In a surprising turn of events, it looks like Kanye West is calling for a truce to end his and Drake's long-running feud.
If you weren’t aware, Kanye and Drake have spent years going back and forth in one of the rap industry’s most notorious public disputes. The feud most notably reached new heights in 2018, after Drake accused Kanye of leaking private information about his son, Adonis, to his other rap nemesis Pusha T — something Kanye has denied multiple times.
Well, on Monday night, fans were surprised when Kanye — who is now legally named Ye — revealed that he wants to put their decadelong feud “to rest.” In a video shared by music executive J. Prince, the Donda rapper called for an end to their ongoing discord.
“This is Ye and J. Prince,” the rapper said. “I’m making this video to address the ongoing back-and-forth between myself and Drake. Both me and Drake have taken shots at each other, and it’s time to put it to rest.”
Kanye went on to invite Drake to join him onstage in a collaborative concert, in a bid to put their “pride to the side” and “come together” to help free convicted criminal Larry Hoover.
“I’m asking Drake on Dec. 7 to join me on stage as a special guest to share the two biggest albums of the year, live in Los Angeles, with the ultimate purpose being to free Larry Hoover,” Kanye said.
Kanye has long attempted to free Larry Hoover, cofounder of the gang Chicago’s Gangster Disciples, who was found guilty of ordering a killing in 1973 and sentenced to serve life in prison. In 1997, Hoover received another six life sentences, after he was found guilty on multiple counts of continued gang activity while in prison. Just earlier this year, Kanye featured Hoover's son, Larry Hoover Jr., on his song “Jesus Lord,” which appears on his latest album, Donda.
Kanye added: “I believe this event will not only bring awareness to our cause, but prove to people everywhere how much more we can accomplish when we lay our pride to the side and come together.”
Kanye’s surprising call for a truce comes just a week after he publicly criticized Drake for repeatedly implying that he’d had an affair with Kim Kardashian, Kanye’s estranged wife, while they were still married.
If you didn’t know, the speculation around Drake and Kim began after Drake mentioned someone named Kiki — which is one of Kim’s nicknames — in his song “In My Feelings.” In the song, Drake questions "Kiki's" love for him, and after fans conspired that the track was about Kim, he and Kanye found themselves arguing.
Both Kanye and Kim — who filed for divorce earlier this year, citing “irreconcilable differences” — have previously denied the rumors. In a series of Instagram posts shared back in 2018, Kanye said: “The fact that it’s people making rumors or thinking that you fucked my wife and you not saying nothing and you carrying it like that. That don’t sit well with my spirit.”
“The fact that there’s people making rumors or thinking you fucked my wife and you’re not saying nothing and you’re carrying it like that, that don’t sit well with my spirit.” Kanye on Drake. https://t.co/I5gd138F9J
And in a now-viral appearance on the Drink Champs podcast last week, Kanye spoke out once again to double down on his past comments criticizing Drake’s “disrespectful” behavior in connection with the rumored affair.
Kanye West confirms that Drake never slept with his wife Kim Kardashian
“I had this conversation with Drake,” Kanye said. "It’s like, ‘I never fucked Kim.’ But I was like, ‘But you acted like you did. You got bars that’s like, ‘Hidden hills give your wife the chills.' … It’s like somebody throwing a marble and hiding they hand or something like that. … All that’s disrespectful."
Here, Kanye was referring to Drake’s song titled “Greece,” released earlier this year with rapper DJ Khaled. In his verse, Drake raps: “Rolls Royce, baby, in Hidden Hills / Bags full of hundred dollar bills / Joggin' past your wife and she get chills.”
Kanye also questioned lyrics from Drake's feature on Travis Scott's hit song, "Sicko Mode." On the song, Drake rapped: “I crept down the block / Made a right / Cut the lights / Paid the price.” After a conspiratorial Twitter thread about Kim and Drake’s affair — which compared the fitting location of Drake’s and Kanye’s houses — went viral, many fans perceived these lines to be a jab at Kanye.
In light of the rumors, Kanye not only drew attention to Drake’s shady lyrics on his Drink Champs appearance, but also revealed that he still finds himself questioning aspects of what happened between Drake and Kim.
Speaking of Drake’s interactions with Kim, Kanye said: “But did you ever DM her? Everything else around it, ’cause it ain’t about just the actual act of it.”
Kanye also accused Drake of taking subtle “psychological” shots at him, such as “[living] five blocks down the street from [him]” — a reference to the “Sicko Mode” line — and DM'ing “every single girl” in and around his family.
And as well as speaking out against the rumored affair, Kanye went on to publicly address his divorce from Kim for the first time — following months of speculation that the two were rekindling their romance.
Kanye insisted that Kim — who has recently attracted attention over rumors she's dating Pete Davidson — is “still [his] wife,” before adding that he’s “never even seen” any of their divorce paperwork.
“My kids want they parents to stay together. … I want us to be together,” he said.
“You know, SNL making my wife say ‘I divorced him’ on TV cause they just wanted to get that bar off,” he continued. “And I ain’t never even seen the papers. We not even divorced ... 'cause that ain’t no joke to me.”
However, things appear to have taken yet another turn over the weekend, as Kanye was pictured out publicly with 22-year-old model Vinetria — whom he is reportedly dating.
The two were pictured at their first public event together, at his Donda Academy’s debut basketball game in Minneapolis. Page Six reported that the two are dating, but neither Kanye nor Vinetria have publicly confirmed any sort of relationship as of yet.
