Another day, another Ye change of heart. Ye is changing the tone of his years-long rivalry with fellow rap superstar Drake, offering unexpected praise and admitting that he’s taken musical cues from the Toronto artist more than once.
In a recent livestream with Toronto rapper Top5—who is closely affiliated with Drake—Ye spoke candidly about the influence Drake has had on his work. “The thing about Drake’s music is he ain’t got shit where he copies what I do. I’ll have copied a Drake flow a lot of times. I got shit that once Drake took over the algorithm was copies of Drake,” Ye admitted.
The statement marks a rare moment of humility from West, who’s typically known for pushing boundaries and setting trends rather than following them. Rather than reigniting old tensions, this admission seems to signal a shift toward unity and respect between the two artists.
Ye also voiced his solidarity with Drake during the rapper’s ongoing conflict with Universal Music Group. In a video shared on X, Ye described how impactful the current moment is for the music industry. “Yo, I’m so happy right now, you don’t understand. With this UMG, Drake, Kendrick situation, Super Bowl, Grammys, this s*** was driving me and you know where it should be driving me, but this is the biggest victory in music history right here,” he said.
He closed his remarks with a firm show of support for both Drake and Kendrick Lamar: “I’m never finna call Drake out of his name. I’m team Drake, 100 percent. And team Kendrick and team all of us. Kendrick needs to be going at UMG at this point.”
After years of tension marked by lyrical jabs and brief reconciliations, Ye’s latest comments suggest that the chapter of rivalry with Drake may finally be coming to a peaceful close.