release The Life of Pablo, though he later claimed—while still wearing the KKK-style hood—that he doesn’t “really have a problem” with Kendrick, who was once his opening act during the Yeezus Tour.
“I don’t really have a problem with Kendrick,” he stated. “I would never call Kendrick a f****t, you know what I’m saying? I don’t like what happened with the song and that whole idea. I don’t like how they used Kendrick. And also, I don’t like him saying he’s the No. 1 because I’m the No. 1.”
When questioned about the common view that his current hostility toward Kendrick is simply jealousy, Ye ultimately admitted it was true, referencing the behavior of the supposed higher power as portrayed in the Bible.
“Y’all don’t go to church?” Ye questioned. “God is an angry god. God is a jealous god. What are you talking about? I’m the closest thing to God on Earth and I act just like how God acts.”
Further into the interview, Ye directly admitted, “Yes, I was jealous that Kendrick is on Carti’s album,” referring to Kendrick’s three guest appearances on Playboi Carti’s MUSIC, which recently secured its second consecutive week at #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
Notably, Carti recently fired back at Ye with a blunt “STFU” post on X. Meanwhile, Kendrick hasn’t responded to any of these comments. He’s preparing to kick off a stadium tour with SZA in April.
