According to HITS Daily Double, across Lamar’s fiery tracks, in just this week (week ending 5/09), he supposedly pulled in an estimated $562,368. In the age of streaming, several musicians (such as Snoop Dogg) have expressed their frustrations with each platform’s pay model. On the flip side, for Lamar the feud has seemingly proven to be lucrative, specifically in relation to his streaming income.
“Not Like Us” alone reportedly grossed a total streaming revenue of $264,325 (58,739,000 counted streams). The second highest streamed (45,755,00) solo diss track from Lamar, “Euphoria,” is estimated to have earned $205,896. Lastly, with a total stream count of 20,478,00, Lamar’s “Meet The Grahams” supposedly brought in $92,147.
According to the outlet, the track to set it all off, Metro Boomin and Future’s “Like That,” also generated a pretty penny. With 29,978,000 counted streams, that track is estimated to have generated $134,900 in streaming income alone.
Now, these numbers could fluctuate based on Lamar’s royalty percentages (sound recording, mechanical rights, and the performance rights). Still, even if the final number dropped significantly, this is quite a massive payout for essentially airing out your grievances. Most people have to pay a therapist big bucks for that.
Kendrick Lamar is winning 2024. The rapper has been crowned the victor in the highly-publicized battle between him and Drake (rightfully so). He scored his second solo number one with “Not Like Us,” and he also secured number three and six hits with his other Drizzy disses. It gets better. Lamar’s iconic victory has inspired fans to dig back into his catalog and stream his albums at a rate they haven’t been streamed in years. The proof is in the numbers. The rapper’s seminal 2012 debut, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, is selling like a new album.
DJ Akademiks, the man who championed Drake throughout the battle, ceded Lamar’s dominance. He pointed out the rapper’s debut was on pace to sell 26K copies the week of May 12. To put this staggering number into perspective, the album’s first week of sales (with a hit single) was 242K. This means Lamar has amassed over 10% of his original first week sales without doing any sort of promo or repackaging. It all stems from the quality of the music. The 26K in sales will be enough to push Good Kid, M.A.A.D City into the top 20 of the Billboard 200. Another staggering achivement for an album that’s over a decade old.
Kendrick Lamar ‘GOOD Kid, M.A.A.D City’ on pace to sell 26K this week which will catapult the 12 year old album into the top 20 albums this week on billboard.
The irony of Good Kid, M.A.A.D City doing so well in 2024 is that Drake is featured on one of the album’s biggest songs. “Poetic Justice,” the album’s fourth single, peaked at 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked at number eight on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, eventually going 2x Platinum. The rest of Lamar’s catalog has also seen a sharp spike in popularity. Billboard reported that streaming for Lamar’s music went up a staggering 49% from May 3-6. By comparison, Drake’s numbers were down 5%.
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City has also maintained its critical standing. Many cite it as the greatest hip-hop debut of all time, and one of the genre’s greatest albums, period. It’s frequently been compared to the likes of Illmatic and Ready to Die. It currently has a Metacritic score of 91, which is his second-highest behind To Pimp a Butterfly. Drake’s highest Metacritic score, by comparison, is Nothing Was the Same with a 79. K. Dot fans stay winning.
J. Cole chose his peace over beefing with Kendrick Lamar, leading to a truckload of memes afterward. The J. Cole memes continued as Kendrick and Drake battled each other with diss tracks. As the lyrical warfare continued, fans gradually began to understand why J. Cole didn’t want all that heat. Thus, the J. Cole memes shifted from ridiculing the “Work Out” crooner to more or less applauding his decisions, especially as the Kendrick vs. Drake beef makes its place in hip-hop’s history books.
There are too many aspects of the beef that make it genuinely remarkable. From J. Cole’s decision to quit to Kendrick and Drake going against each other diss track after track and not to forget Metro Boomin’s “BBL Drizzy” diss beat. However, the hilarious J. Cole memes also added color and humor to the beef and have come to stay. Let’s explore the best J. Cole memes that broke the internet while Drake and Kendrick Lamar feuded.
