This spring, the music industry saw what was arguably one of the most intense rap battles of the century. Chart-topping artists Kendrick Lamar and Drake went bar-for-bar, slinging insults and accusations at each other over the runtime of several diss tracks.
The bad blood between the two leading rappers began in 2013, when Lamar’s feature in artist Big Sean’s song, “Control,” diminished Drake and other industry names by Lamar implying his superiority. Later that month, Drake made light of the jab as an “ambitious thought.”
“That’s all it was,” Drake said to Billboard in an interview back in 2013. “I know good and well that [Lamar]’s not murdering me, at all, on any platform.”
Unfortunately for Drake, this statement did not age well. In March of 2024, Lamar took another crack at Drake in his verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s track, “Like That,” claiming to be a better rapper than Drake and artist J. Cole.
“M–f– the big three…it’s just big me,” Lamar said in his verse, referring to a past song, “First Person Shooter“ in which rapper J. Cole cited himself, Drake, and Lamar as “the big three” of contemporary rap artists.
This track sparked the fire that has scorched the rap industry for the past few months. Drake clapped back with his release of two more tracks, “Push Ups“ and “Taylor Made Freestyle“, that did nothing but anger Lamar further, prompting the Compton artist to release the first of six brutal tracks: “euphoria.”
“I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress,” Lamar rapped before commenting on Drake’s biracial identity. “How many more Black features til’ you finally feel you’re Black enough?”
Lamar doubled down on his claims with “6:16 in LA,” referencing, among many other things, Drake’s independently owned music label and implying that he had covertly infiltrated Drake’s team. Drake retaliated with “Family Matters,” accusing Lamar of domestic abuse and infidelity in his relationship with his previous wife, Whitney Alford.
“You the Black messiah wifing up a mixed queen,” Drake said, later mocking Lamar for his short stature. “When you put your hands on your girl, is it self-defense ’cause she’s bigger than you?”
It’s safe to say the intensity of this feud escalated after families were mentioned. Lamar, fuming, dropped “meet the grahams” not even an hour after Drake’s release, degrading nearly every aspect of Drake’s personal life. In the track, Lamar accuses him of being a pedophile and later claims that Drake has a secret daughter that the public does not know about.
“You lied about your son, you lied about your daughter, huh, you lied about them other kids that’s out there hoping that you come,” Lamar seethed.
Again on that same day, Lamar pressed Drake even further with “Not Like Us,” pushing the pedophile allegations to the forefront of the discussion.
“Say, Drake, I hear you like ‘em young/ You better not ever go to cell block one,” Lamar spits before delivering a blistering reference to Drake’s 2021 album, “Certified Lover Boy.” “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophile!”
This double-career-homicide had many listeners speechless – music fans sat on the edge of their seats, curious to see what the pair would do next. Early on the morning of May 5, Drake dropped “The Heart Part 6,” as an attempt to quash rumors of pedophilia and a hidden daughter.
“I never been with no one underage, but now I understand why that’s the angle that you mess with,” Drake said. “I’m way too famous for this s– you just suggested.” This release has been labeled by listeners as a “deny track” rather than a diss track, since Drake so quickly switched to defense.
It seems as though both rappers are nearing an end, but the Kendrick v. Drake debate remains a hot topic in conversation worldwide. This rap battle will go down in history as one of the most heated of this century– that much is certain.
