Drake–Kendrick Lamar feud

The Canadian rapper Drake and the American rapper Kendrick Lamar have been involved in a rap feud since the early 2010s. The feud escalated after the March 22, 2024 release of "Like That" by Future, Metro Boomin, and Lamar.

Drake and Lamar's relationship started with a collaboration in 2011 on Drake's album Take Care, followed by another on Lamar's album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City in 2012. Lamar also accompanied Drake as an opening act on his 2012 Club Paradise Tour. In 2013, Lamar dissed Drake and several other rappers on the song "Control" by Big Sean, later clarifying that his verse was intended to be seen as "friendly competition". In the ensuing years, Drake and Lamar publicly dismissed speculations of a conflict between them. However, media outlets identified numerous potential disses by both parties in the years leading to the escalation in 2024.

On March 22, 2024, Lamar dissed J. Cole and Drake on "Like That" as a response to Drake and J. Cole's song "First Person Shooter". On April 5, Cole responded to Lamar on the diss track "7 Minute Drill", but in the week following its release, Cole apologized for the song and removed it from streaming services. Drake then released the songs "Push Ups" and "Taylor Made Freestyle" in April. "Taylor Made Freestyle" was later deleted from social media after Tupac Shakur's estate threatened Drake with legal action for the use of AI-generated vocals resembling Shakur's.

In response, Lamar released "Euphoria" on April 30 and "6:16 in LA" on May 3. Drake responded with "Family Matters" later that day, accusing Lamar of being a domestic abuser and alleging that one of Lamar's children was fathered by Dave Free. Roughly twenty minutes later, Lamar released "Meet the Grahams", accusing Drake of sex trafficking, being a sexual predator, and fathering another secret child. Lamar then released "Not Like Us" the following day, further accusing Drake of pedophilia and disrespecting the rap scene. On May 5, Drake responded with "The Heart Part 6", denying Lamar's accusations and claiming that his team gave Lamar false information about the secret child. A music video for "Not Like Us" was later released on July 4.

Several publications have described Lamar as the winner of the feud, having cited music critics and social media users. Although some praised the rivalry's spectacle and significance to modern hip-hop, others have criticized both Drake and Lamar for the bleakness of their accusations.

2011–2014: Background and initial disses
Drake and Lamar began on favorable terms. The pair's first collaboration was seen in the form of Lamar's appearance on "Buried Alive Interlude", from Drake's 2011 studio album Take Care. Their relationship continued to develop amicably after Lamar opened for Drake alongside ASAP Rocky during Drake's 2012 Club Paradise Tour. Later that year, both Lamar and Drake also made an appearance on ASAP Rocky's "Fuckin' Problems". In 2012, Drake featured on Lamar's hit single "Poetic Justice".

"Control" and "The Language"
On August 14, 2013, Lamar took shots at Drake and several other rappers on Big Sean's "Control", claiming that he "had love" for all of them, but was trying to "murder" them in the rap scene. In an interview with Billboard two weeks later, Drake dismissed Lamar's verse, stating: "It just sounded like an ambitious thought to me. That's all it was. I know good and well that [Lamar]'s not murdering me, at all, in any platform". In September, Drake joined Elliott Wilson's live interview series #CRWN. When prompted about the "Control" verse, Drake replied that Lamar's in-person attitude contradicted the sentiments of his "Control" verse. "I saw him five days later at the VMAs and it was all love... If it's really 'fuck everybody' then it needs to be 'fuck everybody'. It can't just be halfway".

On September 24, 2013, Drake released his third studio album Nothing Was the Same. Multiple outlets interpreted the first verse on "The Language", the album's fifth single, as a response to Lamar's "Control" verse. Birdman, head of Drake's then-label Cash Money Records, stated the song was not about Lamar. In October, during the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards' fifth cypher, Lamar rapped: "Nothing's been the same since they dropped 'Control'/ And tucked a sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes". These lines were popularly interpreted as further disses toward Drake and a response to "The Language", especially as Lamar appears to reference Drake's Nothing Was the Same.