On Oct. 31, 2023, Drake released the single “First Person Shooter” from his eighth studio album For All The Dogs. The track featured J. Cole, who delivered the famous bars, “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 Muhammed Ali/Huh, yeah, yeah, huh-huh, yeah, Muhammed Ali.” With those lines, J. Cole appreciated the greatness of himself, Drake, and Kendrick but emphasized his thoughts that he was the best out of the three. Those bars brought back memories of Big Sean’s “Control” featuring Kendrick and Jay Electronica. In the track, Kendrick mentioned many rappers including Drake and J. Cole and said he was “tryna murder you ni**as.” K. Dot also touted himself as the “King of New York” on the track.
Kendrick Responds to J. Cole and Disses Drake
Kendrick responded to J. Cole and Drake‘s “First Person Shooter” via a verse on Metro Boomin and Future’s “Like That” from their We Don’t Trust You album. In his verse, Kendrick rapped, “F**k sneak dissin’, first-person shooter, I hope they came with three switches.” Later in the verse, he rapped, “Motherfuck the big three, nigga, it’s just big me.” With those bars, K.Dot showed he had come for Drake and J. Cole and duly set the rap scene ablaze, shocking many fans. Fans waited to see what Drake and J. Cole’s response would be. They didn’t have to wait long.
J. Cole was the first to respond to Kendrick’s diss directly. He did so through a song on his surprise mixtape Might Delete Later. In the project’s last song “7 Minute Drill,” J. Cole addressed K. Dot’s diss, rapping, “I got a phone call, they say that somebody dissing / You want some attention, it come with extensions.” The Fayetteville, North Carolina native also rapped, “He still doing shows but fell off like The Simpsons / Your first shit was classic, your last shit was tragic / Your second shit put n***as to sleep but they gassed it / Your third shit was massive and that was your prime / I was trailing right behind and I just now hit mine.
Continuing with his response, J. Cole rapped, “He averaging one hard verse like every 30 months or something / If he wasn’t dissing, then we wouldn’t be discussing nothin’ / Blood don’t make me have to smoke this n***a ’cause I f*ck with him / But push come to shove on this mic I will humble him.“
J. Cole’s Apology
After J. Cole dropped his response to Kendrick, many fans were thrilled and applauded him. However, much to their dissatisfaction, he made a U-turn. J. Cole made a public apology to Kendrick during the Dreamville Festival in North Carolina on April 7. In his apology, J. Cole said he was proud of his project, Might Delete Later, except for one part. He said, “There’s one part of that sh*t that makes me feel like, ‘Man, that’s the lamest sh*t I ever did in my f*cking life.’ And, I know this is not what a lot of people wanna hear. I can hear my n***s up there right now like, ‘Nah, don’t do that.’ But, I gotta keep it 100 with y’all. I damn near had a relapse.”
J. Cole further said he was blessed to know Kendrick and Drake. He added, “I felt conflicted ’cause I’m like, bruh I know I don’t really feel a way. But the world wanna see blood… so I say all of that to say, in my spirit of trying to get this music out, I moved in a way that spiritually feels bad on me. I tried to jab my n***a back and I tried to keep it friendly.” J. Cole emphasized that being in a rap beef disrupted his peace. He concluded by praising Kendrick, saying, “I wanna say right here tonight, how many people think Kendrick Lamar is one of the greatest muthaf*ckas to ever touch a microphone? Dreamville, y’all love Kendrick Lamar correct? As do I.” J. Cole also promised to remove “7 Minute Drill” from all streaming platforms and kept to his word.
Kendrick Vs. Drake
Two weeks after J. Cole apologized, Drake released “Push Ups,” his first diss track and direct response to Kendrick, sparking their rap beef. He followed that up with the AI-generated “Taylor Made Freestyle.” Kendrick took his time to respond and did so with “Euphoria” and “6:16 In LA.” Drake came back firing with “Family Matters,” but K. Dot shot back almost immediately with “Meet The Grahams.” With Drake and Kendrick going against each other with so much heat and making various unverified allegations against themselves, fans began to see why J. Cole didn’t want to take part in a diss with Kendrick.
