A Complete Track-by-Track Timeline of Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s Feud
As you might have heard, Drake and Kendrick Lamar are in the throes of an intense (and seemingly never-ending) rap battle. Though the two artists have long been at odds, this latest chapter ignited in March with the release of “Like That,” which quickly kicked off an incendiary back-and-forth that can be difficult to keep up with. Here, we break down the play-by-play of this beef by track — the most recent of which is Lamar’s brutal “Not Like Us.”
“Like That” by Future, Metro Boomin, and Kendrick Lamar (March 22, 2024)
The powder keg that set off this particular chapter of the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar beef was the song “Like That” from Future, Metro Boomin, and Lamar. On it, Lamar dismisses the notion that he’s in a “Big Three” with Drake and J. Cole, rapping, “It’s just big me.” He also compares himself and Drake to Prince and Michael Jackson, respectively, rapping, “Prince outlived Mike Jack.”
“Push Ups” by Drake (April 13, 2024)
After several weeks, Drake fired back by mysteriously leaking “Push Ups,” which featured the lyrics, “You ain’t in no Big Three, SZA got you wiped down, Travis got you wiped down, Savage got you wiped down / 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.” Drake also went after Lamar’s work on pop songs from the likes of Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift, as well as throwing a stray dig at Rick Ross with the lyric, “I might take your latest girl and cuff her like I’m Ricky / Can’t believe he jumpin’ in, this n**** turnin’ 50 / Every song that made it on the chart, he got from Drizzy.” Ross fired back just hours later with a diss track of his own accusing Drake of getting plastic surgery — but let’s try to stay on topic here.
“Taylor Made Freestyle” by Drake (April 19, 2024)
While waiting on Lamar’s response to “Push Ups,” Drake also put out the since-deleted track, “Taylor Made Freestyle,” on which he used the A.I.-generated voices of Lamar’s idols Tupac and Snoop Dogg to go after him — earning a cease and desist from Shakur’s estate. After those A.I. verses, Drake came in with his own voice to accuse the rapper of not responding to his original diss because he didn’t want to interfere with the release of Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department. “Now we gotta wait a fucking week cause Taylor Swift is your new top, and if you boutta drop, she gotta approve,” he rapped. Swift has of course not responded — having famously always wished to be excluded from the narrative when it comes to being name-checked in rap songs. While the song has since been taken down, Snoop Dogg’s reaction is thankfully still up.
“Euphoria” by Kendrick Lamar (April 30, 2024)
On “Euphoria,” which shares a title with the HBO series that Drake produces, Lamar eviscerates his rival with pure hatred, leaving no stone left unturned. The verses attack Drake’s parenting (“I got a son to raise, but I can see you know nothin’ ’bout that”), his rumored plastic surgery (“Didn’t tell ’em where you get your abs from”), and his rap abilities (“You not a rap artist, you a scam artist with the hopes of bеing accepted”). He also called out his use of A.I., and seemingly confused actor Haley Joel Osment and televangelist Joel Osteen in the process: “Am I battlin’ ghost or AI? N**** feelin’ like Joel Osteen / Funny, he was in a film called AI.”
“6:16 in LA” by Kendrick Lamar (May 3, 2024)
Making fun of Drake’s penchant for using times and locations in his song titles, “6:16 in LA” arrived just days after “Euphoria,” delivering on that track’s promise to go “back-to-back.” It also was notably produced by Jack Antonoff, which feels like an acknowledgement of Drake’s repeated Taylor Swift references. In the song, he claims to have operatives inside Drake’s label, rapping, “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” by Drake (May 3, 2024)
Drake responded with the nearly eight minute track “Family Matters,” which suggested that Lamar’s child was actually fathered by his manager Dave Free. He also honed in on Lamar’s relationship with his fiancée Whitney Alford, alleging infidelity and abuse with lyrics like, “You the Black messiah wifing up a mixed queen / And hit vanilla cream to help out with your self-esteem / On some Bobby shit, 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?”
“Meet the Grahams” by Kendrick Lamar (May 4, 2024)
Lamar didn’t give us much time to sit with Drake’s last diss, putting out “Meet the Grahams” just hours later — which continued the theme of going after each other’s families right from the top, by telling Drake’s son Adonis he’s sorry Drake is his father. Speaking of children, the track also alleges that Drake has a secret daughter, a claim Drake responded to via Instagram story, writing, “Nahhhh hold on can someone find my hidden daughter pls and send her to me…these guys are in shambles ????????????.” Lamar also circled back to his cosmetic procedure digs, rapping, “Get some discipline, don’t cut them corners like your daddy did / Fuck what Ozempic did / Don’t pay to play with them Brazilians, get a gym membership.”
“Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar (May 4, 2024)
Not even 24 hours after releasing “Meet the Grahams,” Lamar had more to say with the brutal “Not Like Us.” In it, he makes explosive accusations against Drake, with lyrics like, “Certified Lover Boy, certified pedophiles,” “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.” He also circles back to Drake’s use of A.I. to recreate Tupac’s voice on “Taylor Made Freestyle,” rapping, “You think the Bay gon’ let you disrespect Pac, n****? I think that Oakland show gon’ be your last stop, n****.”
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