As you may have heard, Drake and Kendrick Lamar are in the throes of an intense (and seemingly never-ending) rap battle. Though the two artists have long been at odds, this latest chapter ignited in March with the release of “Like That,†which quickly kicked off an incendiary back-and-forth that can be difficult to keep up with. Here, we break down the play-by-play of this beef by track — the most recent of which is a live version of “Euphoria†with added disses and a “Not Like Us†music video chock-full of Easter eggs.
“Like That,†by Future, Metro Boomin, and Kendrick Lamar (March 22, 2024)
The powder keg that set off this particular chapter of the Drake–versus–Kendrick Lamar beef was the song “Like That,†from Future, Metro Boomin, and Lamar. On it, Lamar dismisses the notion that he’s in a “Big Three†with Drake and J. Cole, rapping, “It’s just big me.†He also compares himself and Drake to Prince and Michael Jackson, respectively, rapping, “Prince outlived Mike Jack.â€
“Push Ups,†by Drake (April 13, 2024)
After several weeks, Drake fired back by mysteriously leaking “Push Ups,†which featured the lyrics, “You ain’t in no Big Three, SZA got you wiped down, Travis got you wiped down, Savage got you wiped down / Like your label, boy, you in a scope right now / And you gon’ feel the aftermath of what I write down / I’m at the top of the mountain, so you tight now / Just to have this talk with yo’ ass, I had to hike down / Big difference between Mike then and Mike now.†Drake also went after Lamar’s work on pop songs from the likes of Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift, as well as throwing a stray dig at Rick Ross with the lyric “I might take your latest girl and cuff her like I’m Ricky / Can’t believe he jumpin’ in, this nigga turnin’ 50 / Every song that made it on the chart, he got from Drizzy.†Ross fired back just hours later with a diss track of his own accusing Drake of getting plastic surgery — but let’s try to stay on topic here.
“Taylor Made Freestyle,†by Drake (April 19, 2024)
While waiting on Lamar’s response to “Push Ups,†Drake also put out the since-deleted track “Taylor Made Freestyle,†on which he used the AI-generated voices of Lamar’s idols Tupac and Snoop Dogg to go after him — earning a cease and desist from Shakur’s estate. After those A.I. verses, Drake came in with his own voice to accuse the rapper of not responding to his original diss because he didn’t want to interfere with the release of Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department. “Now we gotta wait a fucking week cause Taylor Swift is your new top, and if you boutta drop, she gotta approve,†he rapped. Swift has of course not responded — having famously always wished to be excluded from the narrative when it comes to being name-checked in rap songs. While the song has since been taken down, Snoop Dogg’s reaction is thankfully still up.
“Euphoria,†by Kendrick Lamar (April 30, 2024)
On “Euphoria,†which shares a title with the HBO series that Drake produces, Lamar eviscerates his rival with pure hatred, leaving no stone left unturned. The verses attack Drake’s parenting (“I got a son to raise, but I can see you know nothin’ ’bout thatâ€), his rumored plastic surgery (“Didn’t tell ’em where you get your abs fromâ€), and his rap abilities (“You not a rap artist, you a scam artist with the hopes of bеing acceptedâ€). He also called out his use of AI and seemed to confuse actor Haley Joel Osment with televangelist Joel Osteen in the process: “Am I battlin’ ghost or AI? Nigga feelin’ like Joel Osteen / Funny, he was in a film called A.I.â€
“6:16 in LA,†by Kendrick Lamar (May 3, 2024)
Making fun of Drake’s penchant for using times and locations in his song titles, “6:16 in LA†arrived just days after “Euphoria,†delivering on that track’s promise to go “back to back.†It was notably produced by Jack Antonoff, which feels like an acknowledgement of Drake’s repeated Taylor Swift references. In the song, he claims to have operatives inside Drake’s label, rapping, “Have you ever thought that OVO was working for me? / Fake bully, I hate bullies / You must be a terrible person / Everyone inside your team is whispering that you deserve it.â€
“Family Matters,†by Drake (May 3, 2024)
Drake responded with the nearly eight-minute track “Family Matters,†which suggested that Lamar’s child was actually fathered by his manager, Dave Free. He also honed in on Lamar’s relationship with his fiancée, Whitney Alford, alleging infidelity and abuse with lyrics like “You the Black messiah wifing up a mixed queen / And hit vanilla cream to help out with your self-esteem / On some Bobby shit, I wanna know what Whitney need,†and “When you put your hands on your girl, is it self-defense ’cause she’s bigger than you?â€
“Meet the Grahams,†by Kendrick Lamar (May 4, 2024)
