21 Savage Advised Drake Against Interacting With Kendrick Lamar

21 Savage has released a new album titled WHAT HAPPENED TO THE STREETS?. In a Thursday (Dec. 11) interview, he discussed various topics, including the well-known conflict between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

Savage spoke with host Rashad “Big Bank” Holsey on the “Perspektives With Bank” podcast for a three-hour conversation. A notable point of discussion was Savage’s perspective on Drake’s feud with Lamar earlier this year. He mentioned advising Drake against becoming involved, but Drake chose to proceed.

“Do I think he took a hit? Nah,” Savage stated. “He’s still the number one streamed artist this year. I think he took an internet hit. But then it’s like, ‘Damn, did you take an internet hit?’ Because streaming requires an online presence … To some people, they might say he took a hit. But I don’t view it that way. I advised him not to engage.”

Savage noted that his collaborator on “Jimmy Cooks,” Drake, felt “challenged lyrically” and found it difficult to step back. He also recounted a phone conversation during which they addressed the situation.

“He called me or I called him one day,” Savage explained. “I think this was after the first song with Metro and them, and I said, ‘Goddamn. You’re stepping into a battle that you can’t win, like, there’s no way you can win.’ No matter what. Certain situations, even if you win, you still don’t win.”

Savage clarified that he was not implying Drake had no chance of succeeding. Instead, he suggested that even if the public perceived Drake as the winner, it wouldn’t change the outcome for him.

“How can you win a battle when people want you to lose it?,” Savage continued. “Even if you win, you lose. No matter what. Even if Kendrick never responded, if Drake just dropped songs and Kendrick stayed silent, he still wouldn’t win because his position didn’t change. He was already at the top.”

He added, “It’s rigged, man. Even if Drake won, he would have been seen as the bad guy for winning.”

In other parts of the conversation, Savage discussed fatherhood, mentioned that Drake apologized to Metro Boomin on multiple occasions, and talked about the rules of snitching, among other topics.