Kendrick Lamar and Drake Getty Photos (2)
Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s feud has develop into one of the storied rap beefs in historical past, however their relationship wasn’t all the time so fraught with pressure.
Earlier than Lamar made his main label debut with 2012’s Good Child, M.A.A.D Metropolis, the Compton native and Drake had been on good phrases. Lamar made a visitor look on Drake’s 2011 album, Take Care, and later opened for the Canadian rapper on his 2012 Membership Paradise tour. That very same 12 months, the duo contributed visitor verses to ASAP Rocky’s “F—in’ Issues,” and Drake appeared on Lamar’s observe “Poetic Justice.”
Only one 12 months later, nevertheless, cracks of their skilled relationship began to point out because the pair started taking photographs at one another of their music, beginning with Lamar’s verse on Large Sean’s “Management.” Within the decade-plus since, the drama has solely escalated — and there’s no signal that these two ever plan on burying the hatchet.
Preserve scrolling for a whole timeline of Drake and Lamar’s feud:
August 14, 2013
The drama kicked off when Lamar took purpose at Drake — and each different common rapper of the period — in his verse on Large Sean’s “Management” with Jay Electronica. “I’m often homeboys with the identical n—-s I’m rhymin’ with / However that is hip-hop, and them n—-s ought to know what time it’s / And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Large Okay.R.I.T., Wale / Pusha T, Meek Millz, ASAP Rocky, Drake / Large Sean, Jay Electron’, Tyler, Mac Miller / I received love for you all, however I’m tryna homicide you n—-s / Tryna ensure your core followers by no means heard of you n—-s / They don’t wanna hear not yet another noun or verb from you n—-s.”
Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s rap feud is so heated that it could burn the hip-hop world to the bottom. Lamar, 36, and Drake, 37, have been waging lyrical battle with more and more private diss tracks launched during the last a number of days. Drake’s “Household Issues” track accused Lamar of being a “make-believe” activist, claimed Lamar received bodily […]
On the time, Drake stated he was unbothered by the track, telling Billboard he “received dinner and saved it transferring” after listening to the observe. “I didn’t actually have something to say about it,” he added. “It simply appeared like an bold thought to me. That’s all it was. I do know good and nicely that Kendrick’s not murdering me, in any respect, in any platform. So when that day presents itself, I suppose we are able to revisit the subject.”
September 24, 2013
Drake launched his third studio album, Nothing Was the Identical, which included a observe known as “The Language” that some followers believed was a response to Lamar’s “Management” boasts. “I don’t know why they been lyin’ however your s— is just not that inspirin’ / Checking account assertion simply appear to be I’m prepared for early retirement,” Drake rapped on the primary verse. “F— any n—- that’s speaking that shit simply to get a response.”
October 15, 2013
Kendrick Lamar Arnold Jerocki/Getty Photos
In the course of the BET Hip Hop Awards, Lamar seemingly snuck in a dig at Drake throughout his freestyle efficiency with the TDE cypher, rapping, “Yeah, and nothing been the identical since they dropped ‘Management’ / And tucked a delicate rapper again in his pajama garments.”
December 17, 2013
Drake hopped on a remix of Future’s observe “S—” with Juicy J and hit again at Lamar, rapping, “I hear you discuss your metropolis such as you run that.” He additionally referenced Lamar mentioning him on “Management” with the strains, “And if a n—- say my identify, he the recent s— / But when I say the n—- identify, he nonetheless the recent s— / F—ed up, fortunate I don’t feed into the gossip.”
Days later, Vibe printed a canopy story that includes Drake, during which he claimed that “The Language” was not a direct rebuttal to “Management.”
“I don’t ever wish to get into responses,” he stated when requested immediately whether or not the observe was a response to Lamar. “‘The Language’ is simply vitality. What it was impressed by, I’m positive that, and different issues. It’s simply me speaking my s—. I by no means as soon as felt the necessity to answer that report. The sentiment he was placing forth is what he ought to have. After all you wanna be one of the best. The place it turned a difficulty is that I used to be rolling out an album whereas that verse was nonetheless effervescent, so my album rollout turned about this factor. What am I speculated to say? ‘Nah, we’ll be buddy-buddy?’ Thoughts you, I by no means as soon as stated he’s a nasty man [or] I don’t like him. I feel he’s a f—ing genius in his personal proper, however I additionally stood my floor as I ought to.”