Lamar didn’t give us much time to sit with Drake’s last diss, putting out “Meet the Grahams†just hours later — which continued the theme of going after each other’s families right from the top by telling Drake’s son, Adonis, he’s sorry Drake is his father. Speaking of children, the track also alleges that Drake has a secret daughter, a claim Drake responded to via Instagram Story, writing, “Nahhhh hold on can someone find my hidden daughter pls and send her to me … these guys are in shambles 🤣🤣🤣.†Lamar also circled back to his cosmetic-procedure digs, rapping, “Get some discipline, don’t cut them corners like your daddy did / Fuck what Ozempic did / Don’t pay to play with them Brazilians, get a gym membership.â€
“Not Like Us,†by Kendrick Lamar (May 4, 2024)
Not even 24 hours after releasing “Meet the Grahams,†Lamar had more to say with the brutal “Not Like Us.†In it, he makes explosive accusations against Drake with lyrics like “Certified Lover Boy, certified pedophiles,†“Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young / You better not ever go to cell block one,†and “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A-minor.†He also circles back to Drake’s use of AI to re-create Tupac’s voice on “Taylor Made Freestyle,†rapping, “You think the Bay gon’ let you disrespect Pac, nigga? I think that Oakland show gon’ be your last stop, nigga.â€
“The Heart Part 6,†by Drake (May 5, 2024)
Drake has responded to Kendrick’s response to his own response to Drake’s response to … there’s another one. “The Heart Part 6†is a play on Lamar’s “The Heart†series, which runs throughout his albums. The last “Heart†song came on Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers and had a music video that featured AI deepfakes of OJ Simpson, Kanye West, Jussie Smollett, Will Smith, Kobe Bryant, and Nipsey Hussle. So AI is going to be a leitmotif of this feud, apparently. In “The Heart Part 6,†Drake alleges that the hidden-daughter rumor was started by his own team in a sort of false-flag operation. “You gotta learn to fact check things and be less impatient,†he raps.
“U MY EVERYTHING,†by Sexyy Red feat. Drake (May 24, 2024)
Drake’s a little late to the “BBL Drizzy†challenge; preparing for an appearance at the Toronto WNBA announcement couldn’t have taken that long. On Sexyy Red’s new mixtape In Sexyy We Trust, Drake pops in on “U MY EVERYTHING†to rap over Metro Boomin’s “BBL Drizzy,†attempting to redefine the title by making himself the Willy Wonka of body modifications. He sings, “I changed a lot of girls lives for real, they need a new body, they hittin’ me, ayy (BBL Drizzy)/BBL Drizzy, they want a new body, they ask me for it (BBL Drizzy).†Drake also simply just raps over the track… What? No sax?
“Euphoria (Live at The Pop Out)†(June 19, 2024)
It’s been quiet on the Kendrick/Drake front, so why not stir things up on a national holiday? At Kendrick’s Juneteenth show, he debuted new lyrics in “Euphoria,†while sporting an outfit seemingly in homage to Tupac. “Give me Tupac’s ring back and I might give you a little respect,†he rapped. He also changed the line “three-hour time difference†to two hours, because Drake is currently in Houston. That’s thorough!
“Not Like Us (Music Video),†directed by Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free (July 4, 2024)
Kendrick rode his hate train all the way from Juneteenth to the Fourth of July. He rang in another bank holiday with more disrespect, releasing a music video for standout diss track “Not Like Us†after playing it a fitting six times at the Pop Out last month.
The video asks fans to gather many an Easter egg. He does a brand-new freestyle in the video’s intro before the needle drops on a C-walk beat. A new line about Kamasi Washington refers to Zack Fox’s viral tweet that prophesied Dot calling Drake a pedophile over free-jazz beats (the comedian and rapper got that first part right). Kendrick even wears a similar outfit to that viral skateboarder who made a diss video that calls his nemesis’s hair “wack.â€
Elsewhere in the video, the Compton rapper uses a similar black-and-white shot composition reminiscent of Drake’s music video for “Family Matters.†In Kendrick’s version, Drake tries to sneak up on him from behind, only to get blasted away down the dark alley. It also alludes to “Push Ups,†one of Drake’s more well-received disses that calls Kendrick short. In the “Not Like Us†video, the fun-size artist does push-ups over two cinder blocks. Most disrespectfully, Kendrick beats an owl-shaped piñata, the symbol of Drake’s label, OVO, and poses with a real-life owl behind bars. Wop, wop, wop, wop, wop.
Super Bowl Announcement Video (September 8, 2024)
Lamar is going to replaying “Not Like Us†and dissing Drake on the biggest (and most American) stage: the Super Bowl. The rapper confirmed on a Sunday morning that he will perform at the 59th Half Time show next February, but not without referencing the feud. “You know it’s only one opportunity to win a championship — no round twos,†Lamar exclaimed, referencing Drake’s unfulfilled promise of a second round. Drake needs to find Canada’s version of a Super Bowl and perform there to settle the score. Do the Jonas Brothers need a sidekick for the Grey Cup championship game?