By the spring of 2024, hip-hop was no longer a game of verses and handshakes — it was a battlefield. J. Cole stood firm, Drake built a fortress, and Lil Wayne returned to the front lines, unwilling to watch the new era tear itself apart. Across the divide, Kendrick Lamar led a rebellion with Future and Metro Boomin, raising an army of the disillusioned. Studios turned into trenches, festivals split in two, and legends either chose sides or vanished. Just when the war lines seemed clear, Ye returned — not to join, but to burn the map. Kanye West didn’t pledge loyalty to any flag; he chased a vision no one else could see, a future stitched from ruins and chaos. In a world where every beat could spark a riot, Ye walked into the fire — not as a king, but as something far stranger. And from that moment on, not a soul would walk away unchanged.
What If: The Archive 