Over the past few days, rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar have rapidly hurled diss tracks at each other, starting a flame-war in not just the rap world, but the internet as a whole. Rappers, producers, and millions of fans have all flocked to the defense of either rapper in this cutthroat battle.
This exchange did not start without a cause, for the past few months tensions have been brewing between the two artists.
The altercation started with Drake’s October 2023 track “First-Person Shooter,” in which J Cole refers to himself, Drake, and Kendrick as the “big three” of rap. Kendrick took offense to the notion they were equals, responding in his feature on Future and Metro Boomin’s “We Don’t Trust You” with “…Motherf–k the Big Three, n—a, it’s just big me.”
Drake seemed to take the diss in stride, quoted days later at a Florida tour stop saying “…I got my f–king head up high, my back straight, I’m 10 f–king toes down in Florida or anywhere else I go, and I know that no matter what, there’s not a n—a on this earth that could ever f–k with me in my life.”
This peace would not last for long, as in mid-April, Drake released two back-to-back diss tracks toward Kendrick: “Push-ups” and “Taylor Made – Freestyle.” These tracks mocked many aspects of Kendrick Lamar, such as his stature and rumors of Kendrick’s violence towards his wife. Drake also harkens back to the previous “big three” controversy implying that Kendrick is a jealous person with the line from“Push-ups,” “I’m at the top of the mountain, so you tight now.”
Social media was left to ruminate on these tracks for a few days until Kendrick released his first response: “euphoria.” In the track, Kendrick Lamar unleashes 6 minutes of pure vitriol onto Drake, proclaiming “I’m the biggest hater. I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk.” He continues, “I hate the way that you dress. I hate the way that you sneak diss.”
From there, Kendrick would release another track “6:16 in LA,” seemingly attempting to set bait for a response from Drake. Only a few hours after the release of “6:16 in LA,” Drake responded with “FAMILY MATTERS,” a track specifically meant to dismantle Kendrick’s previous disses.
When Drake released “FAMILY MATTERS,” he fell for Kendrick’s bait, as just minutes after Drake dropped, Kendrick released what many consider to be a killing blow: “Meet the Grahams.” In this track, Kendrick addresses Drake’s son, parents, and wife, apologizing to them about Drake’s supposed depravity and perversity. The lines in this track were considered so vile that many X users felt “utter horror” or even had to “turn the track off.”
In the most recent move of the rap-battle, Kendrick dropped a subsequent track “Not Like Us,” in which he pulls no punches. Following subdued hints about Drake’s behind-the-scenes sexual deviancy, Kendrick puts Drake on blast, referring to him as a “freak” and a “Certified Pedophile.”
As of the writing of this article, no other major plays have occurred in the rap battle, but Kendrick’s powerful double-tap on Drake’s reputation has set social media ablaze. With the accusations levied against Drake it is likely he will respond within the coming days.
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