Kendrick-Drake feud

The feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake stands as one of hip-hop's most consequential rivalries, evolving over a decade from collaborative partnership to an explosive conflict that dominated music headlines throughout 2024. This battle between two of rap's biggest superstars—Drake (Aubrey Graham) and Kendrick Lamar (Kendrick Lamar Duckworth)—culminated in a series of increasingly personal diss tracks that captivated audiences worldwide and reshuffled hip-hop's power dynamics.Their relationship began positively in 2011 when Lamar appeared on "Buried Alive Interlude" from Drake's acclaimed album "Take Care." This collaboration led to Lamar opening for Drake's Club Paradise Tour in 2012, alongside A$AP Rocky. The two artists also collaborated on A$AP Rocky's hit "Fuckin' Problems" and Lamar's "Poetic Justice," both commercial successes that peaked on the Billboard Hot 100.The first signs of tension emerged in August 2013 when Lamar named Drake among several rappers he aimed to "murder" lyrically on Big Sean's "Control," though he characterized it as "friendly competition." Drake dismissed the verse in a Billboard interview, saying: "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."From 2015 to 2022, the rivalry continued through subtle "sneak disses" in tracks like Lamar's "King Kunta" and "The Heart Part 4," though both artists publicly denied any serious beef. The situation dramatically escalated in October 2023 when J. Cole's verse on Drake's "First Person Shooter" (which topped the Billboard Hot 100) described himself, Drake, and Lamar as the "Big Three" of modern hip-hop. Lamar emphatically rejected this notion on Future and Metro Boomin's March 2024 track "Like That."The conflict erupted into full-scale warfare in April 2024. Drake diss track "Push Ups" leaked on April 13, mocking Lamar's 5'5" height and criticizing his pop collaborations with artists like Taylor Swift. Six days later, Drake dropped "Taylor Made Freestyle," controversially using AI-generated vocals of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg—a move that drew criticism from Shakur's estate, which threatened legal action and prompted Drake to remove the track.Lamar countered on April 30 with "Euphoria," a six-minute diss criticizing Drake's parenting abilities and claiming his abs were achieved through plastic surgery. The title referenced the TV show executive-produced by Drake, creating another layer of pointed criticism.The feud reached unprecedented levels of personal attacks in early May. On May 3, Lamar released "6:16 in LA," suggesting Drake's inner circle was leaking information to him. Hours later, Drake responded with "Family Matters," accusing Lamar of domestic abuse and claiming Lamar's collaborator Dave Free had fathered Lamar's child. Less than an hour after this bombshell, Lamar released "Meet the Grahams," accusing Drake of sexual predation, hiding a second child, and running a sex trafficking ring from his mansion.The most popular diss came on May 4, when Lamar released "Not Like Us," produced by DJ Mustard, explicitly accusing Drake of pedophilia with lines like "Say Drake, I hear you like 'em young" and calling Drake and his OVO crew "certified pedophiles." The track's cover art featured a satellite image of Drake's mansion marked with sex offender symbols. Drake countered with "The Heart Part 6" on May 5, denying these accusations and claiming his team had deliberately fed Lamar false information about a supposed second child."Not Like Us" became a cultural phenomenon, debuting at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remaining in heavy rotation throughout summer 2024. On June 19, 2024, Lamar's "The Pop Out" concert in Los Angeles featured him performing the song five times with local artists and rival gang members united on stage, widely interpreted as a victory celebration. The music video released on July 4 garnered over 13 million views within 24 hours and featured Lamar's family dancing happily together, contradicting Drake's allegations about his home life.Drake's response included legal maneuvers rather than musical ones. In late November 2024, he filed petitions against Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify, alleging they violated the RICO Act by artificially boosting streams for "Not Like Us." UMG responded swiftly, stating that "no amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear." Drake later sued UMG for defamation on January 15, 2025, though notably did not name Lamar as a defendant.Lamar's triumph continued as "Not Like Us" reached one billion Spotify streams and won five Grammy Awards in February 2025, including Record of the Year. Lamar appeared at the ceremony wearing a "Canadian tuxedo" (denim-on-denim outfit), widely interpreted as a subtle jab at the Canadian-born Drake.The feud's cultural impact culminated during Lamar's Super Bowl LIX halftime performance on February 9, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Lamar performed both "Euphoria" and "Not Like Us."Drake briefly addressed the feud on his February 14, 2025 collaborative album with PartyNextDoor, "$ome $exy $ongs 4 U," particularly on the track "Gimme a Hug," saying "Fuck a rap beef, I'm tryna get the party lit" and mocking Lamar's cerebral style by suggesting girls would be "twerking with a dictionary." Around this time, Drake was photographed in Australia wearing a shirt with bullet holes, symbolizing his resilience.The conflict drew widespread commentary from artists and celebrities. Drake received support from Birdman, Azealia Banks, 50 Cent, and The Game, while Lamar was backed by Metro Boomin, Future, Pusha T, Kanye West, The Weeknd, A$AP Rocky, and Rick Ross. Metro Boomin played a significant role, launching a contest called "BBL Drizzy" offering $10,000 for the best Drake diss track over his instrumental, which generated millions of streams across platforms.Multiple publications, including Pitchfork, The Ringer, and Rolling Stone, declared Lamar the definitive victor. Charles Holmes of The Ringer called it "the last great rap beef," noting: "In terms of size, scale, and capital, we're witnessing the last rap beef of this magnitude." The conflict has been compared to the East Coast-West Coast rivalry of the 1990s, though thankfully without the violence that marked that earlier feud.On March 17, 2025, UMG filed a motion to dismiss Drake's lawsuit, arguing he was attempting to "save face" after losing the rap battle.This historic feud, now widely considered resolved with Lamar's victory, has firmly established itself as one of hip-hop's defining conflicts, reshaping the perceived hierarchy of modern rap and demonstrating the continued cultural power of battle rap in the streaming era.Sources: Wikipedia and Billboard*There may be errors on this page.