The meat between Drake and Kendrick Lamar has many individuals, together with some A-list stars, speaking about hip-hop. The conflict between the 2 rappers got here to a head when Metro Boomin teamed with Future — who’s labored ceaselessly with Drake prior to now — for We Don’t Belief You and We Nonetheless Don’t Belief You, […]
Drake famous that he hadn’t seen Lamar for the reason that BET Hip Hop Awards, however he thought issues could be high-quality between them. “I’ve no unwell emotions towards that man,” he stated. “It’s similar to, it’s there for me if I wanna fall for it. I’m simply too sensible for that. … We haven’t seen one another [since the BET cypher], however I’m positive we’ll see one another and it’ll be cool. And if it’s not, then I suppose that’s how our story unfolds.”
March 15, 2015
Lamar launched his third studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly, that includes the track “King Kunta.” One line specifically — “I can dig rapping, however a rapper with a ghost author? What the f— occurred?” — left followers questioning whether or not Lamar was acknowledging rumors that Drake doesn’t write his personal raps. (Lamar has by no means confirmed who that quip was about.)
June 26, 2015
Drake BG027/Bauer-Griffin/GC Photos
The duo’s extra delicate beef continued throughout Drake’s visitor look on The Sport’s “100,” during which he seemingly took a shot at Lamar’s fame for socially acutely aware lyrics. “I’d have your entire followers / If I didn’t go pop and I stayed on some acutely aware s—,” Drake boasted.
October 6, 2023
Whereas the pair traded a number of extra delicate barbs after “King Kunta” and “100,” their feud didn’t actually kick off once more till 2023 when Drake launched his album For All of the Canines. On the observe “First Individual Shooter,” J. Cole delivered the strains that seemingly impressed all of the back-and-forth that was but to return: “Love once they argue the toughest MC / Is it Okay.Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me? / We the massive three like we began a league, however proper now, I really feel like Muhammad Ali.” (Okay.Dot refers to Lamar’s authentic stage identify, whereas Aubrey is Drake’s given first identify.)
Drake, in the meantime, described himself as “huge because the Tremendous Bowl” — a reference he’d arguably come to remorse in a while.
March 22, 2024
5 months later, Lamar responded to Cole’s “huge three” strains on “Like That,” which appeared on Future and Metro Boomin’s album We Don’t Belief You. “Motherf— the massive three, n—-, it’s simply huge me,” he rapped.
In the event you’re confused by Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s feud, look no additional than Dua Lipa for all of the intel. The pop star, 28, tried to clarify the rappers’ unhealthy blood whereas internet hosting Saturday Evening Reside on Saturday, Could 4, in a skit titled “Good Morning Greenville.” (Dua was additionally the episode’s musical visitor.) Within the […]
Two days later, Drake seemingly responded to the dig on stage, telling a Florida crowd, “Lots of people ask me how I’m feeling. … I received my f—ing head up excessive, my again straight, I’m 10 f—ing toes down in Florida and wherever else I am going. And I do know that it doesn’t matter what, it’s not a n—- on this Earth that might ever f— with me in my life!”
April 5, 2024
Cole launched a Lamar diss observe known as “7 Minute Drill” on the mixtape May Delete Later, that includes pointed lyrics like, “Your first s— was basic, your final s— was tragic.” Two days later, nevertheless, he issued a public apology, saying he “felt horrible” in regards to the track, which he later faraway from streaming providers.
April 12, 2024
Future and Metro launched their collaborative album We Nonetheless Don’t Belief You, which included visitor appearances from ASAP Rocky and The Weeknd, each of whom followers believed insulted Drake on their respective tracks. On “Present of Fingers,” ASAP appeared to take photographs at For All of the Canines not making a lot of a cultural affect, whereas The Weeknd appeared to specific reduction that he hadn’t signed with Drake’s label, OVO Sound.
April 13, 2024
Drake Prince Williams/Wireimage
The diss observe battle started in earnest with the leak of Drake’s “Push Ups,” which mocked Lamar’s peak and known as him a “pipsqueak.”
April 19, 2024
Days later, Drake adopted up with “Taylor Made Freestyle,” which took purpose at Lamar’s connection to Taylor Swift (the pair collaborated on the “Unhealthy Blood” remix in 2015). The track ended up making headlines for a distinct motive, nevertheless: It integrated an AI-generated pattern of Tupac Shakur. Shakur’s property despatched Drake a cease-and-desist over using the pattern, and Drake eliminated the observe from streaming providers.
