The beef between hip-hop stars Drake and Kendrick Lamar keeps heating up and is now being battled on the charts — but only one reigns supreme (for now)
The beef between hip-hop stars Drake and Kendrick Lamar keeps heating up and is now being battled on the charts — but only one reigns supreme (for now).
On May 13, Billboard reported that Lamar’s “Not Like Us” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Released on May 4, the song was the Compton rapper’s latest diss track in the ongoing feud.
“Not Like Us” marks Lamar’s fourth Hot 100 No. 1. Additionally, his track “Euphoria” went from No. 11 to No. 3 on the same chart.
However, one of Drake’s diss tracks is also seeing some success. The Canadian native’s song “Family Matters” debuted at No. 7 on the same chart. This is Drake’s 78th song to be included in the top 10 on the Hot 100 chart, making him the artist with the most top 10 entries, per the magazine.
This is just the latest in the once-again reignited saga after the rappers released numerous diss tracks about each other in recent weeks. On May 5, Drake dropped “The Heart Part 6,” in which he denied Lamar’s allegations that he likes underage girls and is hiding another child. (Drake is father to 6-year-old Adonis, though he initially denied reports he was the father before appearing to confirm his fatherhood on his 2018 album, “Scorpion.”)
“Speakin’ of anything with a child, let’s get to that now/ This Epstein angle was the s— I expected/ TikTok videos you collected and dissected/ Instead of being on some dis-direct s—, you rather f—— grab your pen and misdirect s—,” Drake rapped on the track.
The 5-minute-plus song is a reference to Lamar’s 2022 track “The Heart Part 5,” and calls out Lamar’s Pulitzer Prize, in addition to alleging Drake and his associates made up information about having a secret daughter for Lamar to use in a future song.
“We plotted for a week and then we fed you the information/ A daughter that’s 11 years old, I bet he takes it/ We thought about giving a fake name or a destination/ But you so thirsty, you not concerned with investigation,” Drake rapped.
Lamar has yet to respond as of publishing on May 13, but he previously released “Not Like Us” on May 4, which was Lamar’s fourth diss track aimed at Drake and the third released in less than 48 hours.
The track, which uses an uptempo beat produced by famed hip-hop producer DJ Mustard, can be described as another verbal attack against the Toronto rapper, with allegations of Drake allegedly grooming young women — seemingly accusing him of pedophilia.
“Say, Drake, I hear you like ‘em young/ You better not ever go to cell block one,” Lamar rhymes, before later referencing Drake’s 2021 album, “Certified Lover Boy,” by saying, “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles.”
The West Coast rapper’s newest release came just hours after he posted “Meet the Grahams,” a response to Drake’s third diss track, “Family Matters.”
In “Meet the Grahams,” Kendrick appears to call out Drake — whose real name is Aubrey Drake Graham — for being a deadbeat dad, alleging he’s hiding a second child, a daughter, from the world.
“You lied about your son, you lied about your daughter, huh, you lied about them other kids that’s out there hoping that you come,” he raps.
Lamar also takes shots at Drake’s family, and alleges the Toronto rapper had cosmetic surgery, rhyming in part, “Get some discipline, don’t cut them corners like your daddy did. F— what Ozempic did. Don’t pay to play with them Brazilians, get a gym membership.”
His track came just minutes after Drake dropped “Family Matters” on YouTube as a follow-up to Lamar’s “6:16 in LA” diss track, which was released May 3. In his response, Drake alleges Lamar’s relationship with fiancée Whitney Alford is riddled with abuse and infidelity.
“You the Black messiah wifing up a mixed queen/ And hit vanilla cream to help out with your self-esteem/ On some Bobby s—, I wanna know what Whitney need,” he spits, before later adding, “When you put your hands on your girl, is it self-defense ’cause she’s bigger than you?”
Drake and Kendrick Lamar did not respond to TODAY.com’s request for comment on May 4 on their specific diss tracks and what their songs allege.
Drake’s “Family Matters” came just days after Lamar released the track “Euphoria” late last week, which also targeted Drake, who, perhaps not coincidentally, happens to have served as an executive producer on the TV series “Euphoria.”
