Mathews: Squabble up, California, in battle against Donald Trump

Squabble up, California.

“Squabble up” is L.A. slang. It’s also the title of a track on GNX, the new album from California’s greatest living hip-hop artist, Kendrick Lamar.

“Squabble up” has two meanings. The first: “let’s fight” The second: “let’s dance.” Lamar’s raps — on a track of California music styles (G-funk, hyphy, mariachi) — blend both. 

Which is why “squabble up” is the right anthem for the Golden State’s fight with President Trump.

After all, rap and politics are both games that use attack and insult to increase your power while diminishing your rivals. And this year Lamar demolished Drake, a superstar Canadian rival, in a feud that consumed the nation.

The spectacular rout offers a vital lesson. Ruler-demagogues, like Drake and Trump, stay on top through constant attacks. They offer so many jibes and social media assaults that they become omnipresent overwhelming challengers, who can’t defend themselves against all the different blasts.

Besting a Trump requires relentless offense, as Lamar demonstrated. 

For years, Drake slighted Lamar in his music. Lamar ignored the jibes. until a late 2023 track in which Drake declared that he led a “big three” of top rappers. This March, Lamar pounced. “Motherf-ck the big three,” he announced on a track with other artists. “It’s just big me.” 

This line launched a spectacular feud.

Lamar followed two strategies. First, he used his songs and social media to protect vulnerable allies Drake had attacked — Lamar’s collaborators and family. Lamar thus kept his own team unified. Second, Lamar answered Drake’s attacks—with a counterbarrage of disses that were bigger and harsher than anything Drake served up.  

So, last spring, when Drake released a diss track attacking Lamar as a husband and father, Lamar answered by suggesting Drake was guilty of sex crimes (Say Drake, I hear you like ’em young / You better not ever go to cell block one). Lamar also goaded Drake into separating himself from some of his creative collaborators by hinting that Drake’s supposed friends were feeding Lamar inside information. (Hit his turf and get crackin’, double back like a deluxe.)

In counter-attacking, speed matters. Lamar answered one major Drake volley with a new diss track within 24 hours. He also didn’t wait for his opponent’s response before continuing the attack. Lamar’s best-known work from his Drake battle, “Not Like Us,” was a second blast immediately following Lamar’s own track. 

Sometimes you gotta pop out and show…Certified boogeyman, I’m the one that up the score with ‘em

We must heed California’s example. Trump’s power derives from his ability to sow fear — fear that his administration will deport our immigrant neighbors, arrest opponents, attack LGBTQ+ rights, ban vaccines, and command the military to invade hostile cities.

Lamar’s argument is that you beat fearmongers by making them even more afraid of you. But will California buy it?

It’s concerning that the initial response to Trump has been so unthreatening, with state leaders emphasizing that they want to work with the new president. Trump has threatened revenge against our state, and pledged to be a dictator and terminate the Constitution. Let’s not pretend that we’re partners, as Lamar sings in “wacced out murals.”

Before I take a truce, I’ll take ’em to Hell with me.

As I’ve written here in recent weeks, confronting Trump this time will require building internal unity and global coalitions. But collaboration and coalition won’t be enough unless we’re willing to attack Trump by all non-violent means and sap his power. Squabbling up isn’t a popularity contest; it’s about making your opponent fearful and powerless.

Those who seek conciliation with Trump are misreading the country. The United States is not a nation that likes moral righteousness — we just elected a convicted fraudster, adjudged rapist, and attempted election stealer. This is a country that likes winning. Period.

And if you think Lamar’s tactics are too tough for America’s mainstream, think again. The Compton rapper is headlining the Super Bowl halftime show in February.

Joe Mathews writes the Connecting California column for Zócalo Public Square.