Drake v Kendrick Lamar’s rap beef has turned very ugly – who is benefiting from such a spectacle?

This verbal boxing match is great entertainment, but the real winners are the artists and label executives getting rich off the spectacle

The sight of two (or more) people tearing chunks out of each other is one of humanity's first and most enduring forms of entertainment. The sheer excitement, the intrigue, the unpredictability, the adrenaline rush, the bloodlust: who can resist? And in exchange for their courage, discipline and possibly even their lives, we reward our gladiators handsomely. It's payday for the poetic, profit-seeking, pride-protecting feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, easily the landmark competitive event of our time.

Rappers are our modern gladiators (and poet laureates). And thanks to social media and the fact that every major media organisation worth its salt - the BBC, the New York Times, the Guardian - has dedicated prominent real estate to cover and contextualise the beef blow-by-blow, track-by-track, the world is their colosseum. Are you not entertained?