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“Drake, here’s how they gon’ come at you. With silly rap feuds, tryin’ to distract you.” —Jay-Z featured in Drake’s “Light Up”
We often think of poverty as a social class, as something that happens to people. But poverty can also be a way of seeing the world through a lens that says, “There’s not enough for me and you.” That’s a poverty mentality. While we commonly think of the poverty mentality in terms of money, it applies to art as well. And usually, where poverty mentalities run rampant in art, so do feuds.
Feuds between creators are commonplace —and historically have been. We often romanticize the Renaissance era, but there were many arduous aspects of it, including in the art world. For instance, Leonardo and Michelangelo’s “mutual hatred was well-known to contemporaries,” according to Artnet News. Feuds in more recent times include Guns N’ Roses versus Nirvana, Katy Perry versus Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga versus Madonna. Then there’s Drake versus Kendrick Lamar, the beef that made headline after headline in 2024 and which some people believe sparked huge controversy over the 2025 halftime show featuring Kendrick Lamar.
Such feuds have been so commonplace over the years that they’ve become normalized. But feuds between creators are unfortunate because they ultimately stifle creativity. Rather than battling each other, creators should support one another. Competition between the greats should never look like hate. For example, rap battles are an important part of the competitive culture. But feuds have an element of hate. And hate comes from a different place. It comes from a sense of lack, a sense of “not enough for me and you.”
What Causes Conflicts Between Artists
How does a poverty mentality creep into creativity? Creators want the rewards and praise that creativity generates, as well as the money and fame. Some creators fall into the trap of believing that there is only so much creativity to go around. They feel that creativity is vulnerable and ideas are fragile. They are right — creativity is vulnerable and ideas are fragile. But they are wrong about there only being so much creativity to go around. Creativity, in my view, is infinite and humans are innately adapted to channeling it. And the rewards, praise, money and fame creativity can generate should be temporary goals for creators.
A creator can become afraid that one of their peers will release content, be it a song, music video, movie, etc., that will overshadow them. Wanting attention and fearing that they will lose relevance, that artist will then start attacking their peer. That negativity and fear of lack then often propagates into a full-blown feud. While some might point out that feuds can fuel creativity (such as the new music Drake and Kendrick Lamar released during their rap battle), my question is: Does it bring out their best? Is the best use of artists’ time, energy and, ultimately, creativity to tear each other down rather than lift each other up? For me, the answer is “no.” I believe that collaboration is the best use of artists’ time, energy and creativity. For example, while much of the hip-hop world was embroiled in an East Coast versus West Coast feud in the late 1990s, Jay-Z (East Coast) quietly wrote the multi-platinum rap song “Still D.R.E.” for the kings of
West Coast hip-hop, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. It was an absolutely brilliant collaboration.
The Rolling Stone Culture Council is an invitation-only community for Influencers, Innovators and Creatives. Do I qualify?
Creativity Is Infinite and Limitless
Creativity is infinite and limitless. Ideas spur from ideas. Every invention in human history was preceded by another invention that made it possible. The light bulb, for instance, couldn’t have been invented if someone hadn’t discovered how to generate electricity. The glider paved the way for the airplane. In the entertainment world, pop music stems from a conglomeration of other musical genres, including jazz, rock & roll and African drum rhythms. The first film in Star Wars, one of the biggest movie franchises in history, was inspired by a Japanese film, The Hidden Fortress. Examine the history of collaboration, and you’ll see that it looks a lot like our DNA. Thomas Edison, for instance, was Henry Ford’s mentor. Yves Saint Laurent worked for Christian Dior before he launched his own fashion line.
Creativity is the ultimate expression of our shared humanity and connection. It should be a team sport. When artists become embroiled in feuds, they end up using their talent counterproductively—rather than connecting us all, they split us apart. Moreover, by working in isolation, they’re missing an opportunity to exchange their unique experiences and skills to create impactful work. Some of the most famous songs of the century, such as “Walk This Way” and “Under Pressure,” resulted from collaborations. Collaboration can help creators avoid and mend conflicts —and can help us transcend our differences.
How Creators Can Support One Another and Collaborate With Each Other
Support and collaboration are important in the creative process. However, both require vulnerability. To both support their fellow creators and enter collaborations, creators must quell their fears that they’ll be overshadowed and need to be OK with sharing the spotlight.
Successfully supporting one another and collaborating with each other starts with exercising graciousness. Creators should give their peers space to express themselves without fearing that they are giving up their space; they should embrace the fact that in the creative world, there’s room for differences and the various ideas that come alongside those differences.
Exhibiting graciousness should be coupled with establishing safety and trust in the creative process. Formal collaborations should have upfront agreements that outline terms and conditions, which creators should honor. Outside of formal collaborations, creators should be mindful of treating each other’s ideas with respect and maintaining boundaries. For instance, if a creator shares an idea with a peer, the peer should keep that idea between them and not take it or discuss it elsewhere.
Finally, creators should share in the success and recognition. For instance, if two singers work on a song together, one shouldn’t hold payment back from the other. If one creator wins an award, their peers should congratulate them and amplify their win.
Future generations will remember us by what we created. One of the greatest gifts creators can leave behind is what they create together. By supporting one another and collaborating with each other rather than becoming mired in conflicts, creators can etch themselves in history and inspire the next ideas that will shape the world.
