LeBron James has finally broken his silence on Drake. On a recent appearance on 360 with Speedy, the Lakers star spoke about the Toronto rapper for the first time since his high-profile beef with Kendrick Lamar, keeping it short but telling.
“Always, always wish him the best, obviously,” said James. “We’re in different places right now. He’s doing his thing and I’m doing mine, but it’s always love, for sure.”
LeBron and Drake once had a longstanding friendship that dated back to 2007. In James’ early years of stardom, he attended LeBron’s mixtape release party and other social events. They even appeared on stage together at a concert in 2018 before cofounding an expansion of Uninterrupted in Canada. The last event they were seen attending as friends together was during Drake’s ‘It’s All A Blur’ tour, which also featured Bronny.
Everything changed in 2024, when Drake’s beef with Kendrick Lamar was at its height. In the throes of a heated rivalry, James chose a side when he attended Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out” event. In response, Drake released “Fighting Irish Freestyle”, with a hidden message taking shots at LeBron. Drake also covered up his LeBron tattoo with one for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, further cementing their split.
Today, the two are still not on good terms, and it seems LeBron isn’t losing any sleep over it. He’s made it clear that he’s a Kendrick Lamar fan and that loyalty has likely cost him his friendship with Canada’s greatest rapper. There’s no going back now, even if the Drake-Kendrick beef has somewhat simmered down.
Of course, when it comes to new-school rap, James is still relatively behind compared to most fans. While he’s got a special appreciation for Kendrick’s music, it’s the ’90s and early 2000s stuff where he’s able to really flex his fandom.
LeBron Makes Candid Admission On Modern Rap Lyrics
When it comes to the game, LeBron’s knowledge is elite, and his memory is on point. Regarding the work of modern rap artists, however, even LeBron admits that it’s a struggle for him to keep up at times.
“That’s just the new sh*t,” said James. “With the new rappers, I hear the melody, I hear the rap, and sometimes they lose me… but I can get it back. I guarantee if you take me to the 90s or early 2000s, I can rap a whole song front to back.”
Just like everything else, the rap game has evolved a lot over the past 20 years. It’s got a whole different style and vibe now, with modern themes that can relate to younger audiences. Besides Kendrick’s work, LeBron doesn’t have modern rap songs to memory, and it might be a testament to him being 40 years old.
For James, his head is mostly still stuck with iconic songs of the ’90s and 2000s from artists like 50 Cent, Tupac, and Eminem. While LeBron has yet to prove his knowledge of these songs, we’ll have to take his word for it that he knew those words “front to back.”
In the end, Father Time comes for us all, and while LeBron has handled it better than most, the signs are showing that he’s not as young as he used to be. Losing touch with modern beats is just the first step, but LeBron is finding joy in new hobbies that will carry him long after he’s retired.
