Drake–Kendrick Lamar feud

Drake in 2017

Kendrick Lamar in 2018

The Drake–Kendrick Lamar feud is an ongoing rap feud between Canadian rapper Drake and American rapper Kendrick Lamar. The conflict escalated in March 2024 after the release of "Like That" by Lamar.

Their first collaboration was in 2011, on Drake's album Take Care. Lamar later dissed Drake and several other rappers on the 2013 song "Control" by Big Sean, saying he wanted to "murder" them in music. He clarified that his verse was intended to be seen as friendly competition.

In 2023, J. Cole proposed on the track "First Person Shooter" from Drake's album For All the Dogs that he, Drake, and Lamar were the "Big Three" of hip hop. In the song, Cole and Drake both credited themselves as number 1 and 2, putting Kendrick at number 3. The conflict escalated in March 2024 when Lamar rejected being number 3, in which he dissed Cole and Drake on the song "Like That". Cole then responded to Lamar on the diss track "7 Minute Drill", which Cole thereafter apologized for and deleted.

Drake then released the songs "Push Ups" and "Taylor Made Freestyle" in April, with the latter containing AI-generated vocals of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg. "Taylor Made Freestyle" was later deleted from social media after Shakur's estate expressed its disapproval of the song and threatened Drake with legal action. In response, Lamar released the song "Euphoria" on April 30 and "6:16 in LA" on May 3. Drake responded with "Family Matters" later that day, accusing Lamar of being a domestic abuser and alleging one of Lamar's children was fathered by Dave Free. 20 minutes later, Lamar released "Meet the Grahams", accusing Drake of being a sexual predator and fathering a secret child. Lamar then released "Not Like Us" the following evening and on May 5, Drake responded with "The Heart Part 6", denying Lamar's accusations and claimed his team gave Lamar false information about the secret child.

2011–2013: Background

Drake and Lamar began on favorable terms. The pair's first collaboration was seen in the form of Lamar's appearance on "Buried Alive Interlude", off of Drake's 2011 studio album Take Care. Their relationship continued to develop amicably after Lamar opened for Drake alongside ASAP Rocky during Drake's 2012 Club Paradise Tour. Later that year, both Lamar and Drake also made an appearance on ASAP Rocky's "Fuckin' Problems". In 2012, Drake featured on Lamar's hit single "Poetic Justice".

On August 14, 2013, Lamar took shots at Drake and several other rappers on Big Sean's "Control", claiming that he "had love" for all of them, but was trying to "murder" them in the rap scene. In an interview with Billboard two weeks later, Drake dismissed Lamar's verse, stating: "It just sounded like an ambitious thought to me. That's all it was. I know good and well that [Lamar]'s not murdering me, at all, in any platform". In September, Drake joined Elliott Wilson's live interview series #CRWN. When prompted about the "Control" verse, Drake replied that Lamar's in-person attitude contradicted the sentiments of his "Control" verse. "I saw him five days later at the VMAs and it was all love... If it's really 'fuck everybody' then it needs to be 'fuck everybody'. It can't just be halfway".

On September 24, 2013, Drake released his third studio album Nothing Was the Same. Multiple outlets interpreted the first verse on "The Language", the album's fifth single, as a response to Lamar's "Control" verse. Birdman, head of Drake's then-label Cash Money Records, stated the song was not about Lamar. In October, during the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards' fifth cypher, Lamar rapped: "Nothing's been the same since they dropped 'Control' / And tucked a sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes". These lines were popularly interpreted as further disses toward Drake and a response to "The Language", especially as Lamar appears to reference Drake's Nothing Was the Same. Drake later addressed Lamar's cypher verse and "The Language" in a December cover story for Vibe, mocking the idea of them being "buddy-buddy" and stating he "stood [his] ground" in response to "Control". Nevertheless, Drake maintained that "The Language" wasn't targeted towards Lamar. Drake also praised Lamar as a "genius in his own right" and insisted there was "no real issue".

2023–present: Escalation

"First Person Shooter" and "Like That"

Main articles: First Person Shooter (song) and Like That (Future, Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar song)

In October 2023, J. Cole suggested himself, Drake, and Lamar were part of the "Big Three" greatest rappers in modern hip-hop on Drake's "First Person Shooter". In March 2024, Lamar responded unfavorably to the 'Big Three' notion on his, Metro Boomin and Future's single, "Like That", dissing Cole and Drake whilst rhyming "motherfuck the big three, nigga, it's just big me". The diss prompted Cole to release a response song, "7 Minute Drill", in which he criticizes Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly. However, in the days after he publicly apologized onstage for releasing the song and deleted it. Drake did not directly acknowledge "Like That" on tour, simply stating at one concert: "I got my head up high... and I know no matter what there's not another nigga on this Earth that could ever fuck with me".

