Naomi Osaka might lead a pacifist lifestyle, but that hasn’t stopped her from indulging in the spicy Drake and Kendrick Lamar feud as a fan of the genre.
The tennis star shared her thoughts on the beef sweeping the rap world following her match on Wednesday (May 8) at the Italian Open, and although the 26-year-old identifies as a “neutral party” in the bout, she seems to be riding with Kendrick.
“Kendrick dropped some heat. That last song,” she began while revealing “Not Like Us” provided the soundtrack to her pre-match playlist. “That last song is amazing. And I played it walking onto the court. Currently, I think Kendrick’s doing another song.”
With Drake getting the final word in for now with “The Heart Part 6,” Osaka wants to see Kendrick respond with another diss track.
“Yeah, sorry,” she said when asked if he should drop again. “Technically, Kendrick dropped that song and then Drake dropped ‘The Heart Part 6,’ so technically Kendrick could drop another two if he wanted to.”
Osaka is thrilled with the influx of new K. Dot tunes since he typically doesn’t flood the market. “And me being a Kendrick fan, I haven’t gotten this many Kendrick songs in a very long time so if he wants to keep dropping,” she concluded.
The bouncy Mustard-produced “Not Like Us” has Osaka on the verge of another victory in the round of 64. She’s built a healthy lead in set two against Marta Kostyuk before play was suspended due to weather on Thursday (May 9).
Outside of being a hip-hop fan, Osaka has ties to the rap world through dating Cordae. The DMV-bred rapper and four-time Grand Slam champion welcomed a baby girl — the couple’s first child — last summer.
As far as the Drake-Kendrick feud, it’s been permeating all walks of life. Past the tennis world, President Joe Bidens’s team even made a video clowning Donald Trump earlier this week, using lyrics from the Compton rapper’s “Euphoria” diss track.
Watch Naomi Osaka’s comments on the rap feud below.