April 30, 2024
Lamar hit again with “Euphoria” — the primary of a number of diss tracks — as a nod to the HBO drama of the identical identify (which Drake government produces). The six-minute track noticed Lamar hurling insults like, “I hate the best way that you simply stroll, the best way that you simply speak, I hate the best way that you simply gown / Stunned you wished that characteristic request / You realize that we received some shit to handle / I even hate whenever you say the phrase ‘n—-,’ however that’s simply me, I suppose / Some s— simply cringeworthy, it ain’t even gotta be deep, I suppose.”
Could 3, 2024
Days later, the pair had been at it once more, with Lamar dropping “6:16 in LA” and Drake releasing “Household Issues” in response. Lamar’s track claimed that there was a mole inside OVO sharing filth on Drake, whereas Drake accused Lamar of dishonest on his spouse, Whitney Alford.
Could 4, 2024
Lamar dropped two extra songs that almost all commentators agreed successfully ended the battle: “Meet the Grahams” and “Not Like Us.” Within the former observe, Lamar alleged that Drake has a secret daughter he’s by no means publicly acknowledged, and within the latter he famously accused him of pedophilia.
Could 5, 2024
Drake denied the allegations in “Meet the Grahams” and “Not Like Us” with “The Coronary heart Half 6,” the title of which is a play on Lamar’s personal “The Coronary heart” collection. In a single verse, Drake claimed that he baited Lamar into receiving faux intel in regards to the alleged secret daughter, rapping: “We plotted for every week after which we fed you the knowledge / A daughter that’s 11 years previous, I guess he takes it / We thought of giving a faux identify or a vacation spot / However you so thirsty, you not involved with investigation.”
Metro Boomin, in the meantime, launched the immediately viral “BBL Drizzy” pattern and supplied a prize to the one who delivered one of the best rap over the beat. (The track’s title and hook is a reference to Rick Ross’ joking that Drake had a Brazilian butt carry.)
In an unexpected flip of occasions, J. Cole has had a change of coronary heart about his latest Kendrick Lamar diss observe. Movies posted to social media that confirmed Cole, 39, addressing the crown throughout his set at Raleigh’s Dreamville Pageant on Sunday, April 7. Cole launched his newest album, May Delete Later, two days prior, […]
Could 24, 2024
Drake contributed a visitor verse on Sexxy Purple’s “U My Every part,” which integrated a pattern of “BBL Drizzy.”
June 19, 2024
At his Pop Out live performance on Juneteenth, Lamar carried out “Not Like Us” 5 consecutive occasions. Notable attendees included NBA stars LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and James Harden in addition to actors Ayo Edebiri and LaKeith Stanfield.
July 4, 2024
Lamar launched the “Not Like Us” music video, which features a scene that exhibits him beating up an owl puppet. (The emblem for Drake’s OVO model is an owl.)
September 8, 2024
Kendrick Lamar Taylor Hill/WireImage
The NFL introduced Lamar because the halftime present performer for Tremendous Bowl LIX, that means that he — not Drake — would formally be as “huge because the Tremendous Bowl.”
September 11, 2024
After a number of musicians criticized the NFL for not selecting Lil Wayne because the halftime headliner (the sport will happen in his hometown of New Orleans), Drake seemingly weighed in by sharing a number of photographs of Wayne through his Instagram Story.
October 1, 2024
Drake denied hypothesis that he despatched a cease-and-desist letter to Lamar about performing “Not Like Us” on the halftime present. “The rumors are fully false,” a rep for the rapper advised Us on the time.
November 22, 2024
Lamar shocked followers with the discharge of his sixth studio album, GNX, which options manufacturing by longtime Swift pal and collaborator Jack Antonoff. On the opening observe “Wacced Out Murals,” he addressed the controversy surrounding his halftime present gig and hinted that he and Drake won’t ever kiss and make up: “I by no means peaced it up, that s— don’t sit nicely with me / Earlier than I take a truce, I’ll take ’em to hell with me.”
November 25, 2024
Drake Prince Williams/Wireimage
In a authorized grievance, Drake alleged that Lamar’s report label, Common Music Group (which can be his personal report label), conspired to “artificially inflate” the recognition of “Not Like Us.” The submitting listed a number of strategies UMG allegedly used to popularize “Not Like Us,” together with hiring bots, paying influencers to spice up the track and charging Spotify lowered licensing charges in trade for recommending the track to customers trying to find “unrelated songs and artists.” The doc additionally accused UMG of paying Apple to have Siri “purposely misdirect” customers to Lamar’s observe.
