Dave Smith vs Chris Cuomo Debate: The Satirical Take
Finding the common thread between news media beef and rap beef.
Just a month ago, the hip-hop world was caught in the middle of a long brewing rap beef between hip-hop giants Kendrick Lamar and Drake, which exploded into a 6-week long bout and exhibition for the title of “The Greatest Rapper Alive.”
A month later, we have a showdown between a representative of the corporate media and a representative of the independent media for the title of “The Most Trusted News Media.” This debate came about following the announcement by Patrick Bet-David, founder of independent media company Valuetainment and host of the PBD podcast, that he had brought on former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo to join his independent media team as a talent partner. The announcement was not received well by a majority of his audience, who’d grown to appreciate what Valuetainment brought to the independent media landscape: an alternative platform free from restrictions, where trusted voices came to discuss heterodox ideas.
Weeks after the announcement of Cuomo’s onboarding, comedian and political commentator Dave Smith publicly voiced his opinion on the matter on his own podcast. He primarily took issue with the fact that a corporate news anchor, who’d loyally served as a mouthpiece and propagandist for CNN, attacking and discrediting independent media platforms and personalities, was now using the same independent media platforms to rehabilitate his image after being fired from corporate media. A fair route to redemption, Smith thought, was offering to debate Cuomo on many of the topics he’d used to smear independent media personalities on CNN including Covid-19, vaccines, lockdown mandate policies, and the corporate media’s responsibility to viewers. Surprisingly, Cuomo accepted; a very rare thing.
What happens next, though, would only confirm what Smith and Patrick Bet-David’s audience had internalized following the hiring announcement: you never help a propagandist rehabilitate his tarnished image when he has yet to show remorse for his mistakes, the weaponization of his platform against everyday Americans, and his dereliction of duty as a so-called journalist. Chris was not in the least bit remorseful. On the contrary, he incessantly argued—oftentimes contradicting himself—that Smith and others in the independent media space were in fact wrong and were the sole purveyors of “misinformation,” not CNN and other mainstream outlets.
With the discourse surrounding the recently concluded rap beef between Kendrick and Drake still looming over the music industry, I couldn’t help but make some parallel references between Dave Smith’s sharp, critical retorts to Cuomo during the debate and Kendrick Lamar’s pointed analysis of Drake’s character in his opening track Euphoria. Undoubtedly, the quoted lyrics in Kendrick’s Euphoria seem to go hand-in-hand with Smith's takedown of Cuomo in the debate (see corresponding links for clips).
KENDRICK LAMAR: ON THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL OF HIS OPPONENT; LACKING MORALITY AND SUBSTANCE
“Them superpowers getting neutralized, I can only watch in silence.
The famousactor[anchor] we once knew is looking paranoid and now spiraling.
You’re moving just like a degenerate, every antic is feeling distasteful.
I calculate you’re not as calculated, I can even predict your angles.”
▶ WATCH DAVE SMITH: ON CORPORATE MEDIA’S DOWNWARD SPIRAL, ITS INSTITUTIONAL LOSS OF TRUST, AND CUOMO’S REFUSAL TO TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY
KENDRICK LAMAR: ON HIS OPPONENT ADOPTING A FALSE IDENTITY FOR ACCEPTANCE
“A pathetic master manipulator, I can smell the tales on you now.
You’re not arap artist[journalist], you’re ascam artist[propagandist] with the hopes of being accepted.”
▶ WATCH DAVE SMITH: ON CUOMO SHIFTING VIEWPOINTS WHEN ON CORPORATE MEDIA AND INDEPENDENT MEDIA
KENDRICK LAMAR: ON TRUTH AS THE REMEDY TO LIES
“Know you a master manipulator and habitual liar too.
But don’t tell no lie about me and I won’t tell truths about you.”
▶ WATCH DAVE SMITH: ON TRUTH AS THE CURRENCY OF A TRUSTED NEWS MEDIA
KENDRICK LAMAR: ON HOW STATUS ONLY MASKS ONE’S TRUE CHARACTER
“Once a lame, always a lame.
Oh, you thought the money, the power, or fame would make you go away?”
▶ WATCH: THE HUBRIS — CUOMO ON HAVING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO APOLOGIZE FOR
KENDRICK LAMAR: ON THE THINGS HE HATES ABOUT HIS OPPONENT
“This ain’t been about critics, not about gimmicks, not about who the greatest.
It’s always been about love and hate, now let me say I’m the biggest hater.
I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress.
I hate the way that you sneak diss, if I catch flight, it’s gonna be direct.”
☁ READ: DAVE SMITH’S PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS, PRIOR TO THE DEBATE, ON CUOMO’S REHABILITATION TOUR
“Chris Cuomo has been on a bit of a rehabilitation tour to repair his tarnished image, and this included working out a deal with Patrick Bet-David where he’s doing some shows for Valuetainment, and it also included a sit-down with Tucker Carlson. I will say for the record… as somebody who is friends with both Tucker Carlson and Patrick Bet-David and have enormous respect for the both of them: I hate that they’re doing it [welcoming a propagandist with open arms into the independent media space], I hate that they’re allowing this, I hate that they’re being kind to him, it drives me crazy.”