Drake takes new shots at Kendrick Lamar on new song
Drake continues to release new music in blocks of three, as some new tracks by the Toronto rapper have recently surfaced. On one titled ‘Circadian Rhythm’, he doesn’t mention anybody by name, as the rapper persistently refers to “They” in his verses; however, considering the context, he appears to be taking shots at Kendrick Lamar once again.
His overall message during this sonic confrontation is that the beef doesn’t bother him. The song means that Drake is still up even when the rest of his competitors are down. He also says in the track that he hasn’t lost a step, which could reference Lamar’s most recent album, Mr Morale and the Big Steppers. The lines that seem to specifically take aim at the ‘Not Like Us’ rapper come later in the track, though.
“How many quotes I wrote? How much gold I struck? Ayy,” raps Drake during the second verse of the track, “How many funeral dates they plan for me, and I dodged it like the truck? Yeah.”
The funeral line seems to be a nod towards Kendrick Lamar and some of his actions following the conclusion of his beef with Drake. Specifically, Lamar’s Pop Out Show which took place on Juneteenth, which a lot of people dubbed a funeral for Drake. At the show, Lamar played to over 50,000 people, had a star-studded list of performers and attendees, and played his diss track, ‘Not Like Us’ five times. Drake’s rebuttal is simple yet effective: He’s still here.
The beef between the two biggest rap stars in the world has been the story of the year, and it has engrossed the entire hip-hop world. It could be that, after most people think Drake lost the battle, the Canadian rapper is looking to pick the fight back up.
The title of the song, ‘Circadian Rhythm’, is never mentioned in Drake’s track but is mentioned in Kendrick Lamar’s second diss, ‘6:16 In LA’. The Compton rapper used these specific words on his second outing at Drake as he exposed the Toronto rapper, saying he had a mole in his camp.
“I know this type of power is gon’ cost,” he said, “But I live in circadian rhythms of a shooting star.” While this might not be a direct reference, it’s safe to assume nothing is a coincidence. Both rappers aren’t artists who do things by accident, and given they were involved in the biggest hip-hop beef of all time, it’s safe to assume the aftershock of that beef will continue to ring throughout the rap game for some time.
The final link is that Drake subtitled ‘Circadian Rhythm’ as ‘The Language 2’. This leads us to believe that it follows on from his 2013 track ‘The Language’, which many believe to be Drake’s response to Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Control’ verse.