Why does John Lennon’s son hate Drake?
It will always be difficult to follow in the footsteps of a father who’s considered one of the greatest musicians of all time. Case in point: Sean Ono Lennon, who’s the son of Beatles legend, John Lennon. Over the past year, Sean has been vocal about the beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, falling firmly on the side of K. Dot. Although there’s no rhyme or reason, it feels strange that Sean would have any public opinion whatsoever.
49-year-old Sean accepted the award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package at the 2025 Grammys for his art director role in the reissue of his father’s 1973 album, Mind Games. At the end of his speech, he took a moment to address the rap beef that’s dominating headlines. “And finally, you know, I’m getting older in my middle age, and I just wanted to give some advice to the young people out there,” he said. “Never get into a rap battle with Kendrick Lamar. Thank you.”
Kendrick won five Grammys that night for his Drizzy diss track ‘Not Like Us’ in the ‘Record of the Year’, ‘Song of the Year’, ‘Best Rap Song’, ‘Best Rap Performance’ and ‘Best Music Video’ categories. While this may have been the first time many witnessed Sean’s bashing of Drake, it was far from his first rodeo.
Sean was tuned into his battle with Kendrick at the height of their beef in May 2024, when they quickly exchanged diss tracks. Taking to social media at the time, he mentioned several bubbling hip-hop beefs while referencing Drake’s need for ghostwriters to have any chance of winning against Kendrick.
“Meanwhile in rap beef news: No matter what Chris Brown is like as a person you have to admit his diss track on Quavo was hard,” he wrote on X. “Kendrick’s diss track on Drake was so sophisticated Drake’s gonna need his entire team of writers to make a come back. Nicki Minaj still hasn’t recovered from Megan Thee Stallion’s line about Megan’s Law. I wish everyone well on all sides.”
He added, “As long as it stays musical and doesn’t get physical I love me some beef.” When someone criticised rap beefs, claiming Lionel Ritchie wouldn’t have insulted Stevie Wonder, he replied, “You should watch Tales from the Tour Bus. Think you’d be surprised.”
Sean later judged Drake for taking legal action against Universal Music Group after he accused them of boosting streams of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’. “Drake suing UMG is the biggest L in rap battle history,” he said about his pre-action filings.
Shortly before the Grammys, Sean also said, “Someone should check on Drake,” in another X post. When a follower asked what the latest update was in their beef, Sean replied, “Deafening silence,” while claiming Drake was in “spiritual jail.”
He also came to Jay-Z’s defence when someone said Jay-Z should be checked on, referencing his rape lawsuit. “Please do not even imply a comparison of Drake to Jay-Z,” he wrote. “They are not in the same stratosphere.” Despite misunderstanding the point of the message, one thing was clear: Drake doesn’t deserve to be put among the great rappers, according to Sean.
So, what does Sean Lennon have against Drake?
Sean is clearly a hip-hop fan based on his knowledge of Chris Brown, Quavo, Nicki Minaj, and Megan Thee Stallion. He could also just think Kendrick is a better lyricist than Drake in general. But his bold opinion could also be due to how Drake has disrespected The Beatles over the years.
In 2019, Drake got a controversial tattoo of The Beatles after beating various chart records set by the band. To mark the occasion, he got some ink inspired by the Abbey Road cover but instead included an image of himself waving goodbye to the group. The year before, he rapped, “I got more slaps than The Beatles,” on Meek Mill’s ‘Going Bad’.
All of this could contribute to Sean’s general perception of Drake. However, more recently, Lennon and McCartney received writing credits on Drake’s ‘Champagne Poetry’ for interpolating their 1965 song ‘Michelle’ from the Rubber Soul album.
Kendrick, on the other hand, has only had good things to say about The Beatles. He once put the Fab Four on a high pedestal while stating that he wanted his 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly to go down in history books. “I wanted this record to be talked about the same was Bob Dylan or The Beatles or Jimi Hendrix are talked about,” he told NME. “When my time has come, I want it to live longer than me, for the grandkids and their kids.”
It also happens that another Beatle, Paul McCartney, co-wrote a song with Kendrick years ago. Macca was elated when he looked at the credits of Kanye West’s ‘All Day’, which includes a re-recorded sample of ‘When the Wind Is Blowing’, to find out Kendrick was involved.
“Just the other day I happened to look at the writing credits and there’s about 50 people!” he told DIY Magazine. “There were only three of them I knew and one of them’s Kendrick Lamar! I’m thinking, ‘I’ve written a song with Kendrick Lamar?!’ I wish I’d met him! But that’s just the way they do it these days.”