Everybody hates Drake: How he became hip-hop's favorite punching bag

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Any time Drake is the topic, expect a contentious debate among hip-hop fans.

G.O.O.D. Music’s Pusha T sparked another one after blasting the Young Money/Cash Money (YMCMB) rapper, and camp, in his latest track, “Exodus 23:1.”

On the track, the Clipse rapper places Drake and YMCMB squarely in his cross-hairs, spitting, “Beef is best served like steak, well-done get a gun in your face, b*tch n*gga” in the songs opening bar’s. In a stinging second verse, he indirectly dissects Drake’s YMCMB situation saying, “Contract all f**ked up, I guess that means you all f**ked up/You signed to one ni**a that’s signed to another ni**a that’s signed to three ni**as, now that’s bad luck.”

The shot earned a swift counter from YMCMB franchise player Lil Wayne, who has had beef with Pusha T in the past, tweeting, “F**k pusha t and anybody that love em” on Thursday afternoon.

The jab was latest slight towards YMCMB’s crossover machine, but did it cross the line of rap beef decorum? Along with Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group, G.O.O.D. Music and YMCMB practically own urban airwaves. While jockeying for position atop the genre has been peaceful thus far, there was the unspoken anxiety to see which camp would make a bold leap for the crown.

Summer time beef is practically a hip-hop institution. Listeners have seen classic battles like Jay-Z-Nas dominate the rap conversation, while teetering on the edge of decency. Inevitably, beef crosses the line into matters the listening public usually aren’t clued into. On “The Takeover” from 2001’s The Blueprint, Jay-Z famously went in on Nas’ pockets:

“You ain’t get a coin ni**a, you was getting f*cked and I know who I pay, God, Searchlight Publishing.”

The shot may have been lost in the barrage but it hit home that rappers are often times counting each other’s money.

What’s more telling – Lil Wayne’s public defense was a necessity, but did little to squelch the ongoing debate: What’s with this Drake character?

Serious hip-hop heads can’t quite wrap their heads around the former actor turned emcee. Even with his rabid popularity, there’s an underlying distate for Drake that stems partially from his success, and in some cases, his Jewish and Canadian roots or mixed heritage. The rapper has never shied away from the role those factors play in his music DNA. But for every time he’s assertively defined who he was over a record, his authenticity remains a constant debate.

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Could it be his frequent collaborations outside of his label home with MMG? His features are vastly different from Nicki Minaj’s increasingly pop agenda. Yet, just before fans are lulled into believing he’s got the juice on one of the gritty street anthems he’s graced, they catch themselves questioning the tropes discussed because it stands in stark contrast to the life they imagine him actually living.

His wildly successful resume can even provide ammo at times.