[Opinion] Is The Common vs. Drake Rap Feud All Over Serena Williams?

“Rumors leaving tumors on my heart now… I remember, I remember, I remember, it happens to the best…”

One listen to Common’s “Lovin’ I Lost” is all it takes to get to the crux of what inspired the raw, emotionally volatile – and as of Monday, formally solidified – rap feud between the Chicago-native and his seemingly always in love brethren, Drake.

While some of you may be surprised that the widely respected battle king – the same one who lyrically demolished Ice-Cube with “The Bitch in Yoo” ten years ago – would take offense to the easily-anguished, younger version of himself, I for one, was hardly surprised.

[Listen to Common's "Lovin' I Lost" below]

Let’s start with the facts. First and most importantly, pictures of Drake out gallivanting with Serena Williams – Common’s ample-bosomed and curvaceous ex-girlfriend – hit the internet late last year, and were promptly followed by an interview with Complex in which Drake admitted he “really [loves and cares] for Serena Williams.”

Now, for those of us familiar with Drake’s highly publicized and short-lived romantic relationships, a magazine dedication is nothing short of expected for the Canadian rapper always gushing about being infatuated with one woman or another. Remember his infamous shout-out to Nicki Minaj on “Miss Me”?

“I love Nicki Minaj,” Drake rapped. “I told her I’d admit it; I hope one day we get married just to say we f*cking did it.”

Or what about his proposed devotion and the subsequent emotional calamity that resulted from his tattered relationship with Rihanna? On “Fireworks” – the opening track from his debut album, Thank Me Later – Drake held back no bars and rapped about Rihanna leaving him a wounded love-sick puppy.

“What happened between us that night, it always seems to trouble me,” Drake said. “Now all of a sudden, these gossip rags wanna cover me and you making it seem that it happened that way because of me.”

Unfortunately for Drake (and fortunately for those of us who’ve gone too long without an interesting rap beef to follow), one of his transparent jellyfish lines just happened to sting the wrong opponent; i.e. Common. Needless to say, this is where things begin to get interesting.

For those unbeknownst, “Lovin’ I Lost”, typecasts Common as a vulnerable, nostalgic and forlorn ex-lover who wistfully reminiscences on his failed relationship with the shapely, brown-skinned tennis superstar. The song shows that unlike Drake, Common’s feelings on the missus in question go far deeper than just a casual, run-of-the-mill fling.

“I remember she sit there with her thickness, never played a game but I heard about them sisters,” Common rapped. “A wise mister said love is gonna get ya but that ain’t what I read in the scriptures.”

Keep in mind that these sappy lyrics are coming from the love-ravaged, half-rapper and half-poet who openly admitted to Jet Magazine that “men go crazy over women” in December.

“They go to prison, start wars, and lose hair over them,” Common said.