Reporter Denies Being Assaulted by Drake and Being the OVO Snitch
A reporter says that his life has been turned upside down after becoming embroiled in a social media mystery stemming from the lyrical feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
Reporter Denies Rumored Drake Assault and Being an OVO Snitch
On Monday (May 13), journalist Christopher Alvarez penned a personal essay in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, refuting unsubstantiated rumors that he was assaulted by Drake and being the OVO snitch. This after the 26-year-old Columbia Journalism School graduate was thrown in the middle of a social media mystery following a strange video containing items from Kendrick Lamar's "Meet the Grahams" cover art that went viral on Friday (May 10).
The clip came from an X, formerly known as Twitter, user named EbonyPrince2k24 who posted a cryptic video with items from the "Meet the Grahams" cover art. Additionally, the secretive poster also shared a screenshot of Alvarez and Drake in a New York hotel lobby where the rapper allegedly ditched the items on Jan. 22, 2023.
In his essay, Alvarez, who lives with Thanatophoric Dysplasia Type 2, a rare skeletal disorder that requires him to use a wheelchair, said that his life went into a tailspin after a photo of him and Drake went viral. Vicious rumors from fans suggested that Drizzy assaulted Alvarez and that he was the OVO mole. Alvarez denies all the accusations.
"I've had the privilege to be with Drake, Kendrick Lamar and other celebrities who have been very nice to me, but I don’t understand where it all got blurred with the fans," Alvarez writes in his essay.
"I can confirm that I was with Drake on the night of Jan. 22, 2023," he continues. "After his NYC concert with 21 Savage, I was called to meet Drizzy at The Mark Hotel, and we had a blast listening to new beats. I am not in the position to talk about his character outside of our meetings but I can say I was not violated in any way."
Alvarez maintains that he has not been following Drizzy and K-Dot's rap battle and is not an informant for OVO.
"Lastly, I have been getting a lot of spam phone calls, texts, emails and social media messages saying that I am the 'snitch' in this beef, that I accepted 'hush money' from Drake and that I was somehow in on the plan because I follow "underaged high school girls," he writes. "First, I don’t know anything about Drake and Lamar’s beef because to me life is too short to hate and I don’t follow it. Second, I’m a hard-working journalist who holds elected officials and private entities accountable; I don’t have rappers on speed dial to be 'the mole' or 'snitch.'"
XXL has reached out to Drake's team for comment.
Read More: Visual Easter Eggs in Drake and Kendrick Lamar's Lyrical Battle
Mysterious Video of "Meet the Grahams" Cover Art Has Fans Puzzled
On Friday (May 10), X user @EbonyPrince2k24 shared a visual containing items that appeared on Kendrick Lamar's Drake diss track "Meet the Grahams." In the clip, which can be viewed below, an old Panasonic laptop computer displays the "Meet the Grahams" video and then pans to a shot of a Brooklyn Eagle newspaper to confirm that the visual was recorded on May 8, 2024.
The video also features the receipts of Popular Jewelry Corp., a the Nadine Ghosn business card, an Attic dress shirt featuring the bulldog peeing on a fire hydrant; Maybach horse-riding gloves and the Ozempic box, along with the Zolpidem prescription pills with Drake's real name on all of them. The video concludes with a nighttime shot of what appears to be the Brooklyn Bridge Park.
@EbonyPrince2k24 also posted a screenshot of Drake and Christopher Alvarez in a hotel lobby in New York City where he allegedly discarded the items on Jan. 22, 2023, the night of his Apollo Theater concert.
Neither Drake nor Kendrick Lamar have addressed the mysterious videos and screenshots.
Read More: Celebs' Thoughts About Drake and Kendrick Lamar's Rap Beef
Watch the mysterious "Meet the Grahams" cover art videos, and watch a documentary on journalist Christopher Alvarez and his rare medical condition below.