Drake–Kendrick Lamar feud
Template:Drake series The Drake–Kendrick Lamar feud is an ongoing conflict between American rapper Kendrick Lamar and Canadian rapper Drake. Before the dispute, Lamar and Drake were on decent and friendly terms. Their first collaboration was on the song "Buried Alive Interlude" from Drake's 2011 album Take Care. Lamar first took a shot at Drake on the 2013 song "Control" by Big Sean. 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 music.
The conflict escalated in March 2024 when Lamar rejected Cole's proposal on the song "Like That". Cole then responded to Lamar on the diss track "7 Minute Drill” which he deleted after apologizing on stage. Drake then released the songs "Push Ups" and "Taylor Made" in April, with the latter containing AI vocals from rappers Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg. "Taylor Made" was deleted from social media after Shakur's estate disapproved of the song and threatened Drake with legal action. Lamar released the song "Euphoria" as a response to Drake.
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.[1] 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 2013, Drake featured on Lamar's hit single "Poetic Justice".[2]
On August 14, 2013, Lamar took shots at Drake and several other rappers on Big Sean's "Control".[3][4] 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".[5] 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".[6] 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".[7] These lines were popularly interpreted as further disses toward Drake, particularly because Lamar appears to reference Drake's 2013 studio album Nothing Was the Same.[8][7] Drake later addressed Lamar's cypher verse 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". Drake also praised Lamar as a "genius in his own right" and insisted there was "no real issue".[9]
2023–2024: Escalation
"First Person Shooter" and "Like That"
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".[10][11] The diss prompted Cole to release a response song, "7 Minute Drill", which was deleted shortly after an incident where Cole publicly apologized onstage for the diss track.[12] 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".[13]
"Push Ups" and "Taylor Made"
On April 19, 2024, Drake officially released "Push Ups" after early versions were leaked online. The song served as a response to Lamar's verse on "Like That". It also dissed several people for siding against Drake after Lamar's verse came out, including Metro Boomin, Future, Rick Ross, and The Weeknd.[14]
The same day as the official release of "Push Ups", Drake also released "Taylor Made", another diss targeted at Lamar. The song featured AI-generated vocals imitating the rappers Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg.[15] 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."[16] "Taylor Made" was subsequently taken down by Drake on April 26, 2024.[17][18]
"Euphoria" and "6:16 in LA"
On April 30, 2024, Lamar released a diss track named "Euphoria" in response to Drake.[19]
Lamar posted an Instagram reel captioned "6:16 in LA" on May 3, 2024, three days after "Euphoria", containing a new diss track,[20][21] similar to how Drake released "Taylor Made Freestyle". The title parodies Drake's "[timestamp] in [city]" songs, like "8AM in Charlotte". [22] Fans speculated that the cover references the murder trial of O.J. Simpson with a glove on the cover, alluding to the infamous 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.[23] On the same day, Drake released a response exclusively on YouTube called “Family Matters”, which is a response to “Euphoria” and “6:16 in LA”.[24] Just an hour after the release of "Family Matters", Lamar released another diss track aimed at Drake, "meet the grahams".[25]
"Family Matters" and "meet the grahams"
On the same day, Drake released a response called “Family Matters”, which is a response to “Euphoria” and “6:16 in LA”.[26] Just an hour after the release of "Family Matters", Lamar released another diss track aimed at Drake, "meet the grahams".[27]
References
- ^ Williams, Aaron (March 22, 2024). "Kendrick Lamar & Drake's Rap Beef: A Timeline Of Their Cold War, Which Just Started Sizzling Again". Uproxx. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ Lamarre, Carl (March 25, 2024). "Drake & Kendrick Lamar's Rocky Relationship Explained". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ "Kendrick Lamar's 'Control' Verse Reintroduced A Rap God". MTV. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ Ex, Kris (August 22, 2013). "The Blast Radius Of Kendrick Lamar's 'Control' Verse". NPR. Archived from the original on June 20, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ Ugwu, Reggie (August 30, 2013). "Drake's 'Nothing Was the Same': The Billboard Cover Story". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ VIBE (September 23, 2013). "Drake On Kendrick Lamar's 'Control' Verse: 'I Lost A Little Bit Of Respect For The Sentiment'". VIBE.com. Archived from the original on April 25, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ a b Renshaw, David (October 3, 2013). "Kendrick Lamar hits back at Drake in BET Awards cypher". NME. Archived from the original on May 1, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Ramirez, Erika (October 3, 2013). "Kendrick Lamar Subtly Disses Drake In 2013 BET Hip-Hop Awards Cypher". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Griffin, Marc (April 15, 2024). "Drake Vs. Everybody: A Timeline Of The Massive Feud". VIBE. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
- ^ Savage, Mark (April 5, 2024). "Kendrick Lamar's beef with Drake and J Cole explained". BBC News. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ Gee, Andre (March 25, 2024). "Drake Replies to Kendrick Lamar's 'Like That' Diss -- Sort Of". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
- ^ Holpuch, Amanda (April 8, 2024). "J. Cole Apologizes for Kendrick Lamar Diss Track". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ "Drake Replies to Kendrick Lamar's 'Like That' Diss -- Sort Of". Rolling Stone. March 25, 2024. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ Monroe, Jazz (April 19, 2024). "Drake Officially Releases His Kendrick Lamar Diss Response, "Push Ups"". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on April 25, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ Peters, Mitchell (April 20, 2024). "Drake Takes Aim at Kendrick Lamar With AI Tupac & Snoop Dogg Vocals on 'Taylor Made Freestyle' Diss Track". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ Donahue, Bill (April 24, 2024). "Tupac Shakur's Estate Threatens to Sue Drake Over Diss Track Featuring AI-Generated Tupac Voice". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Monroe, Jazz (April 26, 2024). "Drake Takes Down Kendrick Lamar Diss After Legal Threat From 2Pac Estate". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on April 27, 2024. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
- ^ Blistein, Jon (April 26, 2024). "Drake Removes 'Taylor Made Freestyle' After Lawsuit Threat Over AI Tupac". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 27, 2024. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
- ^ Peters, Mitchell (April 20, 2024). "Drake Takes Aim at Kendrick Lamar With AI Tupac & Snoop Dogg Vocals on "Taylor Made Freestyle" Diss Track". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
- ^ "Kendrick Lamar Drops Another Drake Diss: '6:16 In L.A.'". Hot97. May 3, 2024.
- ^ Derrick Rossignol (May 3, 2024). "Kendrick Lamar Didn't Wait For Drake To Answer And Came Back With Another Diss Track, '6:16 In LA'". Uproxx.
- ^ Cowen, Trace William (May 3, 2024). "Kendrick Lamar Drops Second Drake Diss "6:16 In LA": 'Can't Toosie Slide Up Outta This One'". Complex. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
- ^ Cummings-Grady, Mackenzie Cummings-GradyMackenzie (May 3, 2024). "Here Are the Hidden Meanings Behind Kendrick Lamar's '6:16 in LA'". XXL Mag. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
- ^ Castro, Danilo (May 4, 2024). "Drake Unleashes On Kendrick Lamar With "Family Matters" Diss". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
- ^ Nast, Condé (May 4, 2024). "Kendrick Lamar Wastes No Time to Answer Drake Diss With New Song "Meet the Grahams"". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
- ^ Castro, Danilo (May 4, 2024). "Drake Unleashes On Kendrick Lamar With "Family Matters" Diss". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
- ^ Nast, Condé (May 4, 2024). "Kendrick Lamar Wastes No Time to Answer Drake Diss With New Song "Meet the Grahams"". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 4, 2024.