Skepta Fires Back At Joyner Lucas On “Round 2”

Key Takeaways:

• Skepta’s “Round 2” takes aim at Joyner Lucas with sharp bars and cultural jabs.
• The track critiques Lucas’ rollout tactics and references past rap battles, including his back-and-forth with Tory Lanez.
• The feud taps into a larger U.K. vs U.S. rap rivalry, with both artists using the moment to boost visibility.

Skepta isn’t backing down from the U.K. vs. U.S. rap battle anytime soon. On Thursday (July 17), the London lyricist dropped “Round 2,” his response record to Joyner Lucas’ earlier diss “NOBODY CARES.”

From the jump, Skepta takes no prisoners. He goes straight at Lucas for taking a week just to deliver “the weakest diss,” then criticizes the Massachusetts native for wearing a U.K.-branded ski mask on the “NOBODY CARES” cover art. “Take off the flag, you don’t hold weight ‘round there / Round one could’ve been yours, you bastard,” Skepta raps.

Throughout the track, the “That’s Not Me” artist name-drops Tory Lanez, who previously went bar-for-bar with Lucas before the two patched things up. He later calls out how the “Revenge” rapper appears to be using their back-and-forth to help promote his new album, ADHD 2. “Joyner, tell your manager to get in touch with me / I don’t do free promos, so f**k with me / You can ask Devilman how I get busy,” he dishes out.

Compared to the handful of lines Lucas got on last week’s “Friendly Fire,” there’s definitely more to sit with on “Round 2.” Take a listen to the new track below.

Lucas swung back at Skepta’s initial “Friendly Fire” jabs on Tuesday’s (July 15) “NOBODY CARES,” in which he claimed the Insomnia creator’s career “just ain’t what it was.” He also roped in U.K. artists Dave and Central Cee, as well as Drake, who had notably just brought Skepta on stage at Wireless Festival the weekend before.

Whether — or how quickly — Lucas will return fire after “Round 2″ is still up in the air, especially with ADHD 2 having dropped on Friday (July 18) at midnight. Either way, the beef seems to be working out nicely for both parties.