When Drake and Funkmaster Flex traded shots on Instagram Live earlier this week, it may have seemed out of nowhere. During DJ Spade’s Instagram Live on Tuesday, Drake called Flex a “pussy” in the comments, which prompted a quick response by the Hot 97 DJ.
As some may recall, however, their beef first began some four years ago. At a 2016 show in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Drake first called out Hot 97 and Flex for “telling lies,” and even asked the station to fire Flex, threatening to never return to the station. But what exactly prompted Drake’s comment? Below, we’ve put together a brief timeline of Drake and Flex’s beef, starting from Hot 97’s first shots at Drake all the way up to this week’s exchange.
Find out how it all began below.
July 2015 — Funkmaster Flex calls out Drake
Rumors of Drake not writing his own raps had been swirling for a while, but Flex doubled-down when he premiered “10 Bands,” a reference track by Quentin Miller, Drake’s rumored songwriter. During his 13-minute rant, Flex played a snippet of the song. “Let’s play a little of it. I got this from someone in Drake’s camp. They reached out because they saw me keeping it 100.” Listen below.
July 2015 — Drake sneak disses Flex on “Charged Up”
In 2015, Drake and Meek Mill were trading diss songs. In one particular diss song, Drizzy took the chance to subtly diss Hot 97’s Flex, too. On “Charged Up,” Drake can be heard rapping the line: “Need DJ Clue to drop a bomb on it.” Though he didn’t specifically name Flex, the DJ is known for dropping bomb sounds during his shows, so it’s fair to assume the diss was aimed at him. Listen below.
August 2016 — Hot 97 starts “telling lies” on Drake
A year after Flex called out Drake for having a songwriter, Hot 97’s Ebro Darden stirred things up even more. On his morning show, Darden told listeners that Drake was ready to beef with Eminem, too. Listen below.
At the time, Drake and Joe Budden were having a public feud, and Budden was signed to Eminem’s label. Darden spilled the tea on an alleged private conversation he had with Drake, where he informed him of possible retaliation from Em.”He laughed. He was like, ‘That’s not gonna happen.’ He’s like, ‘He’d never do that. And if he did, I got something for him, too.’” Soon after, however, Ebro revealed that he made everything up for entertainment, blaming it on a “slow news day.”
August 2016 — Drake calls out Hot 97 and Funk Flex
Darden’s made-up story made its way to Drake, who wasn’t pleased about the fake drama. To the point where he called out the radio station during a show in New York City, just days after Darden’s comments. However, Drizzy decided to go after Funkmaster Flex rather than Ebro, taking the opportunity to retaliate for firing up the Quentin Miller rumors one year prior.
During his freestyle, Drizzy called out Hot 97 for “telling lies” and even told fans that he wanted Funkmaster Flex fired, threatening to never go back to the radio station as long as he’s employed there. Check it below.
August 2016 — Funk Flex responds to Drake
Soon after Drake went for Flex during his NYC show, Flex took the chance to respond on his radio show. “First of all, Drake, I’m not really worried about you making me lose my job,” he said. “70% of your fans wear high heels. The other 30% are guys who wear sandals. I’m not concerned about you.”
Flex then double-down on his “sandals” comment on Instagram. The DJ shared the picture of a man wearing sandals, seemingly calling Drake a “sandal man.” Check it below.
December 2018 — Funk Flex apologizes
After Meek Mill and Drake officially squashed their beef, the Philly rapper went on Funk Flex’s show. During his appearance, Meek freestyled over the beat of “Back to Back” (Drake’s diss song against him), further proving that things are cool now. Meek was so dedicated to resolving issues that he asked Flex to apologize to Drake. “If you tell me to stop, I’ll stop,” Flex told Meek. He then looked at the camera and apologized publicly. “Drake, I apologize.”
Hit the 2:00 mark below to hear Funk’s apology.
March 2020 — Funk Flex & Drake trade shots on Instagram
Two years after Flex’s apology, it seems like Drake and the Hot 97 DJ haven’t exactly squashed their beef. Taking to DJ Spade’s Instagram Live on Tuesday, Drake took a shot at Flex out of nowhere. In the comments, Drake called Flex a “pussy.” Flex didn’t take long to respond, and tuned into Spade’s Live to fire back. Flex even went on Timbaland and Swizz Beatz’ IG face-off to go in on Drake. See it all below.