Lamar, who’s won a Pulitzer Prize for his music, bashed the more commercially successful Drake on the track, rapping, “I make music that electrify ’em, you make music that pacify ’em.”
Lamar’s initial diss tracks were released in response to Drake’s April 19 record “Push Ups,” featuring lyrics that mocked, among other other things, Lamar’s musical collaborations. Drake also called the slight rapper “pipsqueak” in the song.
The month before, Lamar blasted Drake in guest verses on a Future and Metro Boomin collaboration called “Like That,” which rose to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Hip-hop fans may remember a time when the two rappers were more like buddies than rivals, even collaborating and touring together.
So what caused the rift between Drake and his one-time pal Lamar? Read on to learn a timeline of one of rap’s most enduring feuds, and see how celebs like Seth Rogen have weighed in with their opinions.
2011: Lamar appears as a guest on Drake’s album ‘Take Care’
Early in his career, Kendrick Lamar appeared as a guest artist on the song “Buried Alive Interlude” on Drake’s second studio album, “Take Care,” released in November 2011.
February 2012: Drake invites Lamar to be his opening act on his ‘Club Paradise Tour’
Drake followed that up by inviting Lamar and A$AP Rocky to be the opening acts on his “Club Paradise Tour,” which launched in February 2012.
October 2012: The two rappers collaborate on the track ‘Poetic Justice’ from Lamar’s album ‘Good Kid, M.A.A.D City’
Drake and Lamar collaborated on the song “Poetic Justice” featured on Lamar’s studio album “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City,” released in October 2012.
The same month, Drake and Lamar appeared as guests on A$AP Rocky’s song “F—– Problems.”
August 2013: Lamar takes a shot at Drake and other rappers on Big Sean’s ‘Control’
Tensions began when Lamar called out Drake and 11 other rappers by name when he appeared as a guest on Big Sean’s song “Control” in August 2013.
“I got love for you all but I’m trying to murder you n—-/ Trying to make sure your core fans never heard of you n—-/ They don’t want to hear not one more noun or verb from you n—- ,” he rapped on the track.
Full of swagger over his rising success, Lamar also declared himself both “King of New York” and “King of the Coast” on the track.
August 2013: Drake shrugs off Lamar’s verse in an interview
Two weeks after “Control” is released, Drake reveals in a cover story for Billboard that Lamar’s nasty name-check didn’t upset him.
“It just sounded like an ambitious thought to me. That’s all it was,” Drake told the publication. “I know good and well that (Lamar)’s not murdering me, at all, in any platform.”
September 2013: Drake says it’s ‘all love’ between him and Lamar
Drake reportedly doubled down on the soundness of his friendship with Lamar during a live #CRWN interview with Elliott Wilson of RapRadar on Sept. 22, 2013, in New York, according to Vibe.
After conceding that Lamar’s biting guest verse on “Control” was a “moment to talk about,” Drake said the two rappers saw each other at the MTV VMAs soon after the song was released.
“I saw him five days later at the VMAs and it was all love,” Drake recalled.
October 2013: Lamar disses Drake again in his BET Hip-Hop Awards cypher
Lamar appeared to be taking aim at Drake again in his BET Hip-Hop Awards cypher in October 2013.
Lamar’s performance came within days of Drake releasing his September 2013 album “Nothing Was the Same.”
“Nothing’s been the same since they dropped ‘Control’/ And tucked a sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes/ Ha ha joke’s on you, high-five… I’m bulletproof/ Your shots never penetrate/ Pin the tail on the donkey, boy you been a fake,” he rapped.
December 2013: Drake tells an interviewer he feels like he’s being ‘baited’ by Lamar
Speaking to Vibe in December 2013, Drake revealed that he felt as though he was being “baited” by Lamar on the “Control” verse.
“Where it became an issue is that I was rolling out an album while that verse was still bubbling, so my album rollout became about this thing. What am I supposed to say? Nah, we’ll be buddy-buddy?” asked the rapper.
“Mind you, I never once said he’s a bad guy (or) I don’t like him. I think he’s a f—– genius in his own right, but I also stood my ground as I should.
