After making peace with Tory Lanez, Drake squashed his beef with another former foe, Ludacris, at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday (May 21).
Taking the stage at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Drake accepted his award for Top Billboard 200 Album for Views by explaining the importance of living in the moment. In that spirit, he celebrated the BBMA host, Luda.
“Ludacris, we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I’ve always been a big fan of yours and I got a lot of love for you,” he said. “I want to let you know that face to face, while I’m still here.”
CONGRATS, @Drake 🎉 "Views" was awarded the #BBMAs for Top Billboard 200 Album! 💽✨ pic.twitter.com/zAZWBmFMtp
— Billboard Music Awards (@BBMAs) May 22, 2017
Ludacris and Drake sparked their public rivalry in 2011, when Drizzy appeared to make fun of the “Southern Hospitality” rapper’s use of the “Supa Dupa” flow that Big Sean, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, and others used prominently. “I hate that rappers picked that flow up,” he told AllHipHop. “I wish they had left that for people that know how to use it.”
After Sean made similar comments in reference to Luda, ‘Cris clapped back on “Bada Boom.” “Counterfeit rappers say I’m stealing they flows,” he rapped. “But I can’t steal what you never made up, B!tch.”
After that, Drizzy alluded to a female companion who was also seeing Ludacris on “How About Now” off 2014’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. “I used to always try and burn you CDs of my new Sh!t,” he raps on the track. “You be like, ‘Who’s this?’ / I’d be like, ‘Me, girl,’ You be like, ‘Oh, word, true Sh!t?’ / Then ask if we could listen to Ludacris / Them car rides made me feel like I was losin’ it.”
The following year, Luda would say that the line came from real life events. “I think there is a little bit of a true story behind that,” he told “The Breakfast Club.” “His girl, at the time, with all due respect was probably doing a little bit more than that. It’s a true story and I think that’s why he said that.”
Apparently, this wasn’t the first time Drake made peace with ‘Cris. “Me and Drake had our thing,” Luda told “The Breakfast Club” during the same 2015 interview. “He came to me and apologized to me like a man.”
But this wasn’t the only thing that the 6 God had to get off his chest. He also praised Vanessa Hudgens for her looks after explaining what inspired his speech.
“I had a close friend of mine that didn’t support my album but then supported other peoples’ stuff,” he said. “I asked him why and their response was, ‘I don’t want to look thirsty. You get enough love as it is.’ It made me think. It’s crazy that, we’re all here on Earth for a limited amount of time and we gotta show love while we’re here. So, tonight, I want to say Vanessa Hudgens, you look incredible tonight.”
It didn’t end there, as the OVO head also gave love to his Young Money family, who he sat beside in the front row. “I want to say, Nicki Minaj, I’m so glad we found our way back because I love you and I could never ever see it any other way,” he added. “I want to say, Lil Wayne, if it wasn’t for the risk you took, none of us would be here tonight.”
Finally, Drizzy had to send some love to his father, Dennis Graham, for his dapper style. “And I want to say, my dad got on a purple suit with purple shoes,” he added. “Boy, if you don’t stop!”
Drake — who led all nominees with 22 nods going into the evening — has 12 wins at press time. Tonight, he’s also set to make a rare award show performance splash with a “very big moment.”