"Shit (Remix)" and "Pay for It"
On December 17, 2013, a remix of Future's "Shit" featuring Drake and Juicy J was released. Hip-hop fans and outlets alike speculated Drake's verse on the remix was a diss targeted towards Lamar. The same day, Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith and Punch (both key figures at Lamar's record label Top Dawg Entertainment) posted responses on Twitter to Drake's verse disregarding the supposed disses. Two days after the track's release, Drake addressed Lamar's 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards cypher verse and "The Language" in a cover story for Vibe, mocking the idea of them being "buddy-buddy" and stating he already "stood [his] ground" in response to "Control". Nevertheless, Drake maintained that "The Language" wasn't targeted towards Lamar. Drake also praised Lamar as a "genius in his own right" and insisted there was "no real issue". In June 2014, Drake posted a video on Instagram of himself rapping along to "Cut You Off (To Grow Closer)" from Lamar's 2010 mixtape Overly Dedicated.

On October 29, 2014, Jay Rock released "Pay for It" featuring Lamar. The latter's verse contained lines seemingly taking shots at Drake while referencing lyrics from Drake's "The Language". However, in an interview with Dazed published on November 3, 2014, Lamar clarified: "I got no beef with Drake". On November 4, 2014, Lamar made an appearance on WWPR-FM's The Breakfast Club and further defused the prospect of a 'beef' between himself and Drake: "It wasn't no issue from the jump. I think people talk about beef... it's just a whole 'nother dynamic. I can't see myself going bar for bar with Drake. We're two different types of artists."

2015–2022: Sneak disses
Despite Drake and Lamar's prior dismissals, their feud continued in the form of sneak disses Billboard identified as "subtle shots fired from both sides, but nothing groundbreaking". Marc Griffin, writing a timeline of the feud for Vibe, referred to this time as "the Cold War between the two men".

In a list of potential sneak disses on Drake's February 2015 mixtape If You're Reading This It's Too Late, Brandon Caldwell for Billboard claimed "Used To" and the bonus track "6PM in New York" contained lines targeting Lamar. On March 15, 2015, Lamar released his third studio album To Pimp a Butterfly. The album's third single, "King Kunta", received little attention in the context of Drake and Lamar's feud until after Meek Mill accused Drake of using ghostwriters on Twitter. After the accusations became public, the lines "A rapper with a ghostwriter? What the fuck happened? / I swore I wouldn't tell / But most of y'all sharing bars like you got the bottom bunk in a two man cell" from "King Kunta" were retrospectively interpreted by multiple outlets as subliminal Drake disses from Lamar. The songs "Darkside / Gone" and "Deepwater" from Dr. Dre's August 2015 studio album Compton also both featured Lamar verses with lines interpreted as Drake disses.

On January 15, 2016, President Barack Obama sat down for a series of interviews conducted by YouTube influencers. In one such interview, the influencer Adande Thorne asked if Obama thought Drake or Lamar would win in a rap battle. Obama responded: "Gotta go with Kendrick. I think Drake is an outstanding entertainer. But Kendrick, his lyrics—[To Pimp a Butterfly] was outstanding. Best album, I think, last year." Fifteen days later, Drake released "Summer Sixteen", dissing Obama and rapping: "Tell Obama that my verses are just like the whips that he in / They bulletproof". Vibe Iyana Robertson said the ensuing conversation "... reignited a debate that has been going on since the conception of [Drake and Lamar's] respective careers". During a June 2016 airing of ESPN's Max and Marcellus, sportscaster and former professional American football player Marcellus Wiley claimed there was a destroyed ESPN SportsNation interview of either Drake or Lamar dissing the other in a way that would have "ignited [the feud] to proportions we have not seen since Ja Rule/50 [Cent], maybe even Ice Cube/N.W.A." In an August 2016 interview for VladTV, Wiley stated that the alleged SportsNation interview was destroyed because the inciting rapper's team intervened. On May 8, 2024, Wiley stated in his YouTube show Hydration Situation that the interview took place in 2014, with Drake as the inciting party. Wiley claimed that Drake said he was better than Lamar, which he perceived as jealousy. He also accused Drake of personally intimidating ESPN into deleting the interview.

On March 23, 2017, Lamar released "The Heart Part 4", popularly perceived as a diss track towards Big Sean or Drake. Lamar would later explicitly reference lines from "The Heart Part 4" in his 2024 Drake diss track "Euphoria", seemingly confirming the perception of the former track as a Drake diss.

