If you’ve been on social media recently, you’ve probably seen posts about the Kendrick Lamar and Drake diss tracks. Between Kendrick dropping back-to-back tracks, to Google Maps labeling Drake’s Toronto mansion as “Owned by Kendrick,” social media outlets have been consumed by the feud. However, if you’re unsure of what’s going on, here’s a breakdown of everything that’s happened thus far so you can decide for yourself who came out on top.
Last year, Drake and J. Cole dropped “First Person Shooter,” a single where the two lumped themselves with Kendrick Lamar, claiming they are “the big three.” Fast forward a year and on March 25, 2024, Future and Metro Boomin dropped “Like That,” a single off of their album WE DON’T TRUST YOU. Kendrick Lamar was featured in a fiery verse and clapped Drake and J. Cole, saying they aren’t the big three, it’s “just big me.”
On April 19, Drake then responded with his first diss track, “Push Ups,” and then later that day released “Taylor Made Freestyle.” The latter featured AI verses from Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg, but he was forced to remove it after Shakur’s estate threatened to sue him.
11 days later, Kendrick dropped “Euphoria,” a straight six-minute jab at Drake. The song featured the now social-media famous verse, “I hate the way that you walk / I hate the way that you talk / I hate the way that you dress / I hate the way you sneak a diss / if I catch a flight it’s gon’ be direct.”
Drake responded to this verse comically by posting the infamous clip of main character Kat Stratford (played by Julia Stiles) confessing her love in a sonnet-style poem to Patrick Verona (played by Heath Ledger) in the 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You. The poem included lines like “I hate the way you talk to me,” “I hate your big dumb combat boots,” and “I hate you so much it makes me sick, it even makes me rhyme.”
Then, in a surprise twist, Kendrick dropped “6:16 in LA” on Instagram just a few days later on May 3. The track was produced by Jack Antonoff, a close friend and longtime collaborator of Taylor Swift. The decision was considered to be a “chess move,” and was seemingly a response to Drake’s previous diss track “Taylor Made Freestyle.”
Later that night, Drake released “Family Matters,” where in an Instagram announcement, he wrote, “Stop trying to piece together what I know and go pick up the pieces of your broken home.” The seven-minute diss track accuses Kendrick of physically abusing his fiancée and living a life of infidelity.
About 37 minutes later, Kendrick had his jaw-dropping response: “Meet the Grahams.” He begins the track with “Dear Adonis / I’m sorry that that man is your father / let me be honest.” Fans were speechless. Throughout the song Kendrick moves through each of Drake’s family members from his son, Adonis, to his mother, Sandra. He claims that Drake is a deadbeat father and is hiding a secret daughter from the world. He goes further to say that he is a predator, an accusation that was followed up the next day when Kendrick dropped “Not Like Us.” He rapped in a comical way, at one point saying, “Say Drake, I hear you like ‘em young / You better not have to go to Cell Block One.”
Though fans seem to be split on who is winning, the scale seems to be leaning towards Kendrick. Instagram comments have described Drake’s diss tracks as “playground insults” whereas Kendrick’s were “full blown murder,” one user stating “Kendrick dug up his dead body just to put him in the grave again.”
The feud is ongoing and there is no end in sight. Though Kendrick seems to have plenty of built-up rage that will surely keep fans entertained for weeks to come, but in the meantime, his 3 tracks in 36 hours will surely suffice.