"Push Ups" and "Taylor Made Freestyle"

Main articles: Push Ups (song) and Taylor Made Freestyle

On April 13, 2024, early versions of Drake's "Push Ups" were leaked online. The song serves as a response to Lamar's verse on "Like That"; Drake claims multiple artists are better than Lamar, including 21 Savage, Travis Scott, and SZA. It also disses several people for siding against Drake after Lamar's verse came out, including Metro Boomin, Future, the Weeknd, and Rick Ross. Lamar's height is also mocked. Ross responded to the leaked versions of the Push Ups diss by releasing the track "Champagne Moments" on April 15. Drake officially released Push Ups on April 19.

The same day as the official release of "Push Ups", Drake also released "Taylor Made Freestyle", another diss targeted at Lamar. The song featured AI-generated vocals imitating the rappers Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg. Shakur's estate disapproved of the AI-generated verse and threatened Drake to pull the song from social media, citing the violation of Shakur's personality rights and the decision to diss a friend of the estate: "The unauthorized, equally dismaying use of Tupac’s voice against Kendrick Lamar ... who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately, compounds the insult." Drake also accuses Lamar of not responding to "Push Ups" because Lamar did not want to stop Taylor Swift's new album, The Tortured Poets Department, from charting higher; Drake criticized Lamar for collaborating with Swift and other pop artists. "Taylor Made Freestyle" was subsequently taken down by Drake on April 26, 2024.

"Euphoria" and "6:16 in LA"

Main articles: Euphoria (Kendrick Lamar song) and 6:16 in LA

On April 30, 2024, Lamar released a diss track named "Euphoria" in response to Drake. Euphoria is the name of the TV show of which Drake serves as an executive producer. Vulture described the track as Lamar showing his "pure hatred" towards Drake. In the track, Lamar criticizes Drake's parenting, saying: "I got a son to raise, but I can see you know nothin' 'bout that". He also claims that Drake's abs were made through plastic surgery.

On May 3, 2024, three days after "Euphoria", Lamar posted an Instagram reel captioned "6:16 in LA", containing a new diss track, similar to how Drake released "Taylor Made Freestyle". The title parodies Drake's "[timestamp] in [city]" songs, like "8AM in Charlotte". The track was also produced by Taylor Swift's producer, Jack Antonoff, which Vulture guessed was a reference to Drake's comments on "Taylor Made Freestyle". Fans speculated that the cover references the murder trial of O.J. Simpson with a glove on the cover, alluding to the glove presented as evidence during the trial, as well as the title referencing June 16, the day of Nicole Brown Simpson's funeral, and the submission date of the case. The single released weeks after O.J. Simpson's passing on April 10, 2024.

"Family Matters" and "Meet the Grahams"

Main articles: Family Matters (song) and Meet the Grahams

On May 3, Drake released "Family Matters", a response to "Euphoria" and "6:16 in LA". In the track, Drake alleges that one of Lamar's children is biologically from Dave Free, Kendrick's friend and label co-founder. He also claims Lamar is a domestic abuser and unfaithful in his relationship with his fiancée Whitney Alford. The track was also directed at ASAP Rocky, who collaborated with Future and Metro Boomin on the April 12 diss track "Show of Hands". Additionally, when Drake posted "Family Matters" on Instagram, he also dropped a short parody remix of "Buried Alive Interlude".

20 minutes later, Lamar released another diss track aimed at Drake, titled "Meet the Grahams". On the track, Lamar speaks directly to members of Drake's family, telling his son Adonis that he is sorry that his father is Drake. Lamar alleges that Drake is hiding a second child (a daughter), that he is sexually attracted to minors, and that he is running a sex trafficking ring out of his mansion. Lamar also dissed Drake's OVO label affiliates — saying they are sex offenders harbored by Drake — and security guard. He claimed that Drake's mansion "is bout' to get raided too", referring to the recent federal raids on Sean Combs' mansion as part of an unrelated investigation.

Lamar revealing an alleged second child came in the context of Pusha T's 2018 diss track "The Story of Adidon", in which Pusha T publicly revealed that Drake was hiding a son named Adonis. Drake responded to Lamar on Instagram: "Nahhhh hold on can someone find my hidden daughter pls and send her to me…these guys are in shambles", followed by multiple laughing emojis. Charles Holmes of The Ringer wrote that with "Family Matters" and "Meet the Grahams", "the Doomsday Machine has been activated", and the feud was no longer inconsequential.

