As many people are aware, rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake are in one of the hottest rap battles we’ve seen since people like Tupac and Biggie. There have been multiple diss tracks dropped, accusations made, and fans lost in the heat of it all. This beef goes back before the recent weeks, though, and this article is to act as a timeline so we know who said what and when.
Not many people know that this all started with J. Cole back in October 2023. Cole was featured on Drake’s eighth studio album, For All the Dogs, in the song titled “First Person Shooter.” It was here where Cole referred to himself, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar as “the big three” saying in the song, “Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me? We the big three like we started a league, but right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali Huh, yeah, yeah, huh-huh, yeah, Muhammad Ali.” This didn’t cause much controversy, showing that fans agreed with Cole for the most part. That was until Kendrick’s response to the bar.
“Like That,” a single released on March 22nd, by Future featuring Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar, was the match that lit the fire that is this rap beef. In Lamar’s verse, he references J.Cole’s bar from First Person Shooter, dismissing the notion that he is involved in any “big three,” saying, “It’s just big me,” letting audiences know that he thinks of himself as better than the two rappers and is in a league of his own.
Shortly after this, J. Cole released an album under the name “Might Delete Later”. Within this album, there is a song named “7 Minute Drill,” where Cole attacks Lamar’s discography. He talks about each one of Kendrick Lamar’s albums and his lack of production over the last few years. The surprise album opened many eyes to this rap beef. Shortly after, though, J. Cole publicly apologized to Kendrick Lamar at a live performance and deleted 7 Minute Drill from all streaming services.
On April 12, Drake released “Push Ups”. Where he went after not only Lamar, but also artists such as the Weeknd, Rick Ross, Metro Boomin, and even Cole himself. In this diss, Drake went into detail about how Lamar’s first #1 song was because of him, as he was a featured artist. He also came for Cole’s big three bar as well, stating that he doesn’t even see Lamar being in the big three.
Drake waiting for a response from Lamar released another diss track called “Taylor Made Freestyle,” on April 24th. This diss used AI to rap about Lamar in the voices of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg, who were two of Lamar’s public influences. Drake later removed the song after being threatened by Shakur’s estate to sue.
After fans waited for a response for what felt like an eternity, Kendrick Lamar dropped “Euphoria” on April 30th. This track is nearly 6 minutes long and Lamar wastes no time, going at Drake for his alleged ghostwriters, patterns of misogyny, and racial identity.
Without giving Drake a chance to respond, on May 3rd, Lamar released “6:16 in LA,” where he calls Drake a bully and creates speculation of a mole in OVO, Drake’s group. Lamar’s quickness to drop these disses opened the eyes of many fans to this rap beef
After some teasers on his social media platforms, Drake released “Family Matters”. In the song, Drake attacks Lamar’s family, accusing him of domestic violence and claiming that his wife was unloyal and unhappy with him. Many believe that Drake went too far when bringing Lamar’s family into the matter but fans were not disappointed with Kendrick’s comeback.
“Meet the Grahams,” released on May 4th, was the blow that won it all for Kendrick Lamar in a lot of fans’ eyes. Lamar was relentless on this track, accusing Drake of hiding a secret daughter, pedophilia, and much more shady business that happens behind closed doors. Lamar says, “Dear baby girl, I’m sorry that your father is not active in your world.” This was by far the most controversial part of this diss track, as Lamar is accusing Drake of having an 11-year-old daughter that he abandoned at birth.
Less than 24 hours later Lamar revealed that he was, in fact, not done. Lamar released “Not Like Us,” which was the cherry on top of everything else that had happened. On “Not Like Us,” Lamar redresses his claims from “Meet the Grahams ‘, saying that Drake “Likes’ em’ young”.
After fans awaited Drake’s response to these potentially career-ending allegations, Drake released “The Heart Part 6.” Drake goes on to deny the allegations and claim that his people sent Lamar misinformation about what he does in his spare time. Many fans, though, were upset calling this song a more defensive approach compared to the aggressive style of diss tracks they had grown accustomed to over the last couple of weeks of back and forth between the rappers.
Since then, things have lightened up but the debates still go on, who won? Was all the information about the two rappers real or fake? Fans are still left with questions and the conflicting opinions about who reigns victorious keep this topic up for debate.