In May 2022, Lamar released his fifth studio album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. The fifth song on the album, "Father Time" (featuring Sampha), included a verse from Lamar which referenced Kanye West and Drake's brief peace during their respective feud: "When Kanye got back with Drake, I was slightly confused / Guess I'm not mature as I think, got some healin' to do". The lines were reported by some outlets as possible disses toward Drake and West, though they were also interpreted as nothing more than Lamar expressing surprise at Drake and West's reconciliation. In September 2021, Joe Budden alleged Lamar dissed Drake on the song "Family Ties", released the month prior by Baby Keem and Lamar.

"First Person Shooter" and "Like That"
In October 2023, J. Cole suggested that he, Drake, and Lamar were part of the "Big Three" greatest rappers in modern hip-hop on Drake's "First Person Shooter". On March 22, 2024, Lamar responded unfavorably to the "Big Three" notion on his, Metro Boomin and Future's song, "Like That", dissing Cole and Drake while rhyming "motherfuck the big three, nigga, it's just big me". The diss prompted Cole to release a response song, "7 Minute Drill", in which he criticizes To Pimp a Butterfly. However, in the days after he publicly apologized onstage for releasing the song and removed it from streaming services. Drake did not directly acknowledge "Like That" on tour, simply stating at one concert: "I got my head up high... and I know no matter what there's not another nigga on this Earth that could ever fuck with me".

"Push Ups" and "Taylor Made Freestyle"
On April 13, 2024, early versions of Drake's "Push Ups" were leaked online. The song serves as a response to Lamar's verse on "Like That"; Drake claims multiple artists are better than Lamar, including 21 Savage, Travis Scott, and SZA. It also disses several people for siding against Drake after Lamar's verse came out, including Metro Boomin, Future, the Weeknd, and Rick Ross. It also mocks Lamar's short stature of 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 meters).

On April 19, 2024, the same day as the official release of "Push Ups", Drake also released "Taylor Made Freestyle", another diss targeted at Lamar. The song featured AI-generated vocals imitating the rappers Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg. Shakur's estate disapproved of the AI-generated verse and threatened Drake to pull the song from social media, citing the violation of Shakur's personality rights and the decision to diss a friend of the estate: "The unauthorized, equally dismaying use of Tupac's voice against Kendrick Lamar... who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately, compounds the insult." Drake also accuses Lamar of not responding to "Push Ups" because Lamar did not want to stop Taylor Swift's new album, The Tortured Poets Department, from charting higher; Drake criticized Lamar for collaborating with Swift and other pop artists. "Taylor Made Freestyle" was subsequently taken down by Drake on April 26, 2024.

"Euphoria" and "6:16 in LA"
On April 30, 2024, Lamar released a diss track named "Euphoria" in response to Drake. This may be in reference to the TV show Euphoria which Drake serves as an executive producer for. Vulture described the track as Lamar showing his "pure hatred" towards Drake. In the track, Lamar criticizes Drake's parenting, saying: "I got a son to raise, but I can see you know nothin' 'bout that". He also claims that Drake's abs were made through plastic surgery.

On May 3, 2024, three days after "Euphoria", Lamar posted an Instagram Reel captioned "6:16 in LA", containing a new diss track, similar to how Drake released "Taylor Made Freestyle". The title parodies Drake's "[timestamp] in [city]" songs, like "8AM in Charlotte". The track was also produced by Taylor Swift's producer, Jack Antonoff, which Vulture guessed was a reference to Drake's comments on "Taylor Made Freestyle". Fans speculated that the cover references the murder trial of O.J. Simpson with a glove on the cover, alluding to the glove presented as evidence during the trial, as well as the title referencing June 16, the day of Nicole Brown Simpson's funeral, and the submission date of the case.

"Family Matters" and "Meet the Grahams"
On May 3, Drake released "Family Matters", a response to "Euphoria" and "6:16 in LA". In the track, Drake alleges that one of Lamar's children is biologically from Dave Free, Lamar's friend and label co-founder. He also claims Lamar is a domestic abuser and unfaithful in his relationship with his fiancée Whitney Alford. The track is also directed at ASAP Rocky and Metro Boomin, who collaborated with Future on the April 12 diss track "Show of Hands".

