Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s rap dispute is so heated that it may burn the hip-hop world to the ground.
Lamar, 36, and Drake, 37, have been waging lyrical war with increasingly personal slander tracks released over the last several days. Drake’s “Family Matters” song accused Lamar of being a “make-believe” activist, claimed Lamar grew physically combative with his wife, Whitney Alford, alleged that Alford strayed on Lamar with his creative partner, Dave Free, and implied that Free is the actual father of Lamar’s son. (He didn’t immediately comment on the allegations.)
Lamar responded with “Meet the Grahams,” in which he accused Drake of concealing an 11-year-old daughter, claimed the Canadian rapper lied about using Ozempic to lose weight and insinuated that Drake had “gambling problems, drinking problems, pill-popping and spending problems.” Lamar also accused Drake and his entourage of being “predators,” a claim he doubled down on in “Not Like Us.” In that track, Lamar said that Drake’s camp is full of “certified pedophiles.”
Drake immediately refuted having a secret daughter and later released a track asserting that his camp fed Lamar fraudulent data about the concealed daughter. In that song, he also denied that he’d been with anyone “underage.”
Lamar had previously battled with Drake, taking jabs at the “God’s Plan” rapper in 2013 while performing on Big Sean’s “Control.” Since then, the two have slung subliminal innuendo, but that all came to a climax in March.
“First Person Shooter”
The unofficial commencement of the Lamar-Drake conflict occurred in October 2023 when Drake released For All the Dogs. The album contained “First Person Shooter,” a single featuring a segment from rapper J. Cole. “Love when they argue the hardest MC / Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me?” Cole rapped, referring to Lamar’s moniker, “K-Dot,” and Drake’s actual name, Aubrey Graham.
Cole then suggested, “We [ate] the big three like we started a league / But right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali.”
“First Person Shooter” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, granting Cole his first chart-topper. It was Drake’s 13th Hot 100 No. 1.
“Like That”
In March, celebrated producer Metro Boomin teamed with Drake’s frequent collaborator Future for the collaborative album We Don’t Trust You. The song featured a stanza from Lamar, in which he responded to Cole’s “big three” comments. “Motherf–k the big three / It’s just big me,” he rapped.
Lamar also took blatant jabs at Drake, referencing how Drake compared himself to the late Michael Jackson. “F–k sneak dissin’ first person shooter / I hope they came with three switches,” he rapped. “What? I’m really like that / And your finest work is a light pack / Prince outlived Mike Jack’ / ‘Fore all your canines gettin’ interred / That’s a K with all these nines, he gon’ see Pet Sematary.”
“Like That” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 6 and remained there for three consecutive weeks.
“7 Minute Drill”
Cole responded to Lamar on April 5 with “7 Minute Drill,” a song from his fourth mixtape, Might Delete Later. Cole said Lamar “fell off like The Simpsons” and that he was overstated. “Your first [album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City,] was classic / Your last [album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,] was tragic,” he rapped. “Your second [album, To Pimp a Butterfly,] put n–as to sleep, but they gassed it / Your third [album, Damn.,] was massive and that was your prime / I was trailing right behind and I just now hit mine.”
Cole also said that Lamar was “averaging one hard verse, like, every 30 months or something,” and that if they were beefing, no one “would be discussing” Lamar. However, five days after publishing it, Cole took a moment during his Dreamville set to apologize for releasing the song. He regretted “downplaying” Lamar’s catalog and his “greatness.” Cole labeled his response “corny” and eventually removed the song from streaming services.
Fans initially ridiculed Cole online for bowing out of the combat so early. However, as the conflict intensified, many came around to credit Cole for understanding when to cast in the towel.
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“Champagne Moments”
Rick Ross entered the dispute shortly after “Like That” released by sharing a video of him vaping in a Rolls-Royce while listening to the track. He then further stepped into the conflict on April 15 with “Champagne Problems,” which is a take on Drake’s moniker “Champagne Papi.”
Ross’ diss track reiterated the well-circulated rumor that Drake employs ghostwriters. Ross also claimed that Drake received a nose surgery to appear less like his Black father. He also said that Drake “had that surgery, that six-pack gone / That’s why you wearing that funny s–t at your show.”
Ross also began to refer to the biracial Drake as “white boy,” alleging that Drake was co-opting elements of Black culture and associating with other artists for credibility. “Another white boy at the park wanna hang with the crew,” said Ross dismissively.
“All to Myself” / “Show of Hands”
Future and Metro Boomin went back-to-back by releasing We Still Don’t Trust You, their second collaborative album, on April 9. The album featured appearances by ASAP Rocky and The Weeknd. On “Show of Hands,” Rocky alleged that he had intercourse with Sophie Brussaux, the mother of Drake’s son, Adonis. On “All to Myself,” The Weeknd said he was pleased that he “never signed my life away,” presumably referencing his decision not to sign with Drake’s OVO Sound label in 2010.
“Taylor Made Freestyle”
On April 19, the same day that Drake posted “Push Ups” on streaming services, he released “Taylor Made Freestyle.” The title was likely a eference to how Lamar hadn’t responded to “Push Ups” yet because Swift was releasing The Tortured Poets Department that same Friday.
“The next one is really ’bout to bring out the coward in you / But now we gotta wait a f–kin’ week ’cause Taylor Swift is your new top / And if you ’bout to drop, she gotta approve,” rapped Drake. “This girl really ’bout to make you act like you not in a feud / She tailor-made your schedule with [Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith], you out of the loop.”
Drake utilized AI-generated vocals for Snoop Dogg and the late Tupac Shakur on “Taylor Made Freestyle.” This action was done to ridicule Lamar, who cites the West Coast rap icons as influences. The Shakur estate wasn’t pleased with the use of his audio likeness without permission and sent a cease-and-desist to Drake, according to Billboard. Drake’s staff subsequently removed “Taylor Made Freestyle” from streaming services.
“Euphoria”
Kendrick took two weeks after “Push Ups” surfaced to release his rejoinder on April 30, a six-minute-long diatribe dubbed “Euphoria.” The title refers to the HBO series that Drake produces, and the track saw Lamar accuse Drake of being a “scam artist with the hopes of being accepted” by the rap community. Lamar also assaulted Drake’s parenthood (“I got a son to raise / But I can see you know nothin’ ‘bout that”). Lamar repeated Ross’ claims that Drake received cosmetic surgery to attain his midsection.
While most fans considered the track a successful response because it demonstrated Lamar’s talents for rhyming and altering up patterns to mirror the variations of the beat, there were those who weren’t impressed. They noted that Lamar didn’t say anything new with the track and pointed out that he made a peculiar error conflating televangelist Joel Osteen with actor Haley Joel Osment.
