The time has come for Drake to enter himself into witness protection. It might be the only thing powerful enough to shield him from Kendrick Lamar’s deadly wrath. “Euphoria,†Lamar’s second Drake diss, dropped on April 30, a month after his initial Drizzy-aimed warning shot went off in Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That,†the latest in the Great Rap Beef Off of 2024. KDot’s six-minute opus eviscerates everything about Drake with humorous ease, coming for his parenting, his rap skills, his Toronto background, his rumored BBL, his fake accents, and more. What makes this song different from “Like That,†however, is its blatant honesty. While the Compton rapper seemed aggrieved about the idea that there’s a rap big three in last month’s blockbuster verse, this time he’s vulnerable about the real reason Drake pisses him off. “This ain’t been ’bout critics, not about gimmicks, not about who the greatest,†he raps. “It’s always been about love and hate, now let me say I’m the biggest hater / I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk / I hate the way that you dress.†He absolutely cleared, your honor.
We can only hope Lamar never relinquishes the hate in his heart, because we could go for another fiery verse or two. (We know Drake’s AI-generated response tracks certainly aren’t giving this level of unadulterated rancor, nor did the apologetic J. Cole’s half-hearted diss, since removed from streaming.) While we wait to see Lamar’s next target, here are all the “Euphoria†lyrics that probably made Drake duck and cover.
When he calls Drake a grifter:
You not a rap artist, you a scam artist with the hopes of bеing accepted
When he references Drake settling a sexual-assault lawsuit:
Have you ever watched your enemy down like with a poker face?
/ Have you ever paid five-hundred thousand to like an open case?
When he comes for Drake’s protective style:
Cutthroat business, you got shit twisted / What is it? The braids?
When he makes everyone’s jaw hit the floor:
How many more Black features till you finally feel that you Black enough?
When he brings up the BBL allegations:
Yeah, my first one like my last one / It’s a classic, you don’t have one
/ Let your core audience stomach that / Didn’t tell ’em where you get your abs from
When he wonders if he was tusslin’ with Drake or AI-generated 2Pac after the former released his legally challenged “Taylor Made Freestyleâ€:
Am I battlin’ ghost or AI? Nigga feelin’ like Joel Austeen / Funny, he was in a film called AI
When he calls Drake a baddie:
When I see you stand by Sexyy Red, I believe you see two bad bitches /
I believe you don’t like women, that’s real competition, you might pop ass with ’em
When he tells Drake to get a life and see his kid:
Why would I call around tryna get dirt on niggas? / Y’all think all of my life is rap? / That’s hoe shit, I got a son to raise, but I can see you know nothin’ ’bout that