Drake promoted "Family Matters" on Instagram by posting "Buried Alive Interlude, Pt. 2", a short remix of "Buried Alive Interlude" in which he mentions Lamar opening for his Club Paradise Tour.

Just twenty minutes later, Lamar released another diss track aimed at Drake, titled "Meet the Grahams," produced by the Alchemist. On the track, Lamar speaks directly to members of Drake's family, telling his son Adonis that he is sorry that his father is Drake. Lamar alleges that Drake is hiding a second child (a daughter), that he is sexually attracted to minors, and that he is running a sex trafficking ring out of his mansion. Lamar also disses Drake's OVO label affiliates—claiming they are sex offenders harbored by Drake—and security guard. He predicts that Drake's mansion "is 'bout to get raided too", referring to the recent federal raids on Sean Combs' mansion as part of an unrelated investigation.

Lamar revealing an alleged second child came in the context of Pusha T's 2018 diss track "The Story of Adidon", in which Pusha T publicly revealed that Drake was hiding a son named Adonis. Drake responded to Lamar on Instagram: "Nahhhh hold on can someone find my hidden daughter pls and send her to me ... these guys are in shambles", followed by multiple laughing emojis. Fans who were put off by the alleged "lie" about the hidden daughter, uploaded an edited version of the track to social media, where they edited out the third verse of "Meet the Grahams", prompting Lamar and his label to file a copyright violation. Charles Holmes of The Ringer wrote that with "Family Matters" and "Meet the Grahams", "the Doomsday Machine has been activated", and the feud was no longer inconsequential.

"Not Like Us" and "The Heart Part 6"
On May 4, 2024, Kendrick Lamar released "Not Like Us", produced by DJ Mustard. In the track, Lamar more explicitly refers to Drake and members of his inner circle as pedophiles, saying: "Say, Drake, I hear you like 'em young / You better not ever go to cell block one". Baka Not Nice, a member of Drake's security team, is mentioned in the line "Baka got a weird case, why is he around?", referring to when Baka was arrested and charged with sex trafficking, assault, and robbery of a 22-year-old woman he allegedly forced into prostitution in 2014. He was only convicted of an assault charge and an unrelated weapons charge. Lamar also says that using an A.I. version of Tupac's voice would bring Drake disrespect in the Bay Area: "I think that Oakland show gon' be your last stop, nigga", and hints at having made many future diss tracks. The cover art for the track was a satellite image of Drake's mansion labeled with pins representing sexual predators. After the release of the song, on Google Maps, fans have found Drake's mansion and have labeled the house, using Google Maps' option to customize locations, as "Owned by Kendrick", as well as things like "A-Minor", referencing the first verse of "Not Like Us" and "Kendrick's Dog", which could be another reference to Drake's latest album, For All the Dogs.

On May 5, 2024, Drake released "The Heart Part 6". The title references Lamar's "The Heart" series, picking up after Lamar's critically acclaimed "The Heart Part 5". In the track, Drake denies the pedophile and grooming allegations made against him. He claims Lamar's accusations were based on his own trauma stemming from abuse. The Aretha Franklin song "Prove It" is sampled, and uses Franklin's lines "Now let me see you prove it / Just let me see you prove it". Drake says: "Only fuckin' with Whitneys, not Millie Bobby Browns, I'd never look twice at no teenager", referring to Drake's friendship with the actress that started when she was 14, and led to accusations on social media that Drake was grooming her.

Drake also alleges that his inner circle fed Lamar false information about having an 11-year-old daughter, which Lamar referenced in "Meet the Grahams". He continues claiming that there were cases of domestic violence in Lamar's relationship with Alford, and claimed that Lamar had not seen his children in 6 months. Writing on social media afterwards, Drake predicted Lamar would respond shortly, saying "And we know you're dropping 6 mins after so instead of posting my address you have a lot to address." "The Heart Part 6" received negative reviews from critics and fans, amassing an estimated over 1 million dislikes on YouTube.

