Tom Hanks might be 67 years old, but he wants to stay plugged into the latest rap beefs.  And it’s kind of adorable.

Tom actually texted his rapper son Chet Hanks and said this . . . quote, “Big Main, can you explain the Drake / Kendrick Lamar feud to me?”  So yeah, Tom apparently calls his son “Big Main”.  (???)

Anyway, Chet texted back a quick summary of the beef, ending with Kendrick’s recent diss tracks, which he described like this:

“Pretty much the sonic equivalent of when you took me to your high school in Oakland and we walked in on the basketball game and everybody started going nuts.

“Like if you heard it you would just automatically know how to Crip walk with a stank face while clutching an Oscar in each hand with Marshawn Lynch, then dap him up and tell him ‘Town Bidness’ . . .

“Which solidified the win not only for Kendrick, but the entire West Coast.”

That seems pretty clear, but Tom’s reply was a 1,000% dad text . . . quote, “Holy cow!  These are fighting words.  People taking sides??  Who’s winning??”

To which Chet could pretty much only reply, quote, “Did you not just read what I said?”

(Anyone who’s ever texted with a parent can relate.)

(TMZ)