The rap industry has been gaining attention with the drama surrounding Kendrick Lamar and Drake. These influential rappers have collaborated for over a decade but now are at each other’s throats. They are now producing diss tracks that have divided the public into sides.
These events recently unfolded with Drake releasing “First Person Shooter” in his album For All the Dogs. In this collaboration with J. Cole, he states “Love it when they argue the hardest MC / Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me? / We the big three like we started a league.” J. Cole is referring to Kendrick “K-Dot” Lamar, Aubrey “Drake” Graham, and himself as “the big three.” This lyric describes their work revolutionizing the rap genre.
Two weeks later, Kendrick responded to “First Person Shooter” with his album We Don’t Trust You. This would be a collaboration between many artists, primarily with Metro Boomin and Future. In his song “Like That,” Kendrick made a direct call out to “First Person Shooter” by saying “[T]he big three – it’s just big me.” He asserts that compared to Drake and J. Cole, there is no competition for he has revolutionized the rap genre alone. That sole line sparked the drama between Drake and Kendrick.
In his newest album, Might Delete Later, J. Cole responded with a diss track on Kendrick called “7 Minute Drill.” J. Cole criticized Kendrick’s discography and accused Kendrick of writing “Like That” to stay relevant. Eventually, J. Cole publicly apologized to Kendrick and removed “7 Minute Drill” from all streaming platforms.
Although the drama between J. Cole and Kendrick has been resolved, Drake didn’t take lightly to his statement and released “Taylor Made Freestyle” and “Push Ups.” These songs targeted several collaborators in We Don’t Trust You, including the Weekend, Metro Boomin, Future, and Kendrick. In “Taylor Made Freestyle,” Drake used AI-generated vocals by Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dog. After Tupac threatened legal action against Drake, he would remove the song entirely. Through “Push Ups,” Drake would have more directly antagonistic comments towards Kendrick furthering the feud.
Kendrick would respond to “Push Ups” by releasing “Euphoria” and “6:16 in LA.” “Euphoria” is the first direct response to Drake by stating, “I hate the way you walk / The way you talk / I hate the way that you dress.” He would elaborate by making claims about Drake’s parenting, his rumored plastic surgery, and his rap abilities. Then with “6:16 in LA,” Kendrick calls out Drake’s repeated Taylor Swift references and claims to have operatives inside Drake’s label.
It was finally time for Drake’s response and he released “Family Matters.” And in this single, he alludes that his fiance cheated on Kendrick and his child isn’t his. Drake even alleged that Kendrick’s relationship with his fiance is full of infidelity and abuse. Less than an hour later, Kendrick releases “Meet the Grahams.” This diss track displayed an important shift in the feud because not only did it discuss Drake’s family but “revealed” a long held secret of Drakes’. He begins by apologizing to Drake’s son, Adonis Graham: “Dear Adonis / I’m sorry that that man is your father.” The track continues with Kendrick accusing Drake of having a secret daughter and even criticizing Drake’s parents. The accusations didn’t stop there because Kendrick released “Not Like Us” a day later. He makes explosive allegations against Drake that are turning heads. These claims accuse him of conducting illicit acts with minors and have created waves across the industry.
Drake later released “The Heart Part 6” to address Kendrick’s claims, in which he calls out Kendrick’s “desperate” attempts to diss him without researching what he’s rapping about. In defense, Drake claims he has never conducted himself inappropriately with any younger age children. However, since Kendrick’s release videos and public examples of his misconduct have been emerging.
Regardless, both rappers have caused irreparable damage to their careers and their rivalry does not seem to end. Now both sides anticipate continuing developments and more diss tracks in the near future.
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