The Pop Out concert and "Not Like Us" video
In June 2024, Lamar announced a one-off concert at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, titled The Pop Out: Ken & Friends in reference to a lyric from "Not Like Us" ("Sometimes you gotta pop out and show niggas"). The concert was scheduled for Juneteenth, which Charlamagne tha God suggested was a dig aimed at Drake. Lamar opened his part of the show with "Euphoria", which contained updated lyrics aimed at Drake's possession of Tupac Shakur's crown ring. Later in the show, Ab-Soul accompanied Lamar for the debut performance of "6:16 in LA". Lamar performed his verse on "Like That" for the first time before inviting Dr. Dre on stage. Lamar and Dre performed Dre's hits "Still D.R.E." and "California Love", the latter of which Dre had recorded with Shakur. After these two songs, Dre performed the intro to "Not Like Us" ("Pssst, I see dead people"). Lamar concluded the concert with a "Not Like Us" encore, afterwards repeating the song five more times while dancing on stage with colleagues and members of many Los Angeles street gangs, including the Crips and Bloods, before taking a group photo onstage.

The music video for "Not Like Us" was released on July 4, 2024, in celebration of American Independence Day, at approximately 3 p.m. PT, after four still images from the clip were leaked to social media the day before. Dave Free and Lamar directed it, and Charm La'Donna handled the choreography and is also credited as the associate producer. The video features Tommy the Clown, and is set in Lamar's hometown of Compton, California. By the morning after, the video had reached over 13 million views on YouTube. CNN and NME noted widespread anticipation for the video up to its release. Numerous publications and websites called it another victory lap for Lamar in his feud with Drake. The video discredited many allegations and claims that Drake had dissed Lamar with the appearance of his family dancing happily in the video, as well as the video credits reading "Directed by Dave Free and Kendrick Lamar". It was called a moment of re-ignition of the feud, and was seen as Lamar's "knockout punch" against Drake.

Celebrity and media reactions
Drake has been supported by Birdman, Azealia Banks, 50 Cent, the Game, and Juelz Santana, among others. Lamar has been supported by Metro Boomin, Future, Pusha T, Kanye West, the Weeknd, Nav, ASAP Rocky, Rick Ross, and Jay Rock, among others.

HotNewHipHop referred to Metro Boomin as being a major part of the feud. In "Push Ups", Drake directly dismisses Metro's involvement in the feud with the line "shut your ho ass up and make some drums". On "Family Matters", Drake targeted Metro Boomin again, saying he had sex with Metro's girlfriend. On May 5, Metro responded to Drake's claim, saying: "what we not gon do is spread lies and have my loved ones involved nobody ever hit [had sex with] my girl nigga". He also posted the image of Drake in blackface that had been used for the cover of "The Story of Adidon".

Boosie Badazz criticized Lamar and Drake and their fanbases over the feud, expressing that the feud undermines their careers and respective contributions to the genre. Kurupt, Ice Cube, and Questlove echoed similar sentiments, with Kurupt saying "Life is precious, my nigga. So if y'all ain't gonna fight, stop it...". The feud was also criticized by Stevie Wonder and Macklemore for overshadowing ongoing international conflicts.

Outside of the music community, the feud attracted numerous reactions from various celebrities. Actress Uma Thurman jokingly offered her Kill Bill costume to Drake for his feud with Lamar and other rappers. Former wrestler and current WWE producer Shawn Michaels, whose Sweet Chin Music finishing move was mentioned in "Not Like Us", invited the pair to settle their feud on NXT. Tennis star Naomi Osaka claimed that in her opinion, Kendrick is winning the feud, and that she has used "Not Like Us" in coming out to the court before beating Clara Burel at the Italian Open. Singer Sheryl Crow criticized Drake's use of AI in "Taylor Made Freestyle," saying: "It's hateful. It is antithetical to the life force that exists in all of us." After defeating Canada in the 2024 Copa América semifinals, the Argentine national football team posted images with "Not Like Us" emblazoned above a photo of the team, a jab at Drake for betting $300,000 on the Canadian team. The feud was also referenced on Saturday Night Live&#8217;s Weekend Update segment.

"BBL Drizzy" beat giveaway
On May 5, 2024, Metro Boomin started a contest where he would give a free beat and $10,000 to whoever recorded the best diss against Drake over a semi-instrumental track called "BBL Drizzy", whose chorus is based on the rumor that Drake has had a Brazilian butt lift. The song samples an AI generated R&B parody song evocative of 1970s music created by comedic performer King Willonius.