UMG vehemently denied Drake’s claims in a press release, telling Billboard: “The suggestion that UMG would do something to undermine any of its artists is offensive and unfaithful. We make use of the best moral practices in our advertising and promotional campaigns. No quantity of contrived and absurd authorized arguments on this pre-action submission can masks the truth that followers select the music they wish to hear.”
There’s clearly beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, however after Lamar’s latest diss observe, will there be “unhealthy blood” between Drake and Taylor Swift? Lamar, 36, shocked followers on Friday, Could 3, by releasing “6:16 in LA.” This second diss observe got here mere days after he shared “Euphoria,” his long-awaited response to Drake’s “Push Ups” […]
November 26, 2024
Drake filed a second movement in opposition to UMG in Texas, accusing the label of allegedly utilizing payola to advertise “Not Like Us” with iHeartRadio. He additionally accused UMG of defamation, claiming they may have prevented the track’s launch due to its lyrics “falsely accusing him of being a intercourse offender.”
December 20, 2024
Spotify weighed in on the authorized motions filed in opposition to UMG, denying Drake’s claims that the streaming platform was concerned in falsely inflating the streaming numbers of “Not Like Us.”
“Spotify and UMG have by no means had any such association,” the corporate stated in a court docket submitting, noting that they’d additionally discovered no proof to help claims of an alleged bot assault.
In response, Drake’s authorized crew stated in a press release, “It’s not stunning that Spotify is making an attempt to distance themselves from UMG’s allegedly manipulative practices to artificially inflate streaming numbers on behalf of considered one of its different artists. If Spotify and UMG don’t have anything to cover then they need to be completely high-quality complying with this primary discovery request.”
January 3, 2025
Drake kicked off the brand new 12 months with one other freestyle addressing his feud with Lamar. In “Preventing Irish” — which was shared through YouTube by producer Conductor Williams and shortly deleted — the Canadian rapper seemingly addressed associates (like LeBron James) who attended Lamar’s Pop Out live performance in June 2024. “The world fell in love with the gimmicks, even my brothers received tickets / Appeared like they cherished each minute,” he rapped. “Simply know this s— is private to us, and it wasn’t simply enterprise.”
The Grammy winner additionally hinted at his authorized dispute with UMG within the line, “I’d hate to see the empire crumble on choose’s convictions.”
January 14, 2025
Drake formally withdrew his authorized petition accusing UMG of artificially inflating the recognition of “Not Like Us” utilizing bots and different strategies of promotion, per Billboard. The rapper’s firm Frozen Moments LLC stated it will voluntarily withdraw the motion “with out prices to any celebration.”
A separate motion filed in Texas accusing UMG of defamation and payola stays pending.
January 15, 2025
In the future after withdrawing his authentic authorized petition, Drake filed a federal lawsuit accusing UMG of defamation and harassment, claiming that the label “selected company greed over the security and well-being of its artists.” In an 81-page grievance, Drake’s attorneys alleged that Lamar’s security impressed quite a few break-in makes an attempt at his Toronto house in addition to a taking pictures that left a safety guard injured.
UMG denied his allegations, telling Us in a press release: “Not solely are these claims unfaithful, however the notion that we’d search to hurt the fame of any artist — not to mention Drake — is illogical. We have now invested massively in his music and our staff world wide have labored tirelessly for a few years to assist him obtain historic business and private monetary success. All through his profession, Drake has deliberately and efficiently used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to interact in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to specific his emotions about different artists. He now seeks to weaponize the authorized course of to silence an artist’s artistic expression and to hunt damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music.”
The assertion continued: “We have now not and don’t interact in defamation — in opposition to any particular person. On the similar time, we are going to vigorously defend this litigation to guard our individuals and our fame, in addition to any artist who may immediately or not directly develop into a frivolous litigation goal for having completed nothing greater than write a track.”
February 9, 2025
After weeks of hypothesis about whether or not Lamar would really carry out “Not Like Us” on the Tremendous Bowl, he did — and introduced out Drake’s rumored ex Serena Williams throughout the track. As Lamar completed his halftime present set, the tennis icon danced on stage in a blue and white outfit. (Lamar and Williams are each natives of Compton, California.)
