Jay-Z and Drake have always had a complex, somewhat confusing relationship (the two have famously traded disses both in interviews and individual tracks), but could their pseudo-feud finally be over?
During his 4:44 concert appearance at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto this Thursday, Jay-Z performed a mash-up of his 1998 single “Ni**a What, N**a Who (Originator ’99)” and Drake’s “Know Yourself.” And apparently Drake, along with fellow Torontonian artist Kardinal Offishall, was actually cheering and singing along to Jay-Z from the audience.
Jay-Z also recited English rapper Giggs’ verse from Drake’s “KMT” during his first ACC show on Wednesday and, when speaking about America’s recent string of unsubstantiated police shootings, mentioned that the victims of police brutality “could have been the next LeBron, the next Drake.”
The fact that Jay-Z is (seemingly) extending an olive branch to Drake is kind of a big deal—he took a subtle jab at Champagne Papi in DJ Khaled’s “Shining” earlier this year, and in “Summer Sixteen” (the track Jay-Z calls out in “Shining”) Drake implied that that he’s become the new, better version of Jay. Plus, many say that their feud can be traced all the way back to 2011, when Drake rapped about “taking the throne” on DJ Khaled’s “I’m On One.” But perhaps Drizzy and Hova are finally coming around to the idea that the hip-hop world is big enough for the two of them. Maybe we could even get another Drake-Jay-Z collab in the near future?
Drake finished up his Boy Meets World Tour on November 20 and probably won’t be touring again for a while. But he’s released a brand new album or mixtape every year since 2015, so maybe he’ll surprise us and applaud his rival slash colleague on a surprise track in 2018.
You can watch Jay-Z’s “Know Yourself” shout-out down below.
