Drake-Meek Mill Feud
The Drake-Meek Mill beef is just the latest of many epic feuds in rap. Pictured, Drake performs at the Squamish Valley Music Festival in British Columbia, Canada, Aug. 8, 2015. Getty Images

Drake and Meek Mill exchanged insults, traded dis tracks and continue to engage in a 2015 version of the time-honored tradition known as beef. The feud is a critical feature of rap that bolsters creativity, according to Ahrum Lee, a sociologist from Bucknell University, in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Let's take an academic look at the history of rap battles.

Lee discusses the history of rap beefs in the Conversation. The Drake-Meek Mill beef started when the latter accused the former of having a ghostwriter. Drake responded with the dis track, while Mill hit back with Twitter. After Mill directed another tweet at the Canadian rapper, Drake responded with "Back to Back." The song was a decisive blow that led many to declare Drake the winner in this beef.

Their feud was just the latest example of feuding in rap. In many ways, a beef is a way to enhance one's standing in the community at the expense of the other. Sometimes it's territorial -- the East Coast-West Coast rivalry. Other times, a beef is about an up-and-comer taking on a veteran MC to show his or her skill.

"Similar to the blues tradition of paying dues, MCs can gain juice (or credibility) by engaging with -- whether through provocation or collaboration -- the best. Once MCs show their mettle, they gain or lose the respect of the rap world," Lee explains.

In the case of Drake and Mill, the feud has probably helped both of them. Mill, with Nicki Minaj, has a spread in GQ that may not have been as big a deal without the feud. Drake's name has also been in plenty of headlines with reports he's dating Serena Williams. An earlier example of this beef from 2002 centered on the relatively unknown 50 Cent, who threw down the gauntlet against the established Ja Rule. 50 Cent's dis tracks were so successful they may have affected Ja Rule's career and place in the rap community, Lee notes.

Of course, starting a feud can lead to disastrous consequences. Mill started the war of words with Drake, but many people have sided with the latter. "What a 'rap god' doesn’t do is whine on Twitter, or attempt to promote oneself through PR tactics," Lee said. Social media provides the public platform to engage in a beef, but future rappers should be aware of the possible ramifications of those 140 characters.