On March 26, Future and Metro Boomin released a song called “Like That,” with a feature from Kendrick Lamar, starting a sensationalized feud between some of the most profitable and well-known rappers in the modern era. For many, the feud has prompted fans to take sides behind either Drake or Lamar.
Lamar started the drama with multiple bars in “Like That,” stating that there is no “big three.” The reference was directed at Drake’s song with J. Cole called “First Person Shooter,” where Drake, Cole, and Lamar are referenced as the “big three” in the rap industry. Drake fired back on April 13 releasing “Push Ups (Drop and Give Me 50)” in which he disses Lamar’s height and his writing credits on pop artists. He then continued the feud by releasing “Taylor Made Freestyle” in which Drake disses Lamar on his connections to pop artists and furthering it by saying Lamar wouldn’t release his impending album to avoid battling Taylor Swift for billboard spots. It was later taken down due to Drake’s use of AI voices to taunt Lamar, one of which included Tupac Shakur.
In response to being asked who he believes won, Jack Armstrong said, “Kendrick definitely [won] because of the songs he’s made, and Drake’s comebacks aren’t too good.”
In response, Lamar did a double release with “euphoria” and “6:16 in LA,” which came out 72 hours later. These two songs showcased Lamar’s hatred of Drake, with the former containing multiple bars on how much Lamar hates Drake’s walk, his style of speaking and stating that he is Drake’s biggest hater.
Drake’s response to those two songs, “Family Matters,” was released on May 4. In the song, Drake accused Lamar of domestic abuse against his fiancée, Whitney Alford. 20 minutes later, Lamar shockingly “revealed” in his single “meet the grahams,” released May 3, where he directs a line toward Drake’s daughter saying, “Dear baby girl, I’m sorry that your father not active inside your world,”. Drake responded to the allegations by posting an Instagram story captioned, “Can someone find my hidden daughter pls and send her to me…these guys are in shambles,”.
Not everyone believes the allegations about Drake’s secret daughter. Gio Lee said, “[Drake’s] team gave Kendrick Lamar information and that’s why Kendrick dropped twice in a row because he had to cover up “meet the grahams” when he made all the false accusations and had to cover it up because it wasn’t true.”
Drake in “Family Matters” confronted Lamar for supposedly being physically abusive towards his fiancée of nine years, Whitney Alford. The accusation seemingly came out of nowhere with the rap artist having no previous offenses of domestic abuse or any accusations towards him. Lamar, unlike Drake, has not publicly denied the allegations.
While allegations on either side haven’t been proven, the infamous feud is certainly gaining online traction. On the Billboard Hot 100, “Not Like Us” is currently seated at No. 2, with “Family Matters” at No. 48. On May 3, “Kendrick Lamar” was the No. 1 Google search, with over one million searches.
“I don’t think anyone knows what’s actually going on, but I would say Kendrick has more hard evidence of things that Drake did compared to things that Kendrick did,” Zara Begic said. “[Lamar’s] songs were, honestly, better.”
Between Drake and Lamar, there have been no new releases since Drake’s “The Heart Part 6” on May 6, making it unclear if the feud has ended.
by OLIVIA BOYD AND MAIRYN OSECHECK
