On Tuesday night, August 16, the legendary rapper Eminem joined Drake onstage to perform the song “Forever” during his “Summer Sixteen Tour” show at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena.
Eminem showing up at Drake’s concert was a pleasant surprise for hip-hop fans attending the show not only for the performance itself but also because it means the end of speculation around a supposed beef brewing between the two.
The collaboration puts to rest all the rumors about The Real Slim Shady’s involvement on the Drake v. Joe Budden feud, a hip-hop controversy spanning months now.
Drake v. Joe Budden: a dull feud out of thin air
Before the hip-hop world skipped to the edge of their seats in expectancy for an Eminem diss track bashing Drake, this whole dispute was only between Drake and Joe Budden.
The Harlem rapper Joe Budden first sparked the controversy by dedicating a whole of his podcast “INTPL” to Drake’s latest album “Views”. While the album was a commercial and critical success, Budden found it to be lacking in creativity, mainly referring to the songs’ lyrics.
Budden’s first comments were widely ignored by the Canadian hip-hop artist, but soon enough the veteran rapper fired again at Drake with further observations and accusations on social media. The situation escalated to diss tracks shortly after, with Joe Budden releasing not one, but two songs dedicated to the “Hotline Bling” interpreter. In contrast, Drake had only made a vague reference to the whole beef in a verse of a collaborative song with French Montana.
Eminem v. Drake: the beef that never was
Following an incident involving two guys trespassing in Budden’s property, the situation has gone too far.
Things only got more heated when Hot 97’s DJ Ebro claimed that Eminem was planning to go after Drake in a diss track for messing with his label mate Joe Budden. Ebro fanned the flames even more by saying that Drake did not believe him, but he was prepared to fire back if that ever happened.
A rap living legend and a consolidated hip-hop newcomer releasing diss tracks about each other would have made for a juicy beef. Unfortunately for drama-thirsty fans, both singers had nothing but love and respect for each other after their “Forever” live collaboration.
“DETROIT, MAKE SOME NOISE FOR THE GREATEST RAPPER TO EVER GET ON THE *** MICROPHONE. HE GOES BY THE NAME OF EMINEM,” said Drake.
Eminem followed in similar fashion, asking fans to make some noise for the Champagne Papi. The 43-year-old rapper referred to the opportunity to sing alongside Drake as an honor.
Neither of the two artists addressed the alleged conflict directly, but it should be clear enough for everyone now that all chances of a beef happening between them have vanished. Joe Budden has yet to comment on the performance.
Source: TIME