Thus, the memes began to change from ridiculing J. Cole to showing him at peace while his colleagues poured dirt on each other. Kendrick followed “Meet The Grahams” with the club banger “Not Like Us,” while Drake responded with “The Heart Part 6,” in which he many took as he was done with the beef. Since then, everything has quietened down but the viral J. Cole memes continue to dominate the internet.
J. Cole’s apology threatened his legacy and social media erupted with dozens of memes expressing disappointment at the rapper. The J. Cole memes changed course as the K. Dot and Drake’s rap beef progressed. After J. Cole apologized, the memes focused on how humiliating it was for him to do that and the damage it could have on his career. The best memes that typified these were from TikTokers, BasikEarth, iitz.samurai, and Karai The Curator.
However, when Drake and Kendrick’s beef heated up so much, no one was blaming J. Cole for bowing out. Instead, the J. Cole memes that went viral were of him having a good time while Drake and K. Dot traded words. The best memes that typified included X user, @Justhugee’s meme from the Spider-Man movie, X user, @@BabuVersus’s meme from “Family Guy,” and X user @timeimmemorial_’s meme from The Sopranos.
After Drake and Kendrick took a break from releasing diss tracks, TiktToker @2kold.fr shared a video that showed the ocean waves. The video then cut to her sitting next to J. Cole on a sandy beach. The rapper looked chilled in the video. He wore a black T-shirt, shorts, white socks, and sneakers and had his head phones connected to a laptop. The TikToker’s video confirmed people’s feelings that J. Cole was relaxing while Drake and Kendrick went for the kill. Eventually, most people agreed that J. Cole probably did the right thing by sitting the beef out. Do you agree?
Big numbers has been the story of the entire Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef so far. They’re two of the highest-selling and most acclaimed artists in hip-hop and they released a series of rapid fire responses to each other’s claims as the beef raged on. There’s six different tracks from the beef that land in the top 20 of this weeks Hot 100, proving that the beef has also been a massive commercial success. Drake landed two tracks on the chart with “Push Ups” in its third week and “Family Matters” inside the top 10, but it was Kendrick whose putting up astonishing numbers.
Future & Metro Boomin’s “Like That” kicked the beef off in March and spent three weeks at the top spot on the Hot 100, where it still hovers in the top 10. The darkest song to spawn from the beef “Meet The Grahams” lands outside the top 10. But two of his tracks landed in the top three with “Euphoria” and “Not Like Us.” The latter has been particularly impressive, landing at the top spot on the Hot 100 with only 5 days of tracking compared to the usual 7. It’s also broken multiple streaming records, including some that were previously held by songs from Drake’s Certified Lover Boy. Now there’s a full portrait of just how much money the songs are making.
According to the weekly song revenue chart, only three tracks pulled in more than $200k last week and Kendrick has two of them. “Not Like Us” leads all other songs with $277k, over $20k more than the runner up. All of his songs on the chart combine for more than $700k, though it’s unclear just how much of that will actually end up with Kendrick himself.
What do you think of Kendrick Lamar generating more than $700k from his Drake diss tracks? Do you think the profit from the beef adds extra evidence that it could have been set up by labels? Let us know in the comment section below.
Soulja Boy is known for being combative, so it’s no surprise he has been involved in several beefs with other rappers. Recently, Soulja Boy was in the news again over a beef. This time, the “Crank That” crooner sparred with Metro Boomin and 21 Savage. The feud was entirely avoidable and was triggered by a 12-year-old tweet from Metro. In the tweet, a teenage Metro wrote, “My phone rings to come to the studio with Jeezy. Yours rings to send Soulja Boy a pack of beats. Sit down.” Soulja Boy found out about the tweet and asked Metro to delete it. However, 21 Savage got involved and asked what would happen if Metro failed to delete the tweet.
21 Savage’s response infuriated Soulja Boy, who challenged the rapper and Metro to a boxing fight. Soulja Boy also dissed Metro Boomin’s late mom several times, sparking criticism from fans. Following the criticisms, Soulja surprisingly apologized to Metro Boomin via a tweet. He wrote, “I apologize to @MetroBoomin for over reacting over an old tweet. Condolences to his mom. I’m going to seek therapy and anger management. I’m done responding to hate, new or old. .” With Soulja Boy’s latest move and vow to seek therapy and not respond to hate anymore, one cannot but look at his past feuds. Soulja Boy has a long list of beefs to his name but here are seven of the biggest he’s been involved in.
