There has been a bloody feud raging between two factions of hip-hop royalty in recent weeks. Few would have expected 2024 to herald such a change in the MO of the genre’s greatest powers, but for some reason, Kendrick Lamar and Drake have turned their sights on each other to start a battle of diss tracks. It has seen a fire ignite across the hip-hop world.
Drake is one of the biggest rappers in the world, with a penchant for slow rhythm and R’n’B beats. His releases have garnered some of the largest album sales the world has ever seen and made him a household name in the process. Smash hits, LPs, and songs have gilded Drake’s name in gold and made him one of the most prestigious rappers around. Few artists can challenge him. But, if there is one in today’s standings who can, then it might be Kendrick Lamar.
Kendrick Lamar may not quite have the populist sway of Drake, but he certainly holds the artistic high ground, delivering album after album of game-changing work. Thought of as a ‘conscious rapper’, Kendrick Lamar rarely drifts into the realm of pop music, instead preferring to align himself with jazz greats and free-thinkers. It would appear that he is the antithesis of Drake.
For this reason and a few more, the two men beefing over a ream of diss tracks have not only enthralled the hip-hop world but also reached society at large, becoming a pop culture phenomenon. However, if you’re a little worried about who started what and where to begin with the many songs being fired at the two artists, then find your answers below in chronological order.
Every song in the Kendrick Lamar v Drake beef:
‘Like That’ – Future, Metro Boomin, Kendrick Lamar
Things kicked off in a seemingly innocent fashion. Only taking a feature spot, but aligning himself with Metro Boomin – Drake’s former collaborator – Lamar lit the touch paper for the beef with a few simple lines.
Firstly, refusing to recognise both Drake and J Cole as part of what is known as hip-hop’s ‘big three’, denoting the trio of stars as the genre’s biggest pulls, Lamar rapped, “It’s big me”. He went one further by comparing himself to Prince and Drake to Michael Jackson, suggesting that he was the artistic draw and Drake was merely a pop star, “Prince outlived Mike Jack”.
‘Push Ups’ – Drake
Lamar’s first shots arrived at the end of march, but it would be nearly three weeks before Drake responded in kind, sharing ‘Push Ups’. It featured some of Drake’s fiercest lines, claiming that Lamar had already been cleared by artists like SZA, Travis Scott and 21 Savage, before continuing: “Like your label, boy, you in a scope right now, And you gon’ feel the aftermath of what I write down, I’m at the top of the mountain, so you tight now, Just to have this talk with yo’ ass, I had to hike down, Big difference between Mike then and Mike now.”
But the biggest punch came when he hinted at Kendrick Lamar’s dalliances with pop music, having worked with both Taylor Swift and Maroon 5: “I might take your latest girl and cuff her like I’m Ricky”. Things were heating up.
‘Taylor Made freestyle’ – Drake
He took three weeks to send out his first shot, but in a move that would come to define this battle, Drake released a second shot without retaliation. This time, he went for the jugular. Not only did he write a rap based on his Taylor Swift insult, but he also used AI versions of Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur to deliver the bars. Not only was this a swipe at Lamar’s pop credentials but also his perceived reputation as a Compton native.
“Now we gotta wait a fucking week cause Taylor Swift is your new top, and if you boutta drop, she gotta approve,” rapped Drake, claiming that Lamar didn’t respond to the diss because of Swift’s album release. Following a legal claim from Shakur’s estate, Drake was forced to take down the song.
‘Euphoria’ – Kendrick Lamar
Those waiting for Lamar’s response were not to be disappointed. Though it may have taken another three weeks, when Lamar did reply it came with the speed and dexterity of an archer with poison arrows. ‘Euphoria’ not only made reference to Drake’s involvement with the HBO series but also threw shade at his parenting, his rumoured plastic surgery and the fact that he writes with a ghostwriter.
“You not a rap artist, you a scam artist with the hopes of bеing accepted,” rapped Lamar, alongside some of his most brutal takedowns. However, the diss did contain one error, when Lamar mixed up the Haley Joel Osment for televangelist Joel Osteen rapping: “Am I battlin’ ghost or AI? N**** feelin’ like Joel Osteen / Funny, he was in a film called AI.” But the dye had been cast and this was not a beef that looked like ending any time soon.
‘6:16 in LA’ – Kendrick Lamar
Lamar went “back to back” as promised, and ‘6:16 in LA’ came with a production credit jibe right from the off as he hired Jack Antonoff — a Taylor Swift collaborator — to sit behind the desk on this one. The rap is naturally littered with insults and disses but perhaps the biggest reveal was that Lamar suggested he had people in Drake’s inner circle working for him.
It’s a devastating blow, that will likely shake the system: “Have you ever thought that OVO was working for me? / Fake bully, I hate bullies / You must be a terrible person / Everyone inside your team is whispering that you deserve it.”
‘Family Matters’ – Drake
Tracks were now flowing in by the day, and lengthy releases, too. Drake’s ‘Family Matters’ comes in at eight minutes long and, as you might have guessed from the title, comes with a whole heap of family issues.
Drake spends the entire track responding to Lamar’s ‘Euphoria’, both hitting back at his bad-parenting claims, suggesting that Lamar’s children are actually fathered by his manager Dave Free, before unloading on Lamar for his racially driven push where he told Drake he could no longer use the n-word. Drake responded by suggesting he was a domestic abuser: “You the Black messiah wifing up a mixed queen / And hit vanilla cream to help out with your self-esteem / On some Bobby sh*t, I wanna know what Whitney need” and “When you put your hands on your girl, is it self-defense ’cause she’s bigger than you?” Things were getting personal.
‘Meet the Grahams’ – Kendrick Lamar
It could be said that at this point, Drake had landed the biggest punch with ‘Family Matters’ but it wouldn’t be long before Lamar retaliated with his own swift combination, this time dropping two disses in one day. The first arrived hours after Drakes and ‘Meet The Grahams’ came with its own weight behind it. After apologising to Drake’s son for his father, he also alleges that he has a secret daughter, something Drake denied immediately: “These guys are in shambles”.
Lamar also doubled down on his claims that Drake is getting plastic surgery, rapping, “F*ck what Ozempic did / Don’t pay to play with them Brazilians, get a gym membership.” The rhymes were all delivered with Lamar’s natural cadence, hitting bar after bar with a furious speed that demands repeat listens.
‘Not Like Us’ – Kendrick Lamar
And time for repeat listens was never likely to be afforded as, under 24 hours after his latest diss, Lamar released another. On this track, Lamar kicked things up a notch, not only calling out Darke for the previously mentioned digression but also alleging he is a paedophile, rapping: “Certified Lover Boy, certified pedophiles,” before continuing: “Say, Drake, I hear you like ‘em young / You better not ever go to cell block one,” and “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A-minor.”
The final lines also gave the beef a violent edge, as Lamar made reference to Drake using Tupac Shakur’s voice in the AI diss, rapping: “You think the Bay gon’ let you disrespect Pac, n*gga? I think that Oakland show gon’ be your last stop, n*gga.”
‘The Heart Part 6’ – Drake
The latest offering from Drake sees him revert into denial mode, tearing down all of the allegations made by Kendrick Lamar. Firstly, he denies that he was ever a “rat” and that Lamar needs to provide proof before making such claims. He also dismisses the idea that he has slept with minors, rapping: “I never been with no one under age.”
The track sees Drake position himself as a mastermind, as he’s “dialled in” to the kind of rhymes Lamar will write about, labelling him “dumb and petty” as well as suggesting that his impatience to release disses has left him with his facts all wrong.
