In late May, a snippet of Kanye West seemingly responding to J. Cole surfaced online. The line appeared on a demo version of Pusha-T’s 2018 track, “What Would Meek Do?” Now, an extended version of the demo has leaked out. On the new snippet, Kanye also name-drops Drake.
In this verse, he called out Drake and said his ties to Nike are questionable.
Kanye said,“I be thinkin, what would Tupac do You be thinkin what new kids on the Block do We got cribs on the block too Drizzy wearing Yeezy on the low though Only repping Nike for promo”.
While the illicit version currently making the rounds will not be posted here (you can check it out on Complex right here), Given that this beef ultimately exploded in a bout of nastiness, Kanye’s shots feel tame by comparison.
Yet the mere fact he decided to give Drake a few lines speaks to his mindset around that time, which is to say, uncharacteristically combative. It would appear the title “What Would Meek Do?” truly does operate on multiple levels
Previously on another snippet of the song that dropped, Kanye called out J. Cole as well.
While there’s no reason to think Kanye and Cole have any issues now, the mention is likely a nod to Cole’s 2016 single “False Prophets.” Cole famously included an extended passage seemingly about Ye, though he’s never directly named in the lyrics. In one line, Cole speaks of someone “cryin’ out for help while the world’s eggin’ him on.”