Soulja Boy and Chris Brown’s beef began in January 2017 after the former liked a post from Karrueche Tran, Chris’s ex-girlfriend. Chris reportedly threatened Soulja Boy over the post, causing the latter to launch a verbal attack on him. In a tweet, Soulja Boy cited Chris’s 2009 assault against his then-girlfriend, Rihanna. However, Soulja Boy and Chris Brown’s spat progressed from online slingshots to a boxing fight. Former heavyweight boxing champion Floyd Mayweather organized a pay-per-view boxing match between the feuding musicians. Chris and Soulja Boy continued their war of words and didn’t hold back from hurling expletives at each other.
Later, Soulja Boy challenged Chris to a street fight in Compton. True to his words, he arrived there for the fight and went live on Instagram with a group of guys surrounding him. However, things turned sour when some of the group members attacked and reportedly robbed Soulja. With the situation escalating further, Soulja called on Floyd Mayweather to train him for his boxing fight with Chris, who was also hyped up about the matchup. However, the fight never happened with Soulja later revealing that he and Chris resolved their issues after speaking about it.
6. Soulja Boy Beefs With 50 Cent
Besides being one of the greatest rappers alive, 50 Cent is famous for his hilarious memes. The G-Unit boss loves having fun with whoever he chooses and got in on Soulja Boy and Chris Brown’s beef, urging them to hit the ring and fight each other. When Soulja Boy looked as though he was quitting his beef with Chris Brown, 50 Cent didn’t want that to happen. Then, Soulja Boy shared a video where he apologized for his erratic behavior and revealed his mom was hospitalized. However, 50 Cent didn’t like the apology and shared several memes urging Soulja Boy to go ahead with the fight. 50 also revealed his plans to make money off the boxing fight, writing, “They’re talking about this s**t, right?” “Get Soulja Boy on the phone! Tell that n***a I said stop apologizing, get the draco out! We got to keep this s**t going!”
After Soulja reportedly got robbed at Compton, 50 Cent went ahead to troll him again. This time, he said, “Soulja Boy just got Robbed in LA, don’t worry ya big homie Floyd can buy you another chain. But you bet not call POLICE little man. #thefightstillon LMAO.” In another post, 50 Cent also said Soulja Boy shouldn’t cancel the fight as he had no choice but to go ahead with it. Soulja Boy responded to 50 Cent via a now-deleted IG post he captioned, “Rob who take what somebody tell Curtis Jackson shut the f**k up.” He also released the diss track “Hit Em With The Draco,” in which he hurled shots at 50 and Chris Brown. Eventually, Soulja Boy and 50 Cent’s spat never got too serious and died down after his fight with Chris failed to materialize.
Lil Yachty and Soulja Boy’s beef started over a girl. It began on Oct. 28, 2016, after Soulja Boy posted screenshots of text exchange between himself and Yachty. In the chat, Yachty asked Soulja to remove a picture of himself and model India Love from social media. However, rather than take down the photo, Soulja went on a social media rampage, threatening Yachty. Also, he posted more pictures of himself and India and text messages from her in which she claimed to have never met Yachty.
Yachty responded by tweeting, “Im not for beefing over no female…all Ima say is…f***in wit da boat you gone sink. Period.” Yachty continued his offensive during his performance at Mala Luna Festival in San Antonio. He wore a shirt with the inscription, “Pray 4 Soulja Boy R.I.P. 2007–2016.” He also rapped, “F**k Soulja Boy, you a bitch ass n***a / Lil Boat came in with a hundred n****s / F***in’ on your bitch / I know that you mad.“
Later, Soulja Boy claimed Yachty cried over the phone to him pleading for their beef to come to an end. However, Yachty quashed those claims and leaked a phone call between himself and Soulja in which the latter was apologizing to him. Incredibly, Soulja shared a video not too long after showing him calling off the beef with Yachty. Also, Soulja claimed the whole beef began because he ran out of weed. He said, “Lil Yachty, man, you know I love you, bruh. You know how Big Soulja start tweakin’ when he ain’t got no weed.” During an interview with Shay Diddy on 106.1 KMEL, Yachty insinuated that Soulja Boy used the beef for clout as it shouldn’t have blown up the way it did.
