Common Confirms Face-To-Face Drake Showdown, "I Gave Him A Pound"

After weeks of speculated reports, rap veteran Common has confirmed his face-to-face conversation with Young Money's Drake at this month's 54th annual Grammy Awards ceremony.

Despite initial reports claiming blows were exchanged, Common said they finally ironed matters out.

"We had a talk, we had a conversation. It was a face-to-face, man-to-man, a positive thing. It was a good conversation. I've learned to respect him even more," Common explained in an interview. "I already thought he was a talented guy, but just from the conversation we had, I hold even more respect for him. We saw each other and the conversation was initiated. It was just a respectful conversation that needed to be had, so he knew that I'm not at him trying to destroy him as a human being. It was a hip-hop battle to me. I had to put all of those things into hip-hop -- I gave him a pound, gave him a boom and it was all love." (The Real Cabbie)

A few days ago, reports hit the Internet claiming the two had a peaceful conversation at the awards show.

Hip-Hop Wired has learned that Common and Drake actually squashed their beef at the Grammys, clearing up previous reports that the two rappers almost got into a violent altercation. Apparently, both Drake and Common's entourages happened to be in the same area at the end of the Grammy red carpet, near where artists were being distributed their VIP credentials to enter the Staples Center, according to a source in the latter's camp. Common felt it was awkward for two men that had exchanged words in song to be in the same vicinity without saying anything to each other. With the two eyeballing each other intensely, Common asked Drake, "What's up?" Drake responded with a "What's up?" of his own, and Common tried to approach him with the intent of speaking to the Toronto rapper one on one. (Hip Hop Wired)

Last week, initial reports suggested tensions were high when the face-off took place.

Drake and Common's beef made its way to the Grammy Awards, according to several reports. According to MediaTakeOut's "reliable insider," the feuding rappers got into a brief "fist fight" backstage after exchanging words. After, "plainclothes police" reportedly walked Common back to his seat. Publicist Robert Santini of PKM*BNC tweeted about the alleged event on Sunday night, writing, "@drake and @common had an altercation backstage & @liltunechi" -- the handle of Lil Wayne, Drake's label mate -- "had to intervene. This is getting out of hand." Hours earlier, Questlove tweeted an ambiguous remark on the two's initial real-world meeting on Sunday. "Uh. Drizzy & Com are seeing each other for first time. No comment," he wrote. (Billboard)

The same day, Common officially announced their beef was a wrap.

"It was all in the honor of hip-hop, it's kind of over now. It's over. So, you know, it was all in the honor of hip-hop," Common told hip-hop personality Toure. "He said some things to me, so I had to say some things back. I wouldn't say [he] started it, but I knew I heard something said that I felt like it was directed toward me so, you know, I addressed it. That's all. But thank God we were able to move forward from it and all is good. We're all emcees and no matter what your age, when you step in the ring -- when you see basketball players playing, they don't be like, 'Well, this guy's [small],' and basically if you're playing against me or you're challenging me at some point, I'm an emcee, I like doing that, I like emceeing. I love it. That's what I go for." (FUSE)