Explained: A Brief History Of The Kendrick Perkins-Quavo 'Beef'

Aside from SportsCenter, ESPN's most popular program is First Take, hosted by Max Kellerman, Molly Qerim and Stephen A. Smith. From time to time, Smith, Qerim and Kellerman welcome in guests to take about the biggest sports stories of the day. Yesterday, the trio invited Kendrick Perkins on the show, but he was not there to talk about sports. Instead, Perkins was invited to come to speak with chart-topping rapper Quavo, who appeared on the show to promote the release of Culture III and support his Atlanta Hawks. For many viewers, this may have appeared harmless, but to those who know about their relationship knew that this interaction could go off the rails quickly. Fortunately, the two remained professional and managed to settle their differences. For the viewers who had know idea about the ongoing Quavo-Kendrick Perkins feud, here's a brief history of what has happened.

Who Is Kendrick Perkins?

Kendrick Perkins is a 6'10 Texas native who played more than a decade in the National Basketball Association. Perkins' basketball run began to pick up national attention when he starred on the Clifton J. Ozen High School basketball team in Beaumont, Texas. As a student, he averaged 27 points, 16 rebounds and eight blocks per game. With the help of his teammates, he won four consecutive district championships and one state championship. He was originally supposed to play basketball at the University of Memphis, but he decided to go straight to the pros instead.

While the average basketball player only lasts 2-3 years in the NBA, Perkins managed to play 15 NBA seasons. He appeared in three NBA Finals and won an NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008. In 2015, he decided to retire at the age of 33 years old and he joined ESPN as a commentator not long thereafter. Today, he makes frequent appearances on First Take, The Jump and SportsCenter.

Who Is Quavo?

Quavo is one-third of the GRAMMY-nominated rap group, Migos. Alongside Takeoff and Offset, Quavo helped release the group's first full-length project, Juug Season in 2011. Following the release of Juug Season, the group began to breakthrough with the release of their second mixtape, No Label. The 20-track project ultimately caught the attention of superstar Atlanta producer, Zaytoven. With the help of Zaytoven, the group was able to release their hit single, "Versace," in 2013. The song got an added boost when Drake hopped on the remix. From there, Quavo and Migos soared to the top with hits like "Fight Night" and "Hannah Montana."

The Migos continued to find success with projects like No Label 2 and Yung Rich Nation, but they established themselves as household names with a song called "Bad & Boujee" featuring Lil' Uzi Vert. "Bad & Boujee" not only became the group's first number one hit, but it also propelled their debut album, Culture, to the top of the charts. The group earned its first GRAMMY nomination in the following year and released its third studio album, Culture II, in 2018. Months later, the group made the move to have each member release their own solo album. Offset released Father Of Four, Takeoff released The Last Rocket and Quavo dropped Quavo Huncho.

Following the release of their solo projects, the group took some time off and returned this week with their fourth studio album, Culture III.

Why Did Kendrick Perkins And Quavo Start To Dislike Each Other?

The Kendrick Perkins-Quavo feud dates back to Perkins' last season in the league. At this point, Perkins was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers and deemed to be a "glue guy" who could maintain chemistry in the locker room.

In the second round of the Cavaliers' run to the NBA Finals, LeBron James and company squared off against the Toronto Raptors. As expected, Raptors superfan Drake was in attendance at all home games and he enjoyed bantering with different players on the opposing team. However, one of those interactions appeared to go south very quickly. As the two teams headed to the locker room at halftime, Perkins and Drake came face to face. It is unclear what led up to the verbal altercation, but Perkins can be seen telling the GRAMMY-winner not to "f--- with" him. Ultimately, the two had to be separated.

Quavo Adds His Two Cents

Months after the verbal altercation between Drake and Perkins took place, Quavo added his two cents on the matter. In the song "F--- 12" from Quavo Huncho, the Georgia native made a reference to Perkins. He noted that Perkins wasn't getting any playing time at that point in his career and compared him to a girl he had no interest in. Given Quavo's friendship with Drake and his public profile, the line made its way to Perkins who was not very pleased, to say the least.

Perkins Fires Back

During an interview with Kristine Leahy, Perkins noted that he was upset with Quavo's verbal jab on his solo debut. The former NBA player also told Quavo to leave him alone and that his album "flopped."

“I almost got into it with Quavo because he tried to put me on a song ‘cause him and Drake real close,” Perkins told Leahy on Fair Game.

“He tried to diss me. … I was like ‘Uhhh, nah. And you need to stick to the Migos instead of going solo. I kind of wanted to fire back because his album flopped. I mean, it was trash. I’m just like, ‘Why is these little dudes coming after me?’ … But then again it goes to show you that people don’t know the game.”

The Fight That Did Not Take Place In The Ring

More than one million people tuned in to watch the boxing exhibition between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Logan Paul earlier this month. One of those people just happened to be Kendrick Perkins, who noticed that the Migos performed as Mayweather Jr. walked to the ring. Never one to miss an opportunity to take a shot at Quavo and Migos, Perkins tweeted that Quavo needed to stop delivering "trash a-- bars" on national television. As one would expect, Quavo responded with the same energy.

How It Was Resolved

As noted in the opening, Perkins and Quavo seemed to have squashed their "beef" on national television. During a recent appearance on First Take, Perkins confronted the GRAMMY-nominee and Quavo explained why he rapped the initial lyric in 2018. In the end, it was all love between the two.

“All jokes aside, it ain’t never no beef with Big Perk, man,” Quavo told Perkins.

“It’s all love. It was just a bar.”

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