Canadian superstar Drake and legendary Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar continued to trade blows over the weekend, releasing multiple scathing diss tracks that took shots at each other’s personal lives as the feud between them continues.
The war of words began in March after Kendrick targeted Drake and his tour partner J. Cole on the song “Like That” by Atlanta rapper Future and producer Metro Boomin from their collaborative album “We Don’t Trust You.”
Among the lines from the Compton MC’s incendiary guest verse were allusions to hip hop’s “Big Three” of Drake, J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar, who are three of the most successful rap artists of the 2010s.
Kendrick also took several bars from Drake and Cole’s collaboration “First Person Shooter,” which included a line about all three rappers, and used them to tell the duo that their legacies won’t outlive his.
Cole was the first to respond to Kendrick’s “Like That” verse, releasing a diss track towards him titled “7 Minute Drill” on April 5.
The song was removed from streaming services a week later after Cole publicly bowed out of the feud and apologized.
For his part, Drake first clapped back with “Push Ups,” a diss track that specifically targeted Lamar by poking fun at his shoe size, among other things. The song also called out Florida rapper Rick Ross, who began to dissociate from the Canadian star after Future and Metro Boomin’s joint album, which Ross appeared on, was released.
Ross jumped into the fray himself with his own diss track, titled “Champagne Moments,” the title of which alludes to Drake’s song “Champagne Poetry” and his Instagram handle @champagnepapi.
After “Push Ups,” Drake didn’t wait for Kendrick to respond, instead taking to Instagram to post “Taylor Made Freestyle," which featured AI-generated verses from Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur. Tupac’s estate later threatened to sue the Canadian rapper for illegally using his likeness, and Drake later took the track down.
It took just over a week-and-a-half for Kendrick to issue a response to Drake’s back-to-back disses; the Compton born MC released the nearly six-and-a-half minute diss track titled “euphoria” on April 30, which addressed the beef head on and cautioned him to watch some of the language he uses in his songs.
“I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk. I hate the way that you dress, I hate the way that you sneak diss, if I catch flight, it’s gon’ be direct,” Kendrick said on the track, playing on a 2012 radio interview on The Breakfast Club with the late rapper DMX, who boldly expressed his dislike for Drake.
Kendrick doubled down three days later with his next diss track “6:16 in LA,” the title of which may have alluded to Drake’s involvement as an executive producer on the TV series “Euphoria” (which, incidentally, premiered on June 16, 2019) or the date of Kendrick’s first show in Drake’s home city of Toronto, which took place on June 16, 2011.
The feud continued on Thursday when Drake responded yet again with “Family Matters,” refuting claims Kendrick made on his previous diss tracks while also talking about his infidelity, use of ghostwriters (which Drake has also been criticized for) and alleged abuse of his wife.
Just under an hour later, Kendrick uploaded “Meet the Grahams” to YouTube; the track sends a personal message to each member of Drake’s family (Drake’s birth name is Aubrey Drake Graham) and includes an allegation that Drake is hiding the fact that he has more children.
As of Sunday afternoon, Drake had not yet responded to “Meet the Grahams” and public opinion as to who is winning the beef remains mixed.