Kendrick Lamar Track Dissing Big Sean, J Electronica and French Montana Leaks
The studio version of "Element" was immediately interpreted as Kendrick offering similar energy, rapping, "Most of y'all throw rocks and try to hide your hand / Just say his name and I promise that you'll see Candyman."
Regarding the potential reasons, the callout to French Montana seems linked to remarks he made in a 2016 Breakfast Club interview (DAMN. was released a year later), while Jay Electronica made public comments about Kendrick and referenced him again on "The Mayweather Curse" in the same year. Jay later issued an apology.
As for Big Sean, he admitted they did have a simmering issue before things settled. He told Joe Budden, "One of the people that, especially after Nipsey [Hussle] died, was important for me to connect with was Kendrick. Me and Kendrick got a history...a relationship as peers. When this whole Big Sean, Kendrick beef was going on, it was something I wish I would have spoken up [on]."
Today, all is well between him and his "Control" collaborator. In 2020, Sean rapped in his Detroit 2 track "Deep Reverence" (featuring the late Nipsey Hussle) that there were never "real issues" between them. Instead, any perceived beef was due to "lack of communication and wrong information." Sean later revealed on Sway in the Morning that he and Kendrick had a "good reconciliation."