Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s bitter beef ruled headlines in 2024 — and it’s far from over.
Over the past year, the hip-hop giants have thrown personal jabs at each other through several diss tracks, including “Not Like Us” and “Family Matters.”
Though Lamar and Drake — born Aubrey Graham — don’t seem to be making amends anytime soon, things haven’t always been rocky between the former collaborators.
Take a look at how the rappers’ feud started ahead of Lamar’s highly anticipated Super Bowl 2025 halftime show.
Lamar is featured on Drake’s ‘Take Care’ album
In 2011, Drake tapped Lamar to be featured on his “Buried Alive Interlude,” a track from his second studio album, “Take Care.”
The Compton emcee, who was building momentum to become the West Coast’s next-best thing, rapped, “So blame it on Mr. OVOXO / The reason why I’m breathin’ all the vanity I know.”
Drake invites Lamar to open on his tour
The following year, the “Hotline Bling” rapper invited Lamar and A$AP Rocky to perform as openers for his Club Paradise Tour.
Drake later rapped about his decision to choose the duo as his openers in his 2016 song “4 PM in Calabasas.”
“When they told me take an R&B n—a on the road / And I told ’em no and drew for Kendrick and Rocky / I tried to make the right choices with the world watching,” he rapped.
Drake and Lamar collaborate again
In 2012, Drake, the “Swimming Pools” rapper and 2 Chainz collaborated on Rocky’s hit “F–kin’ Problems.” The song peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The “God’s Plan” emcee and Lamar teamed up again on the former’s second studio album, “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City,” for his single “Poetic Justice.”
This would be the last time both artists were featured on a song together.
Lamar disses Drake and other rappers in Big Sean’s song ‘Control’
In August 2013, Lamar dissed Drake and several other rappers, including J. Cole, Meek Mill, Wale and more, in Big Sean’s song “Control.”
“I got love for you all, but I’m trying to murder you n—as / Trying to make sure your core fans never heard of you n—as / They don’t want to hear not one more noun or verb from you n—as,” he rapped.
The “Degrassi” alum responded to Lamar’s diss, telling Billboard: “I didn’t really have anything to say about it. It just sounded like an ambitious thought to me.
“That’s all it was. I know good and well that [Lamar]’s not murdering me, at all, in any platform. So when that day presents itself, I guess we can revisit the topic.”
Lamar disses Drake during BET Hip Hop Awards freestyle
While performing in the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards cypher, Lamar continued throwing shots at Drake.
“Nothing’s been the same since they dropped ‘Control’ / And tucked a sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes / Ha ha, joke’s on you, high-five … I’m bulletproof / Your shots will never penetrate / Pin the tail on the donkey / Boy, you been a fake,” he rapped.
Drake says she ‘stood his ground’ during Lamar disses
For his Vibe magazine cover story in December 2013, Drake said he “stood his ground” amid all of Lamar’s constant disses.
“Where it became an issue is that I was rolling out an album while that verse was still bubbling, so my album rollout became about this thing,” he said.
“What am I supposed to say? Nah, we’ll be buddy-buddy? Mind you, I never once said he’s a bad guy [or] I don’t like him. I think he’s a f–king genius in his own right, but I also stood my ground as I should.”
Drake also said that he felt like he was “being baited.”
“[Michael] Jordan doesn’t have to play pickup to prove that he could play ball, no offense. But I’m not gonna give you the chance to shake me necessarily, ’cause I feel great. There’s no real issue,” he told the outlet.
Drake and J. Cole collaborate on ‘First Person Shooter,’ mention Lamar in the song
In October 2023, Drake collaborated with J. Cole for their hit “First Person Shooter.”
The “No Role Modelz” rapper mentioned Lamar’s name during his verse.
“Love when they argue the hardest MC / 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,” Cole rapped.
Lamar hits back at Drake and J. Cole on Metro Boomin and Future’s ‘Like That’
Lamar didn’t seem to take too kindly to Cole’s verse and hit back at the North Carolina native and Drake on Future and Metro Boomin’s hit “Like That” in March 2024.
“F–k sneak dissin’, first-person shooter / I hope they came with three switches,” he rapped, adding, “Motherf–k the big three / N—a, it’s just big me.”
The “Humble” rapper then threw shade at Drake’s “For All the Dogs” project, rapping: “For all your dogs gettin’ buried / That’s a K with all these nines, he gon’ see ‘Pet Sematary.’”
Drake releases Lamar diss song ‘Push Ups’
In April 2024, Drake released “Push Ups,” a diss song aimed at Kendrick Lamar and several others, including Rick Ross, the Weeknd, Metro Boomin and Future.
The “Rich Baby Daddy” rapper poked fun at Lamar’s 5-foot-5 stature by using a size 7 shoe sticker on the cover art.