“And with that came another step, which then I have to realize I’m being baited and I’m not gonna fall,” he said. “(Michael) Jordan doesn’t have to play pickup to prove that he could play ball, no offense. But I’m not gonna give you the chance to shake me necessarily, ’cause I feel great. There’s no real issue.”
2014 – 2020: The two rappers take shots at each other on several more diss tracks
The beef between the two rappers continued for several more years as they released or appeared as guest artists on several more diss tracks taking shots at each other.
By 2020, the bad feelings appeared to have faded away. But not for long.
October 2023: J. Cole collaborates with Drake on ‘First Person Shooter’
In October 2023, Drake collaborated with fellow rapper J.Cole on a track called “First Person Shooter.” J. Cole brags about his rapping prowess on the track, referring to himself, Drake and Lamar as the “Big Three,” singling himself out as Muhammad Ali, or in other words, the greatest of all.
For his part, Drake boasted about his own popularity as a music star, comparing himself to Michael Jackson.
March 2024: Lamar blasts Drake and J.Cole on ‘Like That’
In March 2024, Lamar responded to “First Person Shooter” by blasting Drake and J.Cole in guest verses on Metro Boomin and Future’s collaborative track “Like That,” which rose to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Lamar laughed off the idea of a “Big 3,” insisting there was only a “Big Me,” and then ridiculed Drake for likening himself to Michael Jackson by insisting he would be Prince in the scenario.
“Prince outlived Mike Jack,” he rapped.
April 19, 2024: Drake calls Lamar a ‘pipsqueak’ on ‘Push Ups’
A fired-up Drake blasted back at Lamar the following month with the diss track “Push Ups,” on which he addressed the diminutive rapper as “pipsqueak” and asks him, “How the f— you big steppin’ with a size-seven men’s on?”
Drake also put down his old rival’s music collaborations with pop artists. “Maroon 5 need a verse, you better make it witty/ Then we need a verse for the Swifties,” he raps.
“Push Ups” notably sampled beats from The Notorious B.I.G.’s 1997 track “What’s Beef?”
April 30, 2024: Lamar releases ‘Euphoria’
On April 30, Lamar released a furious six-minute track called “Euphoria,” continuing his rift with Drake, who just happens to have served as an executive producer on the TV series “Euphoria,” according to IMDb.
Lamar, who’s won a Pulitzer Prize for his music, bashes the more commercially successful Drake on the track, rapping, “I make music that electrify ’em, you make music that pacify ’em.”
May 3, 2024: Lamar follows up with ‘6:16 in LA’
Days later, Lamar released “6:16 in LA” on his Instagram page. The song’s title pokes fun at Drake’s time-and-location-themed songs, such as “6PM in New York,” “9AM in Dallas,” and “4PM in Calabasas.”
Lamar name-checks OVO, the independent music label owned by Drake, on the song.
“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,” he raps as he continues to imply that key insiders at OVO are Team Lamar.
This song notably samples Al Green’s “What a Wonderful Thing Love Is,” which the soul singer seemingly acknowledged by tweeting out his original track on the same day of Lamar’s track.
May 4, 2024: Drake responds with third diss track, ‘Family Matters’
Drake responded to Lamar’s “6:16 in LA” diss track with a record called “Family Matters.” In his nearly eight-minute diss, which was accompanied by a music video that showed New Ho King Chinese restaurant Kendrick referenced on “Euphoria,” Drake takes shots at Kendrick’s relationship with his fiancée, Whitney Alford, alleging abuse and infidelity.
“You the Black messiah wifing up a mixed queen/ And hit vanilla cream to help out with your self-esteem/ On some Bobby s—, I wanna know what Whitney need,” he spits, before later adding, “When you put your hands on your girl, is it self-defense ’cause she’s bigger than you?”
Drake also took verbal shots at other rappers he’s reportedly beefing with, including A$AP Rocky, The Weeknd, Metro Boomin, Future and Rick Ross.
May 4, 2024: Kendrick Lamar responds to Drake with scathing diss, ‘Meet the Grahams’
Soon after Drake’s “Family Matters” arrived, Kendrick Lamar returned with a blistering response called “Meet the Grahams.”
