A reporter has come forward and denied being assaulted by Drake, as conspiracy theories about the Canadian rapper and Kendrick Lamar are going viral.
The two rappers have been engaged in a feud for years now, although the beef has come to a head in recent weeks – with each sharing increasingly personal diss tracks lately and other artists getting involved.
Now, the rumours about the two have reached a new level after a person on X/Twitter going by the handle EbonyPrince2K24 posted grainy surveillance footage of Drake’s alleged personal items.
Shared over the weekend, the items appear to be the same selection of the rapper’s possessions that were included on the cover of Lamar’s diss track ‘Meet The Grahams’.
In the video shared on X, a bottle of prescription pills was shown as well as a package of Ozempic with Drake’s name attached. Since being shared, it has accumulated over 10million views and sent rumours about the single artwork into overdrive.
#1. King @kendricklamar is not a liar, and I am not a thief!
#2. Mr. Aubrey Graham (@Drake) & Mr. Livingston Allen (@Akademiks) have until noon Monday 5/13/24 to retract your claims of theft, or my attorney Ms. Adrienne Edward and I will exhaust every legal option available. pic.twitter.com/Mm6TBjMiXc
— EbonyPrince2k24 (@EbonyPrince2k24) May 11, 2024
As highlighted by Rolling Stone, the user has become widely referred to as ‘The Riddler’, in a reference to the Batman villain, for their cryptic messages. The user has also suggested they will post more footage of Drake unless he retracts the claim that he made in ‘The Heart Pt. 6’, that he fed false intel for Lamar to find.
One part of the posts that caught fans’ attention was screenshots of alleged surveillance footage of Drake, as he stated at The Mark Hotel in Manhattan, NY. In the images, freelance journalist Christopher Alvarez is seen in the lobby, and EbonyPrince2K24 posted it with the caption: “The issue in the photo should also jog your memory. Jimmy Brooks would not have been proud of you that night…”
Since it was shared on Friday (May 10), countless fans have speculated what the ominous caption could refer to, and rumours have emerged that the Canadian rap star may have assaulted Alvarez.
To Mr. Aubrey Graham (@Drake ), may this photo help jog your memory as to where you discarded those items. The issue in the photo should also jog your memory. Jimmy Brooks would not have been proud of you that night… pic.twitter.com/QnPFsIERO7
— EbonyPrince2k24 (@EbonyPrince2k24) May 11, 2024
Following the conspiracy theories continuing to go viral, Alvarez himself has come forward and denied that there was any wrongdoing when he met Drake.
“I don’t know what any of this means,” he wrote for Brooklyn Daily Eagle (via Complex). “I was with Drake that night because we briefly met after dinner, but all the accusations are false.”
Alvarez lives with Thanatophoric Dysplasia Type 2, a rare skeletal disorder that requires him to use a wheelchair, and has previously worked with a number of non-profit organisations and high-profile names in the past.
Elsewhere in his essay, he wrote: “I’ve had the privilege to be with Drake, Kendrick Lamar and other celebrities who have been very nice to me, but I don’t understand where it all got blurred with the fans.
“I can confirm that I was with Drake on the night of Jan. 22, 2023. After his NYC concert with 21 Savage. I was called to meet Drizzy at The Mark Hotel, and we had a blast listening to new beats. I am not in the position to talk about his character outside of our meetings but I can say I was not violated in any way.”
He continued: “Growing up in a society that was not meant for me to succeed in, I would never put myself in a position that would further dehumanise the disability community.”
The beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake came to a head last month, when Lamar contributed a verse to Future and Metro Boomin’s ‘Like That’ .
Drake then fired back with two tracks ‘Push Ups’ and ‘Taylor Made Freestyle‘, and subsequently landed in hot water after using AI to emulate Tupac Shakur‘s vocals. The move led to the late rapper’s estate threatening legal action. Drake subsequently removed the track from streaming.
Lamar would then respond with ‘Euphoria‘ on May 1, following it up quickly the following day with ‘6:16 in LA’ and the now-chart-topping diss track ‘Not Like Us’.
The latter arrived at the start of the month and marked his third Drake diss in 36 hours. It also saw him making some accusations about the Canadian rapper over his supposed preference for younger women, to the point where he calls him a “certified paedophile”.
The pair then dropped new diss tracks within an hour of each other, with Drake releasing ‘Family Matters’ just before Lamar clapped back with ‘Meet The Grahams’.
As aforementioned, Drake claimed he fed Lamar false intel on diss ‘The Heart Part 6’, but the track hasn’t been popular with fans – recently surpassing 1million dislikes on YouTube.
Check out a full timeline of the feud here.
In other Drake news, the rapper’s mansion in Toronto was at the centre of controversy in the past few days. First, reports were shared earlier this month that a man, suspected to be Drake’s bodyguard, was shot outside the residence.
Just hours later, it was revealed that a man had been detained by police in the area after attempting to break into the rapper’s home. It isn’t clear whether or not wither incident has any relation to the ongoing feud.
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