In the song, Drake took aim at Lamar’s music deal with Top Dawg Entertainment and mentioned the Pulitzer Prize winner‘s longtime fiancé, Whitney Alford.
“Hugs and kisses, man, don’t tell me ’bout no switches / I’ll be rockin’ every f–kin’ chain I own next visit, ay / I be with some bodyguards like Whitney / Top say drop, your little midget ass better f–kin’ / Ay, better drop and give me 50,” he rapped.
Drake releases another Lamar diss titled ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’
That same month, Drake released a second diss song aimed at Lamar titled “Taylor Made Freestyle,” which included AI-generated voices of the late Tupac Shakur, who was fatally shot in September 1996, and Snoop Dogg.
Throughout the song, Drake rapped using the voices as he talked down on Lamar, who has called both West Coasts rappers his inspirations.
“Nephew, what the f–k you really ’bout to do? / We passed you the torch at the House of Blues / And now you gotta do some dirty work, you know how to move, right? Right?” Drake said, using Snoop’s voice.
Prominent entertainment lawyer Howard E. King, who represents the Shakur estate, sent a cease-and-desist letter to the “One Dance” emcee, demanding that he immediately remove the song from streaming services.
In the letter, King called the song “a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal right” and “a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time.”
“The estate would never have given its approval for this use. The unauthorized, equally dismaying use of Tupac’s voice against Kendrick Lamar, a good friend to the estate who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately, compounds the insult,” he added.
Drake subsequently removed the song from streaming services.
Lamar releases Drake diss song ‘Euphoria’
On April 30, 2024, Lamar released a six-minute diss track to Drake titled “Euphoria.” (Drake is an executive producer of the HBO teen drama “Euphoria.”)
In the song, the “All the Stars” rapper slammed Drake, who has a black father and a white mom, for using the N-word, being a culture vulture and allegedly hiring ghostwriters.
“You’re not a rap artist, you a scam artist with the hopes of being accepted / Tommy Hilfiger stood out, but FUBU never had been your collection,” he rapped.
“Ain’t 20-v-1, it’s 1-v-20 if I gotta smack n—as that write with you / Yeah, bring ’em out, too, I’ll clean ’em out, too / Tell BEAM that he better stay right with you / Am I battlin’ ghost or AI? N—a feelin’ like Joel Hale Osteen / Funny, he was in a film called ‘AI’ / And my sixth sense tellin’ me to off him,” Lamar continued.
Lamar drops another Drake diss titled ‘6:16 in LA’
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Four days later, Lamar dropped another diss aimed at Drake titled “6:16 in LA.”
In the song, Lamar claimed Drake had a mole in his camp who was sharing dirt about him.
“Have you ever thought that OVO was working for me? / Fake bully, I hate bullies / You must be a terrible person / Everyone inside your team is whispering that you deserve it / Can’t ‘Toosie Slide’ up out of this one, it’s just gon’ resurface,” he rapped.
Lamar then called out Drake’s crew, saying they were stabbing him behind his back.
“100 n—as that you got on salary / And 20 of them want you as a casualty / And one of them is actually / Is next to you / And two of them is practically tied to your lifestyle,” he continued.
Drake releases his third Lamar diss, ‘Family Matters’
On May 3, 2024, Drake dropped his catchy song “Family Matters,” in which he accused Lamar of beating his fiancée, sleeping with other women and being a fake activist.
“When you put your hands on your girl, is it self-defense ’cause she bigger than you?” he rapped.
“There’s nowhere to hide, there’s nowhere to hide, you know what I mean / They hired a crisis management team to clean up the fact that you beat on your queen / The picture you painted ain’t what it seem, you’re dead.”
Drake also took shots at Rocky, who is dating his ex Rihanna, as well as Future, the Weeknd and more.
Lamar hits back with Drake diss ‘Meet the Grahams’
The same night Drake dropped “Family Matters,” Lamar released “Meet the Grahams,” referencing the Canadian hitmaker’s legal last name.
In the track, the “Bad Blood” emcee rapped directly to Drake’s family members, including his son, Adonis, and his mother, Sandi Graham.
In the third verse of the song, Lamar talked to a “baby girl” who does not have an active father in her life.
“He don’t commit to much but his music, yeah, that’s for sure / He a narcissist, misogynist, livin’ inside his songs / Try destroy families rather than takin’ care of his own,” he rapped.
“But I would like to say it’s not your fault that he’s hidin’ another child … I’ll tell you who your father is, just play this song when it rains / Yes, he’s a hitmaker, songwriter, superstar, right / And a f–kin’ deadbeat that should never say ‘more life.’” (Drake released a mixtape titled “More Life” in 2017.)
