Kendrick Lamar and Drake fueled a major hip-hop rivalry this past weekend. Here's what you should be aware of.
Know this: Kendrick Lamar and Drake have been going at it recently, in a steaming hot rap war. They each dropped songs about each other over the weekend, with Lamar even not waiting a full hour before firing back after one of Drake's songs.
Let's take a closer look at the lively lyrics that have been on everyone's minds.
Early times
There's a lot we don't know about the apparent beef between these two mega-successful rappers, but we do know they got some history.
Way back in 2011, Lamar hopped on Drake's second album, "Take Care," for the "Buried Alive Interlude." That same year, Lamar released his initial studio album, "Section.80."
The story goes that both surgeons in the rap world were carving out a space for themselves, with Drake being best known as an actor for his role as student Jimmy Brooks on the Canadian teen TV show, "Degrassi."
The duo then hit the road together and laid golden rhymes on "Poetic Justice" on Lamar's sophomore studio album, "Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City."
"King of New York" battles "Control"
As a rising hip-hop star, Lamar channeled his ambition on a guest verse in Big Sean's 2013 track, "Control." Multiple rappers get called out in the song, including Drake. Lamar declares himself both "King of New York" and "King of the Coast."
Drake brushed off the digs, saying to Billboard, "I didn’t really have anything to say about it. To me, it sounded like an ambitious thought. I know good and well that Kendrick’s not murdering me, at all, in any platform. So when that day presents itself, I guess we can revisit the topic.”
A 'Marvel Infinity War' of hip-hop
This latest confrontation seems to have started in October 2023, when J. Cole and Drake worked together on the song "First Person Shooter."
Cole called himself, Lamar, and Drake the "Big three" of the rap game on the track. Drake likened his fame to that of the late singer Michael Jackson.
Lamar didn't seem to fancy the comparisons and fired back with a fire-hot track in March 2024 called "Like That." He boldly stated that there's no "Big three" but just "Big me." Lamar casts himself as Prince to Drake's Jackson, given that the latter didn't outlive the former.
"Like That" is on the album "We Don't Trust You," which many say is loaded with unfriendly jabs at Drake. The apparent probes surprised some, since Drake and Future have been long-term collaborators.
The war escalated when Future and Metro Boomin dropped a new album, "We Still Don't Trust You," chock-full of disses aimed at Drake, according to Billboard magazine. Not only Future but also The Weeknd and A$AP Rocky joined in on the diss topics.
Cole, the instigator, rapidly withdrew from the brawl. He unleashed the song "7 Minute Drill" on a surprise release "Might Delete Later," shooting darts at Lamar, but quickly deemed the song unimpressive. Cole pulled it from streaming services, apologized to Lamar publicly, and has been silent since.
Drake hits back
In March 2024, Drake released the diss track "Push Ups," poking fun at Lamar's shoe size and acknowledging past collabs with pop stars.
Drake also went after Rick Ross, who guested on "We Don't Trust You." Ross then started a word conflict with Drake, accusing Drake of going under the knife for plastic surgery.
K.Dot responds with "Euphoria" and "6:16 in LA"
Lamar, also known as K.Dot, returned fire with the hit "Euphoria." Beyond the insults he slung at Drake, the track became well-known for revealing that Lamar is also an executive producer on the popular HBO series.
Lamar shot back with "6:16 in LA," a track where he apparently pokes fun at Drake's habit of titling songs with times and locales.
Drake brings up family matters
This rap feud turned incredibly personal over the weekend when Drake unleashed the 8-minute diss track "Family Matters." Drake made allegations about abuse and infidelity involving Lamar and his fiancée, Whitney Alford.
Let's not forget that in 2018, Lamar achieved historical status by being the very first rapper to receive a renowned Pulitzer Prize for his album "DAMN". And just an hour after the release of "Family Matters," Lamar dropped a retaliatory track, titled "Meet The Grahams," referring to Drake's real name, Aubrey Graham.
In this song, Lamar goes hard, addressing Drake's parents and his parenting, and even making accusations about a secret daughter. Not even 24 hours had passed when Lamar unleashed another track, "Not Like Us," accusing Drake of being attracted to underage girls.
Drake's comeback
Once again, Drake made his thoughts heard on Sunday with "The Heart Part 6." In this song, Drake insists that he was the one who fed Lamar false information about a 11-year-old daughter.
"We planned this out for a week and then we gave you the wrong information/A daughter that's 11 years old, I bet he takes it," raps Drake.
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The lively exchange of lyrics between Kendrick Lamar and Drake has become the main form of entertainment in the hip-hop scene, drawing the attention of fans worldwide.
As the 'Marvel Infinity War' of hip-hop continues, it's clear that entertainment value is at an all-time high, as fans eagerly anticipate each artist's response.
Source: edition.cnn.com
