For the first time since he first turned heads earlier this week with a pointed diss track about Drake, Common is speaking out about his budding feud with the Young Money star.
As we've previously reported, tension between Common and Drake first began when the Chicago veteran released his song "Sweet," which angrily dismisses "soft" rappers who sing. In an interview today with Sirius XM's Hip Hop Nation, Common said he decided to take things to the next level after Drake responded— first at a concert in Las Vegas, and then on Rick Ross's recent single "Stay Schemin.'"
"Once he said something back, that's when I was like 'Aight, I guess you wanna get in a battle with me, and if that's what you want, then I'll battle,'" Common said.
The hip hop mainstay maintains that "Sweet" wasn't specifically about Drake (though it's easy to see why many interpreted it that way), and said he's only been trying to speak up for a particular brand of hip hop that he feels has gone missing. He also dismissed the idea that the conflict is the result of both rappers being romantically linked to tennis star Serena Williams.
"My whole mentality was like 'Man, I'm doin this for hip hop music.' It wasn't about trying to bring nobody down," he said. "At the end of the day, I just expressed what I feel about hip hop and I'm gonna keep it on that level."

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(Photo: John Ricard / BET)