Joyner Lucas Reacts To Skepta’s “Friendly Fire” Diss Track

The U.K. versus U.S. rap debate is getting spicier. On Sunday (July 13), Joyner Lucas took to social media for an initial response to Skepta’s “Friendly Fire” diss track.

In case you missed it, last Friday (July 11) at midnight, the U.K. grime star dropped a fiery song that took aim at a number of Stateside Hip Hop figures, including Ebro Darden, DJ Akademiks, ASAP Rocky and Lucas. Though the tune was touted as being aimed at the “Fashion Killa” artist, Lucas caught shots in the second verse. Skepta spits, “Catch him outside and move to him, heartless / Cuts, bruises and plasters / If I see him on tour in London, I jump on stage and move to his dancers.”

So far, the ADHD rapper hasn’t responded in rhyme. Instead, he took to his official X account on Sunday to post a video of himself listening to the bars aimed his way. The Massachusetts-born rapper is seen grinning (and maybe even slightly nodding along) to Skepta’s verse. Near the end of the clip — and after shaking his head in disagreement to the line, “You haven’t had a hit song for the longest” — he looks in the camera and says, “Aight, say less my boy.”

It’s also worth noting that Lucas replied with a laughing emoji to the infamous clip making the social media rounds of Drake — before welcoming Skepta to the stage — saying “London rappers are the best lyricists in the world.”

This Lucas vs. Skepta “beef” began with the “Shutdown” hitmaker’s attempts to start a U.K. vs. U.S. rap battle. In a series of tweets, he claimed American rappers don’t have anything on the U.K.’s lyricists and challenged ASAP Rocky to “clash.” Then, on July 3, Skepta wrote, “The average American rapper [doesn’t] even listen to U.K. rappers, but we’ve [been listening] to them (for years) and that is exactly why the U.K. can’t lose.”

A day later Lucas replied, “The moment I’ve been waiting for… say the word, Joyner Lucas vs. Skepta.” So, Lucas has been in Skepta’s crosshairs ever since.

Considering the ongoing debate about who has the better emcees, Skepta is primed for the smoke. Whether or not Lucas responds with his own fire, we have to wait and eagerly see.