We now have the first official hip hop battle on our hands for 2021. Early this morning, Royce da 5’9” decided to drop off a new track titled “Silence Of The Lambda,” which sees him directing shots at his fellow emcee peer-turned-podcast cohost Lupe Fiasco:

“Solidarity like that muscle we refuse to flex, that synergy that these niggas just refuse to tap into, in our disparity, match our hustle, we exude success, attack us mentally that’s that energy kings get trapped into, therefore I’m done promoting the dumb shit, I’ll put a hole in your son while he’s holding your sun chips, while you’re over there with a chip on your shoulder like you Hova or some shit…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uQj3L1NU5I

For context, the Carlos Broady-produced drop comes after an ongoing debate about who’s the best that’s been brewing for the better part of this month — since that started, notable lyricists like Loaded Lux, Murda Mook, and Mickey Factz have all added their opinions on the matter. Everything boiled over during an IG Live session some days ago, when Royce and Lupe’s war of words escalated — enough so that a heated Royce continued his stance on said argument in regards to those speaking his name and disrespect overall. Fast forward to today, and here we are.

Mere hours after the release of “Silence Of The Lambda,” Lupe then took to social media to return fire with the proverbial jab “Steve Jobs” — that has now culminated into the response track “Steve Jobs (SLR 3 1/2),” which sees production from Soundtrakk and, simply put, is equally scathing:

“I’m ain’t even trip, when you called me a bitch, I was like look at Salem, calling me a witch, look at how they made him, look how much they gave him, look at all the assists, nigga, if it wasn’t for Premier, you wouldn’t be…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuSnP4HmNbE

Press play on both below, and prepare yourself for more to come.