The culminating tension of years of indirect slander erupted in a matter of weeks as rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake released a plethora of diss tracks aimed to humiliate and insult the opposing artist. American rapper Kendrick Lamar and Canadian rapper Drake escalated their rap feud starting in April and throughout May, demonstrating their lyrical capabilities in the form of defamation.
The rappers’ history began in 2011 with a collaboration on Lamar’s third album, but the relationship between the artists has gradually deteriorated as Drake indirectly insulted Lamar in various songs. In late March, Lamar featured on the song “Like That” by artists Future and Metro Boomin, where he disrespected Drake and his recent musical works. Lamar sparked the controversy with his aggressive verses and discrediting lyrics.
The direct insults by Lamar prompted Drake to respond with his own diss track, “Push Ups” on April 19. Drake’s contemptuous lyrics didn’t cut deep; he only insulted Lamar’s height, shoe size, previous albums and record label deals. While the song disrespected Lamar in many ways, it left no permanent mark.
Lamar released his diss track “euphoria” on April 30 in response to Drake’s “Push Ups”. The diss track was over six minutes and was dedicated to dissecting Drake’s fatherhood, false public persona, plastic surgeries and imitation of African American culture. Lamar wasted no time in revealing things Drake kept hidden from the public and exposing him for his falsehood.
“The ‘beef’ started with J.Cole’s song ‘First Person Shooter’, where him and Drake indirectly insulted [Lamar]. Drake’s diss ‘Push Ups’ was good, but it doesn’t compare to ‘euphoria’, which destroyed Drake’s reputation. [Lamar] used three different beats and accents in the same song and still managed to demolish Drake,” freshman Jan Dave Calimlim said.
Lamar followed up ‘euphoria’ with a second track, “6:16 in LA” which he released on May 3. The title serves as quintuple entendre with five meanings. June 16 was the birthday of deceased rapper Tupac, one of Lamar’s idols, whom Drake disrespected in a deleted track using artificial intelligence to imitate Tupac’s voice. As June 16 is fathers day in Canada, the song was another insult to Drake’s parenting abilities. Nicole Brown Simpson’s funeral was held on June 16, her murder case was made famous due to her husband, Orenthal James Simpson’s fame; Lamar refered to Drake as the victim and himself as the murderer. Furthermore, the structuring of the title is a play on Drake’s popular timestamp song series. Lastly, Drake was the executive producer of the Home Box Office show Euphoria, the title of Lamar’s last diss track, that premiered on June 16. In said song, Lamar made reference to the show’s sexualization of minors and how Drake condones such ideas.
Drake responded with his seven minute track “Family Matters” on May 3. Here, he made allegations toward Lamar, accusing him of being a domestic abuser and not the legitimate father of one of his children. Drake then insulted the legitimacy of Lamar’s activism advocating for the African-American community and even discredited Lamar’s derogatory allegations made in his diss tracks, claiming they lack adequate evidence.
“‘Family Matters’ is the best song to come out of the conflict. I can tell Drake took this song very seriously with its improved lyrics and varying beats. The song disrespects [Lamar] in every way, calling out the alleged separation between him and his wife. Even more disrespectfully, the music video for Family Matters shows Drake taking Kendrick’s old van to the scrapyard and destroying it,” freshman Jossnell Ochoa said.
Less than an hour later, Lamar responded with “meet the grahams,” a play on Drake’s real name, Aubrey Graham. The track “meet the grahams” delivered a sinister chord progression that created a somber melody, only intensified by Lamar’s soft delivery and methodical lyrics. Lamar spoke about Drake’s son, Adonis Graham, who was revealed to the public after a previous rap feud with Pusha T, and accused Drake of hiding a daughter. Lamar deeply insulted the lack of fatherly characteristics found in Drake’s life and the terrible example he sets for his children. Lamar finalized the song emphasizing Drake’s lies: his religious views, his plastic surgeries, his accent, his ghostwriters, crew members, his son and daughter and the lies he has spread about Lamar.
Lamar put the final nail in Drake’s coffin with his final diss track, released May 4, “Not Like Us.” Drake’s already defamed public image was plunged into the depths of humiliation by the lyrics on “Not Like Us”. The track’s up-beat melody and catchy lyrics made the degradation of Drake’s dignity soulful and energetic. Lamar accused Drake of being one of the many pedophiles in the music industry, that he claims, use their fame and wealth to manipulate minors. Lamar further regarded Drake as a counterfeit artist and extortionist of the African-American community.
Drake’s final response, “The Heart Part 6,” released on May 5, attempted to disprove the allegations made towards him. The title is a play on Lamar’s “The Heart Part” series, as Lamar’s last rendition was “The Heart Part 5.” Drake’s lyricism accumulated to a desperate attempt to clear his name; he referenced past allegations and claimed to provide Lamar fake information about his alleged daughter. Drake doubled down on previous insults and further accentuated the accusations that Dave Free, a member of Lamar’s label, is the father of one of Lamar’s children. Drake further accused Lamar of starting the rap feud to bring attention to his rumored upcoming album.
“I think Drake won the rap beef because Drake said all the information that [Lamar] was using was fake. His best lyrics were in The Heart Part 6 where he revealed [Lamar’s] marriage situation and claimed that he was beating his wife,” freshman Erick Del Valle said.
Through four diss tracks, Lamar has revealed secrets about Drake that have changed public opinion about his validity and place in the music industry. As the tension between the rappers subsides, Lamar reigns as the supreme lyricist and artist. The feud has caused Drake to sell all his properties in the U.S. and permanently reside in Canada, only exaggerating his loss to Lamar and loss of respect from the American rap community.
“[Lamar] won the rap beef with the tracks ‘Not Like Us’ and ‘meet the grahams’. Drake can’t comeback from the pedophile allegations, especially with his history of being friends with minors. ‘meet the grahams’ permanently fragmented Drake’s dignity and his fatherhood,” junior Caitlin Savage said.
