Close X

Asia

Who needs frenemies? A guide to the fake friend phenomena in Hip Hop

Ramengvrl leads the list with her surprise drop of ‘Fake Friends’

LiFTED | Marcus Aurelius | 29 Nov 2021


On November 26 at midnight, Ramengvrl dropped a new single, ‘Fake Friends.’ In it, she laments the fact that now that she is RAMENGVRL and new people just look to her for money. This is a problem that has been going on for years in Hip Hop. Once a rapper is successful, everybody wants to be friends.

RAMENGVRL ‘FAKE FRIENDS’

Surprise dropping a song and video is always a great way to catch people’s attention, and last Friday Ramengvrl did just that as she released ‘Fake Friends,’ a catchy anthem dedicated to frenemies everywhere. In the DIY lyric video, Ramengvrl grabs a few outfits [including one with her new brand going noodles], and pleads to the camera to help her forget about the mistakes she has made with the ‘ones who have gotten away.’

SNOOP DOGG & HIGHER BROTHERS ‘FRIENDS & FOES’

In our last listicle, we mentioned that Snoop verses were easy to get for the right price, but this collab is more legit as it was for the Netflix series Wu Assassins. Snoop warns the haters to stay away, but it’s the Higher Brothers, MaSiWei, Knowknow, Melo, and Psy.P who go after the fake friends with a passion over Josh Pan’s minimalist beat.

BIZ MARKIE ‘VAPORS’

In what may be the first example of explaining the fake friend phenomena in Rap, Biz Markie [RIP] laments the troubles his Juice Crew - TJ Swan, Big Daddy Kane, Cutmaster Cool V, and himself - had before they got some big gold ropes. As usual with Biz songs, he makes the material hilarious with references to wet food stamps, working for UPS, and doo-doo rhymes.

BEBE REXHA FEATURING G-Eazy ‘F.F.F’

While it’s a pop song with a Hip Hop verse, Bebe Rexha bemoans LA and Hollywood culture with part of the hook, “Fuck fake friends/We don’t need ‘em/The only thing they are good for/Is leaving.” G-Eazy chimes in with his take on the notorious flakiness of Hollywood, “And lately I've been dealin' with mad stress/Comes with the territory of a Hollywood address/Is anybody real here?/I need some fact checks/I need more realness, need you to act less.”

J COLE ‘FALSE PROPHETS’

When you want to be the best, sometimes you’ve got to do the scorched Earth policy and go after everyone at once. J Cole used to be friends with Kanye West, Wale, and Drake, but once he released this song full of subliminals directed at those stars they were calling him a fake friend.

KANYE WEST ‘REAL FRIENDS’

Trying to be friends with Kanye is sometimes impossible as he constantly says whatever is on his mind, which can make some people who used to be his close friends like Jay Z even mad at him for years. In ‘Real Friends,’ Kanye talks about his exploitation by close friends and even family members when a cousin stole his laptop and demanded US$250,000 for its return. Introspective Kanye is great