The early 2010s were filled with a number of unexpected feuds, including Daniel Dwayne “Diggy” Simmons III challenging J. Cole and Frank Ocean saying he was “jumped” by Chris Brown at a recording studio. However, none of those feuds produced diss tracks and verses quite like Common and Drake’s back-and-forth in 2011-2012.
In December 2011, Common released “Sweet” from his ninth studio album, The Dreamer/The Believer. Towards the end of the track, Common diverts from rapping and initiates a short monologue.
“You know where I’m from,” he said.
“[You all are] some h—e n—s. [They’re] singing all around me, man. La la la! You ain’t m—g Frank Sinatra. Uh, lil’ b—h.”
Shortly thereafter, Drake responded with a few shots of his own on Rick Ross and French Montana’s “Stay Schemin.”
“I’m just hitting my pinnacle. You and p—y are identical. You [are] like the f—n’ finish line. We can’t wait to run into you,” Drake rapped.
Months later, the two did run into each other. Instead of fighting, the two chose to settle the matter with a conversation.
“We had a talk, we had a conversation. It was a face-to-face, man-to-man, a positive thing. It was a good conversation. I’ve learned to respect him even more. I already thought he was a talented guy, but just from the conversation we had, I hold even more respect for him,” Common explained.
While the matter was settled, neither man actually openly talked about the root of the dispute. During a recent episode of Drink Champs, the Chicago native told N.O.R.E what initially caused the feud to begin in the first place.
“I don’t know what motivated him to send me some shots but I think what for sure had me, if I’m just being real, like you know, we mess with one of the same girls,” Common said, semmingly alluding to both men being linked to Serena Williams in the past.
“You know, wars happen over women.”