In 2018, Pusha T accused Drake of “hiding” his firstborn, whom he welcomed with former porn star Sophie Brussaux, on a track called “The Story of Adidon.”
It wasn’t until March 2020, however, that the OVO Sound founder shared the first images of Adonis on social media.
Lamar now claims Drake is keeping another one of his kids from the world — in addition to being a “pervert” allegedly involved in sex trafficking and employing men who are sex offenders.
Drake quickly took to Instagram to deny that he had fathered a daughter.
“😂😂😂😂 nahhhh hold on can someone find my hidden daughter pls and send her to me…these guys are in shambles 🤣🤣🤣,” he wrote alongside a photo of himself looking somber.
Lamar drops fourth Drake diss titled ‘Not Like Us’
Less than 24 hours later, Lamar dropped his Drake diss “Not Like Us,” which would arguably become the biggest song of the year.
In the song, he accused Drake of being a “pedophile” who preyed on young girls.
“Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young / You better not ever go to cell block one / To any bitch that talk to him and they in love / Just make sure you hide your little sister from him.” (Drake was rumored to have been dating rapper Latto’s younger sister, Brooklyn Nicole, who was 22, in 2024.)
After Lamar mentioned Drake’s longtime pals, he rapped, “Certified Lover Boy, certified pedophiles.” (Drake’s 2021 album was titled “Certified Lover Boy.”)
Elsewhere in the song, the “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe” rapper accused the Toronto native of sleeping with Lil Wayne’s ex when he was incarcerated.
“F–ked on Wayne girl while he was in jail, that’s connivin’ / Then get his face tatted like a bitch apologizing,” he said, referring to Drake’s massive tattoo of the “A Milli” emcee on his arm.
Notably, Lamar used an image of Drake’s Toronto mansion marked with red pedophile markers as the cover art for the single.
Drake denies ‘pedophile’ allegations on ‘The Heart Pt. 6’
Drake denied Lamar’s pedophile claims in his diss track “The Heart Part 6.”
“I never been with no one underage,” he rapped in the song, released on May 5, 2024.
“Just for clarity, I feel disgusted, I’m too respected / If I was f–king young girls, I promise I’d have been arrested / I’m way too famous for this s–t you just suggested.”
Drake added that his name is not one “you gon’ see on [a] sex offender list” before referencing Lamar’s fiancée, Alford, and “Stranger Things” star Millie Bobby Brown, the latter of whom once said the Toronto native had texted her when she was just 14 years old.
“Only f–kin’ with Whitneys, not Millie Bobby Browns,” he asserted. “I’d never look twice at no teenager.”
Elsewhere in the five-minute track, Drake again denied Lamar’s claim that he has a secret daughter, even going so far as to say that he had intentionally “fed … the information” to the “Luther” rapper to make him look like a fool.
“A daughter that’s 11 years old, I bet he takes it / We thought about giving a fake name or a destination / But you so thirsty, you not concerned with investigation,” he rapped before urging Lamar to “fact-check” his sources instead of being “dumb and reactive.”
Lamar performs ‘Not Like Us’ during star-studded Juneteenth concert
Lamar performed his Drake diss track “Not Like Us” a whopping five times during his star-studded Juneteenth concert on June 19, 2024.
The “Humble” rapper, who held his “Pop Out: Ken & Friends” show at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., had several surprise guests, including Dr. Dre, who introduced the track by whispering the intro line, “I see dead people.”
Lamar then performed the hit, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 2024, repeatedly as the stage became flooded with several celebrities, including fellow rappers YG, ScHoolboy Q and Roddy Ricch as well as NBA stars DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook.
“Y’all ain’t gonna let anyone disrespect the West Coast, huh?” Lamar asked the crowd, which sang the song word-for-word all five times.
“Oh, y’all ain’t gonna let nobody mock or imitate our legends, huh?” he added.
Several stars attended the Compton-born emcee’s show, including Drake’s close friend LeBron James, James Harden and Rick Ross.
Alford, who has been a target of several of Drake’s jabs, was also spotted in the audience dancing along to her fiancé’s hits.
Lamar drops the video for ‘Not Like Us’
On July 4, 2024, Lamar dropped the highly anticipated visuals for “Not Like Us,” which featured a rare appearance by his longtime fiancée.
In the video, the couple, who got engaged in 2015, danced in a living room with their daughter, Uzi, and son, Enoch.
Elsewhere in the clip, which was shot in Lamar’s hometown of Compton, he hit an owl-shaped piñata, and a man who was dressed similarly to Drake on his “Dark Lane Demo Tapes” mixtape attempted to sneak up on Lamar but was instead pulled back into a pit of darkness.
The video garnered more than 215 million views in its first six months on YouTube.