The instrumental received more than 3.3 million streams on SoundCloud within a week and managed to maintain the number one spot on the platform's "New and Hot" chart. The track also drew responses on social media, with celebrities and internet personalities including Elon Musk, Dr. Miami, Ludwig and QTCinderella reacting. In addition to freestyle raps, users also recreated the song beyond the hip hop in house, merengue and Bollywood styles. Some also created covers of the song on a variety of musical instruments, including on saxophone, guitar and harp.

Analysis
According to The Ringer, the feud has been considered the "last great rap beef", with Holmes asserting that "[I]n terms of size, scale, and capital, we're witnessing the last rap beef of this magnitude." Multiple commentators, including Todd Boyd, compared the feud to the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry from the 1990s, which culminated with the drive-by shooting deaths of both Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. in 1996 and 1997, respectively. The feud was also considered a debate about the future of the genre and its culture, specifically in regards towards its commercial appeal and authenticity; an MSNBC article drew parallels to the feud between Jay-Z and Nas. Likening the feud to literary debates, The Independent's Ryan Coogan opined that the two rappers' poetic talents had elevated their conflict from celebrity gossip to art. He further claimed that the feud "has caused both men to dig deep and produce some of their best work in years." Alphonse Pierre of Pitchfork Media labeled the feud "the most miserable spectacle in rap history", calling it a "disinformation campaign that has turned rap's all-time biggest beef into a messy, confusing conflict that, at its core, is nothing but ugly" and stated it "doesn't even sound like rap beef anymore, but the death knell of an entire era", specifically noting both the severity of the accusations leveled against the parties involved and how the feud had been received on social media in light of those accusations.

Among other beefs in 2024, the feud has also been regarded as an example of social media's influence in shifting the nature of rap beefs. In an NBC News article, Howard University professor Tia Tyree compared the past release of diss tracks on radio and CD to the instantaneous nature of releasing it on social media. The prevalence of Stan culture was also noted as a factor in the feud. Holmes noted that unlike Drake's leverage of meme culture in his feud against Meek Mill, he was at a disadvantage compared to Lamar's less accessible nature on the internet.

Both artists received criticism for their use of women and family members as "punchlines" in their respective diss tracks. The Ringer noted hypocrisy in both parties' messaging, stating that Drake, who went after Lamar for allegedly abusing women, had shouted out Chris Brown on "Family Matters" and posted his support on social media of Tory Lanez, both of whom had been arrested for domestic violence. Similarly, Lamar's hypocrisy was noted when he attacked Drake for allegedly being a sexual predator, despite featuring Kodak Black on his last studio album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers after Kodak had previously taken a plea deal in a first-degree criminal sexual assault case. In addition, criticism resurfaced of Lamar's threat to remove his catalogue from Spotify in 2018 in opposition to Spotify announcing they would remove XXXTentacion's and R. Kelly's songs from official playlists after the two artists were accused of various forms of domestic and sexual abuse.

Universal Music Group, the label of both Lamar and Drake, denied rumors that they had been mediating an end to the feud.

Verdict
By early May, various music outlets such as Pitchfork, The Ringer, and Rolling Stone cited Lamar as winning in the feud. An Insider article claimed that both music critics and social media users conceded Lamar as the victor. However, Alphonse Pierre of Pitchfork avowed that Lamar's victory was "pyrrhic", while Charles Holmes for The Ringer similarly claimed Lamar was in the lead despite the victory feeling hollow. The Roots drummer Questlove condemned both for engaging in "wrestling match level mudslinging", opining that neither can reasonably be considered to have emerged victorious, concluding "Hip Hop truly is dead". Other writers took a contrary view, arguing that the feud was a net positive for hip-hop. Yemi Abiade of BBC News said the feud "entertained the entire world, enhancing the legacies of two generational rap artists" and claimed that "rap music wins, yet again." Laurence Ralph wrote in The New York Times that the winners were both Kendrick Lamar and old-school hip hop.

With the release of Lamar's "Not Like Us" music video, numerous critics and publications recognized Lamar as the victor of the feud.