A Power Ranking of Everyone in the Drake–Kendrick Lamar–Every Rapper Ever Battle Royale

4. Nav

Nav’s silence says so much.

3. Rick Ross

Of anyone, Rick Ross has the greatest bit going. He’s on a crusade to convince the world that Drake got plastic surgery in order to get a six-pack. Or, as he says it, “BBL Drizzy.” Obviously, it’s not a reveal on the level of Pusha practically leaking an ultrasound, but it’s still amusing. And he doesn’t stop there. Another bit introduced on “Champagne Moments” is the way he calls Drake “white boy,” which you just know gets under Drake’s skin, even if this is all bullshit. According to Ross, his breakup with Drake stems from the fact that Drake didn’t clear a feature he did for French Montana, which checks out because the 6 Man is the kind of rapper who only collaborates with artists who give him some sort of juice in the process, and French can’t offer that anymore. My problem with Ross’ diss is that his most memorable jabs aren’t in the raps themselves, but instead in the monologue at the end or in his Instagram stories. It would be way cooler if “I know you got your Dockers on with no underwear, white boy” (is that a thing white people do?) were rapped instead of said, but I’ll just have to accept that Ross is a better public speaker than spitter these days.

2. Drake

Win or lose, Drake brings the best hate out of his peers. Through the years, he’s taken so much shit and just keeps chugging along. He lives for drama and theatrics in a way that feels extremely hip-hop. (“Push Ups” opens with a DJ Whoo Kid drop, a signal that his trollish behavior has been heavily influenced by 50 Cent, king of the trolls.) So far, in this round, he’s been called “white boy,” “fake friend,” and “pillow talker,” and he’s also been accused of getting a nose job and a Brazilian butt lift. There are now hit songs and hit albums where the selling point is to let the world know that he is a herb. Still, he stays the course and just keeps posting, even if it is just a lot of rich-guy blabber.

1. Future

The only rapper who seems to be unscathed in the melodrama is Future. Drake has mostly shifted his ill will to Ross, Kendrick, and Metro. And, while both the Future and Metro albums are full of subliminals, he seems almost uninterested in the battle royale he kicked off. One day soon, the smoke will clear and we will all move on, and our memories of what actually happened will probably fade away. The only thing I will remember for sure is that when the stars of our rap generation were holding onto their status for dear life, Future was there, hovering above them all.