Lamar named Super Bowl LIX halftime performer
On Sept. 8, 2024, Apple Music and the NFL announced via Instagram that Lamar would be headlining the Super Bowl LIX halftime show with a photo of the rapper sitting on a football field in front of an American flag background.
Lamar also shared the news on social media with a video of himself tossing footballs on a field.
“My name is Kendrick Lamar, and I’ll be performing at Super Bowl 59. Are you pulling up? I hope so … let’s get it … I wouldn’t want you to miss it. Meet me in New Orleans,” he wrote.
On Jan. 24, 2025, SZA was named as a guest to join Lamar for his halftime show at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Feb. 9, 2025.
Lamar addresses Drake feud on new album ‘GNX’
Lamar released his highly anticipated sixth studio album, “GNX,” on Nov. 22, 2024.
In the track “Wacced Out Murals,” the “Power” actor alluded to never wanting to make peace with Drake.
“I never peaced it up, that s–t don’t sit well with me / Before I take a truce, I’ll take ’em to hell with me,” he said.
Drake accuses UMG and Spotify of inflating Lamar’s streams
On Nov. 25, 2024, news broke that Drake had filed a motion accusing Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify of inflating Lamar’s streams for “Not Like Us” during their feud.
In the court docs, the “Rich Flex” rapper claimed UMG had used bots and payola to spike up the song.
UMG denied the accusations, saying in a statement, “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”
Drake files a second motion against UMG for defamation on ‘Not Like Us’
Less than 24 hours later, Drake filed a second motion against UMG, alleging the record company had funneled payments through iHeartRadio as part of a “pay-to-play scheme.”
The “Take Care” emcee also accused UMG of defamation, claiming the company could have prevented the release of “Not Like Us” due to the song “falsely accusing him of being a sex offender.”
“UMG … could have refused to release or distribute the song or required the offending material to be edited and/or removed,” Drake’s attorneys said in the docs.
“But UMG chose to do the opposite. UMG designed, financed and then executed a plan to turn ‘Not Like Us’ into a viral mega-hit with the intent of using the spectacle of harm to Drake and his businesses to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues. That plan succeeded, likely beyond UMG’s wildest expectations.”
Drake addresses Lamar beef on new freestyle ‘Fighting Irish’
On Jan. 3, 2025, Conductor Williams posted — and later deleted — a Drake freestyle titled “Fighting Irish” to his YouTube page.
“The world fell in love with the gimmicks, even my brothers got tickets, seemed like they loved every minute / Just know the s–t is personal to us and wasn’t just business / Analyzing behavioral patterns is somewhat suspicious,” he rapped, seemingly referring to his friends picking a side in the feud.
Drake files defamation lawsuit against UMG over ‘Not Like Us’
Drake filed a lawsuit against his own record label, UMG, on Jan. 15, 2025, accusing it of defamation for Lamar’s No. 1 song “Not Like Us.”
In the suit, the “One Dance” rapper insisted that his “lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us.’ It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit and monetize” the song despite being aware of the lyrics.
Drake claimed UMG knew the “false and dangerous” accusations would paint him as a predator but did nothing to protect him — in fact, he claimed they did the opposite.
Despite the diss track’s “inflammatory and shocking allegations,” Drake claimed UMG — which distributes both Drake and Lamar’s respective labels, Republic Records and Interscope Records — saw it as a financial “gold mine.”
The “Euphoria” producer, who signed a reported $400 million deal with UMG in 2022, alleged the label had an ulterior motive and artificially boosted the track to devalue his brand, which would give them leverage for future contract negotiations.
On Jan. 24, 2025, UMG filed a motion to dismiss Drake‘s petition for pre-suit deposition in Bexar County, Texas, citing lack of evidence in the rapper’s claims.
Lamar wins 5 Grammys for ‘Not Like Us’
Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us” has continued to make waves in the music industry.
On Feb. 2, 2025, his diss track “Not Like Us” won big at the 2025 Grammys, taking home trophies for record of the year, song of the year, best rap song, best music video and best rap performance.
When the “DNA” emcee took the stage wearing a Canadian tuxedo (shade?) to accept his award for record of the year, the crowd — including Taylor Swift and Beyoncé — danced and sang along to the hit.
“We gonna dedicate this one to the city — Compton, Watts, Long Beach, Inglewood, Hollywood, out to the Valley, the IE, San Bernadino — this is my neck of the woods that held me down since I was a young pup, since I was in the studio scrapping to write the best raps and all that, to do records like these,” he told the audience.
“I can’t give enough thanks to these places that I’ve rolled around since high school, most importantly the people and the families out in the Palisades and Altadena, this the true testament that we can continue to restore the city. We gonna keep rocking.”
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