"Not Like Us" and "The Heart Part 6"

Main articles: Not Like Us (song) and The Heart Part 6

On May 4, 2024, Kendrick Lamar released "Not Like Us". In the track, Lamar more explicitly refers to Drake and members of his inner circle as pedophiles, saying: "Say, Drake, I hear you like ‘em young / You better not ever go to cell block one". He alleges Drake has been dependent on Atlanta rappers for his continued success, comparing him to a white colonizer. He also says that using an A.I. version of Tupac's voice would bring him disrespect in the Bay Area: "I think that Oakland show gon' be your last stop, nigga". He also hinted at having made many future diss tracks. The cover art for the track was a Google Maps image of Drake's mansion labeled with pins representing sexual predators.

On May 5, 2024, Drake released "The Heart Part 6". The title references Lamar's "The Heart" series, picking up after Lamar's critically acclaimed "The Heart Part 5". In the track, Drake denies the pedophile and grooming allegations made against him. He claims Lamar's accusations were based off his own trauma stemming from abuse. The Aretha Franklin song "Proof" is sampled, and uses Franklin's lines "Now let me see you prove it / Just let me see you prove it". Drake says: "Only fuckin' with Whitneys, not Millie Bobby Browns, I'd never look twice at no teenager", referring to Drake's friendship with actress Millie Bobbie Brown that started when she was 14, and led to accusations on social media that Drake was grooming her.

Drake also alleged that his inner circle fed Lamar false information about having an 11 year old daughter, which Lamar referenced in "Meet the Grahams". He also continued claiming there were cases of domestic violence in Lamar's relationship with Alford, and claimed that Lamar had not seen his children in 6 months. Writing on social media afterwards, Drake predicted Lamar would respond shortly, saying "And we know you're dropping 6 mins after so instead of posting my address you have a lot to address."

Commentary

Celebrity reactions

Lamar has since been supported by Future, Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Rick Ross, Megan Thee Stallion, and Kanye West.

Drake has been supported by Uma Thurman.

Analysis

According to an article from The Ringer, the feud has been considered the "last great rap beef", with Holmes asserting that "[I]n terms of size, scale, and capital, we're witnessing the last rap beef of this magnitude."

Among other beefs in 2024, the feud has also been regarded as an example of social media's influence in shifting the nature of rap beefs. In an NBC News article, Howard University professor Tia Tyree compared the past release of diss tracks on radio and CD to the instantaneous nature of releasing it on social media. The prevalence of Stan culture was also noted as a factor in the feud. Holmes noted that unlike Drake's leverage of meme culture in his feud against Meek Mill, he was at a disadvantage compared to Kendrick's less accessible nature on the internet.

Both artists received criticism for their use of women and family members in their respective diss tracks.

