On Friday, July 11th, 2025, the UK grime phenom Skepta released his aptly-titled new cut "Friendly Fire," and wasted no time delineating his stance: he's looking for the smoke and he's just not going to play around.
The bare-bones, raw-edged track followed the promise Skepta made when he publicly asked for a UK vs. US rap battle. But he didn't simply wait for a referee; he rang the bell himself, firing lyrical heat directly across the pond towards two of its biggest names: A$AP Rocky and Joyner Lucas.
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Let's start with Rocky. Once collaborators on the 2018 hit "Praise the Lord," the two are pitted against each other in lyrics that mention each other's children as collateral damage. Skepta came for the Harlem rapper for his rep, throwing not just at his music but his priorities:
"Hallelujah, you desire beast? Then I got this / You ain't had a hit since whenever (Whenever) / I personally never / Made it, but your shoes say so / (So), you should really be working on your flow."
But that British vet wasn't finished just yet. He turned his focus to Joyner Lucas with surgical, savage bars mocking that Massachusetts rapper's slick delivery: "Joyner Lucas, you're not even half as good as Eminem, but you sound like an Eminem rip-off." "Joyner Lucas, you son of a bitch / How come you rapping like you went to Harvard? / Catch 'em outside then man get bun like a Soreen / Karate Kid if a man try me or my team / Jump on beard, something's getting tucked in / I said, nobody's coming to your aid / I'm a keep sending for man / Stop with the begging, it's getting silly / Catch 'em outside and move to him, heartless / Cuts, bruises, and plasters / If I see him on tour in London, I jump on stage and move to his dancers."
His jab hit like a punch through a double-decker window. And just in case anyone missed his point, Skepta threw in the line that's already being tweeted like gospel: "Where I'm from, I'm a goat. Where you're from, you're nothing but a joke."
Social media, as it does best, fanned the flames. Fans were having fun with what Joyner's inevitable clapback would sound like, some in a manner only the internet could come up with.
"Joyner finna rap as a crumpet," one user mocked.
"Joyner Lucas @_ im about to drop a diss track in Skeptas accent," another mocked and added: "This s### gon be easy money."
But beneath all the jabs and jokes, Skepta has insisted this isn't a beef war but all about the bars. In a recent interview, he shared what drives him: the decades-long belittling of British artists by their American counterparts.
"It's time we got the respect that we deserve," Skepta said, specifying that he was not saying the Brits would "smash up" US rappers, but he smiled, "You never know."
He even laid out a fantasy card of clashes, featuring Ghetts against Eminem, Dave against Lil Wayne, himself, and A$AP Rocky. A rap World Cup, if you will, no violence, just a battle of rhymes. Now that Skepta has let off the first shots, all eyes are on Joyner and Rocky.
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