As we reported ... Drake clapped back to a guy named Cedric, by DM'ing the dude's wife. He wrote, "I just followed your girl cause she prob miserable and needs some excitement in her life".

Drizzy followed up by messaging Cedric's wife, Toni saying ... "I'm here for u ma".

It all started after Cedric took a jab at Drake on Instagram on a post where Drake defended Tee Morant -- father of NBA star Ja Morant. Cedric chimed in referencing a rumor that Drake doesn't write his own music, obviously, hitting a nerve for the 6 God.

Of course, the beef sparked lots of reactions from folks on social media, but we talked to Cedric and his wife, Toni, and they were actually in good spirits over the whole thing.

Cedric says, he felt Drake took things a little too far, by messaging his wife ... but he finds the whole situation hilarious. At first, he didn't think the comment would go anywhere, and he was shocked when a little trash-talking escalated into Drake actually DM'ing his wife.

Cedric says he's actually a huge fan of Drake. His wife, Toni, was all smiles over the dustup. She says, she's not interested in going on a date with Drake, because she's super happy with her hubby ... but she insisted they all meet!