Full song chronology

List of songs involved in the feud in chronological order

Date	Artist	Song title	Album	Content summary
November 15, 2011	Drake featuring Kendrick Lamar	"Buried Alive Interlude"	Take Care	The first collaboration between Drake and Lamar. This song was entirely performed by the latter.
October 24, 2012	ASAP Rocky featuring Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar	"Fuckin' Problems"	Long. Live. ASAP	Originally meant for Nothing Was the Same and later Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, it was later given to ASAP Rocky.
January 15, 2013	Kendrick Lamar featuring Drake	"Poetic Justice"	Good Kid, M.A.A.D City	The final collaboration between the two before their feud began with the release of "Control".
August 14, 2013	Big Sean featuring Kendrick Lamar & Jay Electronica	"Control"	N/A (intended for Hall of Fame)	Lamar names Drake among peers, signaling his intent to dominate lyrically.
October 29, 2013	Drake	"The Language"	Nothing Was the Same	Seen by many as Drake's response to Lamar's "Control" verse, where he rejects the sentiments displayed in that song.
December 17, 2013	Future featuring Juicy J & Drake	"Sh!t (Remix)"	N/A	Drake dismisses Lamar's "Control" verse for a challenge.
October 29, 2014	Jay Rock featuring Kendrick Lamar	"Pay for It"	N/A (intended for 90059)	Lamar's response to Drake's "The Language" verse, where Lamar dismisses Drake's rhymes.
February 13, 2015	Drake	"Energy"	If You're Reading This It's Too Late	Drake addresses his various rivalries and feuds.
	Drake featuring Lil Wayne	"Used To"		Drake recalls the conversation between himself and Lamar at the 2013 VMAs. Drake felt like Lamar was being disingenuous behind his "Control" verse.
	Drake	"6PM in New York"		Drake states he is ready for Lamar should he diss him.
March 24, 2015	Kendrick Lamar	"King Kunta"	To Pimp a Butterfly	Lamar pokes fun at Drake's ghostwriter allegations.
June 23, 2015	The Game featuring Drake	"100"	The Documentary 2	Drake states he would have Lamar's fans if he was still doing conscious hip hop.
August 7, 2015	Dr. Dre featuring featuring King Mez, Marsha Ambrosius & Kendrick Lamar	"Darkside/Gone"	Compton	Lamar mentions Drake constantly subliminally dissing him.
	Dr. Dre featuring Kendrick Lamar, Justus, & Anderson .Paak	"Deep Water"		Lamar flips Drake's aquarium imaginary from "Sh!t (Remix)".
March 4, 2016	Kendrick Lamar	"Untitled 07 – 2014–2016"	Untitled Unmastered	Lamar baits Drake to diss him.
June 3, 2016	DJ Khaled featuring Drake	"For Free"	Major Key	Drake pays homage to Lamar's song "For Free? (Interlude)".
March 18, 2017	Drake	"Gyalchester"	More Life	Drake ranks himself a top-two rapper while saying he is not two, while dismissing Lamar altogether as the number one rapper.
March 24, 2017	Kendrick Lamar	"The Heart Part  4"	N/A (promotional song for Damn)	Lamar calls out both Big Sean and Drake for subliminal disses.
April 14, 2017		"Element"	Damn	Lamar asserts himself as the dominant rapper in hip hop while calling out Big Sean, Drake, and Jay Electronica for their cowardly behavior.
		"God"		Seen by many as Lamar's attempt to make fun of Drake by copying his cadence and flow.
May 23, 2017	Future featuring Kendrick Lamar	"Mask Off (Remix)"	Future	Lamar again calls out Drake and Big Sean for subliminally dissing him instead of directly going after him. He also reacts to Drake's verse about him on "100".
June 29, 2018	Drake	"Sandra's Rose"	Scorpion	Drake makes references to Lamar's song "Mortal Man".
May 13, 2022	Kendrick Lamar featuring Sampha	"Father Time"	Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers	Lamar reacts to Drake and Kanye West ending their feud, which confuses him and makes him realize he has "some healing to do".
October 31, 2023	Drake featuring J. Cole	"First Person Shooter"	For All the Dogs	Cole ranks Lamar, Drake, and himself as "The Big 3" of hip hop, prompting Lamar's response.
March 26, 2024	Future, Metro Boomin & Kendrick Lamar	"Like That"	We Don't Trust You	Lamar rejects the "Big 3" label with Cole and Drake, claiming his superiority.
April 15, 2024	Rick Ross	"Champagne Moments"	N/A
April 19, 2024	Drake	"Push Ups"	N/A	Drake asserts his resilience and dominance in the industry, rejecting Lamar's claimed artistic authenticity.
		"Taylor Made Freestyle"		Drake uses AI timbre manipulation to imitate Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg to goad Lamar into a response; later removed under threat of legal action by Shakur's estate.
April 30, 2024	Kendrick Lamar	"Euphoria"		Lamar attacks Drake's authenticity and personal image.
May 3, 2024		"6:16 in LA"		Lamar continues to challenge Drake's character and contributions to hip hop and suggests that there are "moles" within OVO Sound on Drake's own team.
	Drake	"Family Matters"		Drake accuses Lamar of domestic violence towards his fiancée and alleges that his child was fathered by his general manager Dave Free.
		"Buried Alive Interlude, Pt. 2"		Additionally, when Drake posted "Family Matters" on Instagram, he also dropped a short parody remix of "Buried Alive Interlude" as a promo for "Family Matters".
	Kendrick Lamar	"Meet the Grahams"		Lamar, by speaking to each member of Drake's family, alleges that Drake has a secret daughter that he has abandoned and is a sexual predator.
May 4, 2024		"Not Like Us"		Further alleges that Drake is a pedophile and runs a sex trafficking ring with members of OVO Sound.
May 5, 2024	Drake	"The Heart Part 6"		Drake denies being a sexual predator, states that his alleged secret daughter was a fake story given to Lamar, and further accuses Lamar of abusing his fiancée.

See also

• 2024 in hip hop music
• East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry
• List of diss tracks