On March 22, most rap fans were listening to Future and Metro Boomin’s first collab album “We Don’t Trust You.” Yet one song stood out. “Like That,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, was a historic moment in rap history. In the song, Lamar criticized the contemporaries who fans often compare him to: Drake and J. Cole, using the iconic line “f*** the Big 3, it’s just big me.” This led to a friendly competition between Drake and Lamar to see who was a better rapper but transformed into a much more sinister attack on both people’s character that seemed would inevitably turn heated.
Drake’s much anticipated response to this diss track came on April 19 with his single “Push Ups.” He made fun of Lamar, pointing out his height, small shoe size, and the lack of success on his latest album. People found these lyrics funny, and it excited fans for Lamar’s response. Lamar responded with the track “Euphoria” where he questions Drake’s “blackness,” and his place in rap culture. Lamar continued to assert that he is the best rapper out of this generations’ “three GOATS” and informed the world of his genuine hatred for Drake. But “Euphoria” marked the end of the competitive disses, and they became far more personal.
May 4 would be the most eventful day of the beef. Lamar dropped the song “6.16 in LA” at 6:16 in the morning. That night Drake dropped a song titled “Family Matters”, where he accused Lamar of domestic violence, child neglect, cheating on his spouse and portraying a false image.These accusations briefly damaged his reputation in the public eye.
The song Lamar dropped a mere 30 minutes later accused Drake of scandals that make these accusations seem tame in comparison. Speaking directly to Drake’s son, Adonis Graham, Lamar calls Drake an incapable father figure. He tells Drake’s parents they raised a bad person. He then speaks to an alleged estranged daughter and apologizes to her for Drake’s absence in her life. Finally, he directly addresses Drake, explaining the ways to fix his flaws. These three songs changed the beef from being a competition between two extremely popular rappers into a war between two men who truly hate each other.
The final portion of this beef began the following day. On May 5, Lamar dropped the song “Not Like Us,” in which he accuses Drake and his associates of being sex offenders. This song quickly broke numerous rap records and became the song of the summer for many. Drake responded with “The Heart Part 6,” which denied the accusations, but it did not have the staying power of “Not Like Us.” The final shot was Kendrick’s Pop Out concert, where he gathered dozens of west coast figureheads to share the stage with him while he dissed Drake, climaxing in him playing Not Like Us six times to end the concert. Recently, Lamar was selected as the Super Bowl headliner, where he will undoubtedly perform Not Like Us, further cementing himself as the winner of the beef.