Drake and Williams had been romantically linked within the early 2010s. Whereas neither ever confirmed their relationship, Drake stated in 2024 that he wrote the track “Too Good” from his 2016 album, Views, about her. “It’s humorous as a result of once I make songs about ladies, I additionally make songs for them,” he defined in behind-the-scenes video footage. “If I’m gonna discuss them, I’ll a minimum of do them the justice of creating them a track that they like. So, I do know Serena very nicely and I do know that she’ll hear it loud and clear, however she’ll additionally not hate me for it as a result of it’s lighthearted.”
February 14, 2025
Drake seemingly made a number of references to his feud with Lamar on his and PartyNextDoor’s album $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, launched days after the Tremendous Bowl. The track “Gimme a Hug,” for instance, included strains like, “F— a rap beef, I’m tryna get the celebration lit” and “N—-s is hating the boy for positive, the ladies in love.”
On “Brian Metal,” Drake joked that he’s “vegan now” after an earlier line requested for “all the meat on the aspect.”
March 17, 2025
UMG filed to dismiss Drake’s lawsuit in opposition to them, claiming in court docket paperwork that the rapper solely sued as a result of he “misplaced a rap battle that he provoked and during which he willingly participated.”
The submitting continued, “As an alternative of accepting the loss just like the unbothered rap artist he typically claims to be, he has sued his personal report label in a misguided try to salve his wounds. [Drake’s] Grievance is totally with out advantage and must be dismissed with prejudice.”
UMG went on to notice that Drake beforehand signed a petition criticizing “the pattern of prosecutors utilizing artists’ artistic expression in opposition to them” by decoding rap lyrics as reality. “Drake was proper then and is mistaken now,” they continued through the court docket submitting. “Grievance’s unjustified claims in opposition to UMG are not more than Drake’s try to avoid wasting face for his unsuccessful rap battle with Lamar.”
June 2, 2025
Pusha T, who beforehand engaged in his personal rap battle with Drake, claimed that Drake’s lawsuit negatively affected his personal relationship with report label Def Jam (whose father or mother firm is UMG). In an interview with GQ, Pusha claimed Def Jam tried to get him to change a Lamar visitor characteristic on the brand new Clipse album within the aftermath of the “Not Like Us” drama.
“They wished me to ask Kendrick to censor his verse, which in fact I used to be by no means doing,” he alleged. “After which they wished me to take the report off.”
Pusha refused to take away Lamar’s verse or the observe he seems on, and Def Jam determined to launch Clipse from their contract and dropped Pusha as a solo artist. The brand new Clipse album will now come out on Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label, Lamar verse included. Pusha, in the meantime, nonetheless has nothing good to say about Drake.
“I don’t price him no extra,” he advised GQ. “The suing factor is larger than some rap s***. I simply don’t price you. Rattling, it’s prefer it simply form of cheapens the artwork of it as soon as we gotta have actual questions on suing and litigation. Like, what? For this?”
July 5, 2025
Drake mirrored on the aftermath of his 2024 feud with Lamar on the observe “What Did I Miss?” Within the track, Drake took photographs at each Lamar himself and different associates and colleagues who seemingly sided with Lamar over Drake. “I don’t give a f*** for those who love me, I don’t give a f*** for those who like me / Askin’ me, ‘How did it really feel?’ Can’t say it didn’t shock me,” he started. Later within the track, he rapped, “It’s love for my brothers and loss of life to a traitor, let’s go / She may determine to say no to me now, however say yеs to me later, let’s go.”
The observe additionally referenced Lamar’s Pop Out live performance the place he performed “Not Like Us” 5 occasions in a row within the line, “I noticed bro went to Pop Out with them, however been d***-riding gang since ‘Headlines.’” It was not clear who the road was referring to, however some followers speculated that it was about LeBron James.
July 2025
The most important feud in hip-hop was revived as soon as once more throughout Drake’s headlining set on the Wi-fi Pageant in London on July 12. Fans captured footage of Drake seemingly acknowledging anti-Lamar chants from the gang throughout his efficiency.
When followers began chanting “F*** Kendrick” throughout a break between songs, Drake cracked a smile and requested for a drink to toast to his followers’ boisterous help.
“Seize me a shot,” Drake requested, including: “I’ll drink to that!”
Moments earlier, Drake challenged any “artist” to return up on stage to face him in the event that they thought they may prime his pageant efficiency.
“You identify one other artist who can do it, and we are able to deliver them up right here. We are able to conflict proper now. No one [can],” Drake stated. “That’s what I’m right here for. I’m right here for ya’all tonight!”