In the 6 1/2-minute track, Lamar seemingly calls out Drake for being a deadbeat dad and alleges he’s hiding another child, a daughter, from the world.
“You lied about your son, you lied about your daughter, huh, you lied about them other kids that’s out there hoping that you come,” he raps.
He also takes shots at Drake’s family, alleged alcohol abuse, a gambling addiction and that the Toronto rapper used Ozempic for weight loss and had cosmetic surgery.
“Get some discipline, don’t cut them corners like your daddy did. F— what Ozempic did. Don’t pay to play with them Brazilians, get a gym membership,” he raps.
May 4, 2024: Kendrick Lamar follows up ‘Meet the Grahams’ with ‘Not Like Us’
Kendrick Lamar didn’t wait for Drake to respond to his third diss track, “Meet the Grahams,” opting to release a fourth targeted diss track at Drake with “Not Like Us.’
The track, which is currently the No. 2 trending video on YouTube, is a 4 1/2-minute verbal attack on the Toronto rapper, taking aim at his alleged predilection for young women and his recent legal drama with Tupac’s estate after releasing his “Taylor Made Freestyle” diss track at Lamar, which featured an AI-generated Tupac voice.
On the track, Kendrick raps, “Say, Drake, I hear you like ‘em young/ You better not ever go to cell block one,” and later adds, “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles,” a nod to Drake’s 2021 album, “Certified Lover Boy,” that seemingly accuses the rapper of pedophilia.
Later in the song, which also challenges Drake’s street credibility and reputation, Kendrick also takes Drake to task about his “Taylor Made Freestyle” diss track, rapping, “You think the Bay gon’ let you disrespect Pac, n—-? I think that Oakland show gon’ be your last stop, n—-.”
May 5, 2024: Drake drops ‘The Heart Part 6′
Drake’s newest diss track about Lamar shot to the top of the YouTube trending chart after its release on May 5. In the nearly 5 1/2-minute song, Drake denied Lamar’s previous allegations of pedophilia and also alleged he made up information about having a secret 11-year-old daughter for Lamar to use in a song.
Lamar has yet to comment or release a response to “The Heart Part 6,” but Drake rapped on the track he was waiting for words from Lamar.
“You know, at least your fans are gettin’ some raps out of you/ I’m happy I could motivate you/ Bring you back to the game,” Drake said. “Just let me know when we’re gettin’ to the facts/ Everything in my s— is facts/ I’m waitin’ on you to return the favor.”
May 8, 2024: Seth Rogen reacts to the rappers’ feud
Actor and comedian Seth Rogen weighed in on beef between the two rappers when he hosted “Seth Rogen Smokes the Bowl,” an event for his Alzheimer’s charity Hilarity For Charity.
While taking the mic, Rogen shared his thoughts about the ongoing feud between Drake and Lamar.
First, he said: “If you’re a rap fan, there’s some crazy sh-t going on right now.”
While updating the audience on what’s been going on, Rogen joked that Lamar and Drake have been writing “mean rhymes about each other, which is an objectively funny way to fight with another person.”
The comedian then said that Drake started to get “defensive” once Lamar called him a “bad father” and that Lamar dissed saying that the “In My Feelings” rapper should be a “registered 𝓈ℯ𝓍 offender” in one of his songs.
“That changed the tone of the whole conversation pretty dramatically,” Rogen said. “Drake was caught off guard and then he started writing raps and his raps were, like, defensive now all of a sudden, which is a funny thing to hear.”
“You don’t hear defensive rapping that often. Rap is usually pretty aggressive. You don’t hear rap that’s like, I am a good father. I should not be registered. I would say as soon as you are asserting in a rap song that you should not be a registered 𝓈ℯ𝓍 offender, you’ve lost the rap battle,” he said.
Billboard reported on May 13 that Lamar’s “Not Like Us” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This marks the Compton rapper’s fourth Hot 100 No. 1. Additionally, his track “Euphoria” went from No. 11 to No. 3 on the same chart.
However, Drake’s diss track “Family Matters” debuted at No. 7 on the same chart. Since this is Drake’s 78th song to be included in the top 10 on the Hot 100 chart, it makes him the artist with the most top 10 entries, per the magazine.