4. Soulja Boy Beef With Ice-T
The beef between Soulja Boy and Ice-T began after Ice-T’s Black Urban Legends mixtape was released in 2008. The mixtape’s intro contained an attack on Soulja from Ice-T. Ice-T said, “Fuck Soulja Boy, eat a d**k. Soulja Boy, I know you are young enough to be my kid but you single-handedly killed hip-hop, man. That shit is such garbage. We came all the way from Rakim, we came all the way from Das EFX, we came all the way from motherfuckers flowing like Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube, and you come with that Superman shit?” Ice-T’s infamous diatribes soon found its way to the internet and reached Soulja Boy. Unsurprisingly, the then-17-year-old Soulja Boy responded in kind via a video where he trashed Ice-T’s legacy. He called Ice-T an old man and the “forefather of my nuts,” among many other labels while his friends laughed in the background.
The Ice-T and Soulja Boy beef is one of the former’s regrets. During an interview with Ebro in 2022, the Law & Order: SVU actor revealed how the beef originated. Ice-T shared that the associates he was making the Black Urban Legends mixtape for got him agitated by telling him people would rather listen to Soulja Boy and Hurricane Chris than listen to him. This caused Ice-T to get angry and say what he said. However, he never knew the associates would put his rant as the mixtape’s intro, starting the beef. The beef has since cooled and Soulja Boy reflected on it during a 2022 interview with HotNewHipHop. The “Kiss Me Thru The Phone” rapper said Ice-T was confused at the time and “didn’t know he was looking at the future in his eyes.” Soulja also said the beef thought him to always stay in tune with youth culture.
Kanye West and Soulja Boy went back and forth with each other on social media in February 2022. Their spat began after Soulja complained about Ye removing his verse on the song, “Remote Control,” from his Donda album. Soulja shared images of text messages between him and Ye. The text messages showed that Ye approved Soulja’s verse and agreed it would be on the song. However, that didn’t happen eventually, infuriating Soulja, who tweeted, “Idk how to feel, Kanye sent me that song ‘remote control’ and I don’t hear my verse on it. Hmm f**k that n***a.” He also wrote, “This n***a Kanye smh. Tell homie don’t hit my phone anymore.”
Afterward, Soulja posted a video on Instagram depicting Kanye losing his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, to comedian Pete Davidson. Soulja said, “Kanye, wake up. Skete got yo b***h n***a, whatchu gon do? Is you gon keep posting memes of Marvel vs. Capcom or you gon lay smackdown?” He added, “That’s what the f**k you get n***a! N***a tried to play me. N***a, you know who the f**k I am? I’m Big Draco and now you running around Hollywood crying like a b***h.”
Eventually, Kanye and Soulja Boy settled their beef. Soulja shared a screenshot of a text Kanye sent to him warning him not to talk about him or his wife again. Kanye’s text read, “This Ye. Don’t bring up me or my no more.” Afterward, Soulja revealed he and Kanye had settled their rift. Kanye also shared a screenshot of a message he sent to Soulja Boy. In the text, Kanye apologized for removing Soulja’s verse from the song, to which the latter replied, “Love you too bro. That’s all I wanted.”
Drake and Soulja Boy’s beef is probably the funniest among all Draco’s beefs due to the unforgettable meme that emerged from it. It all began in January 2019 when Soulja appeared on The Breakfast Club for an interview with hosts DJ Envy, Charlamagne Tha God, and Angela Yee. During the interview, Soulja asked why Meek Mill had a bigger comeback than he did. Charlamagne Tha God responded by suggesting that Meek Mill’s success could be due to his beef with Drake. Soulja Boy was then told that Drake was the biggest rapper in the world, which caused him to get up from his chair to vent his annoyance. He then went into a full-blown rant that quickly became a meme.
Soulja screamed, “Draaaaaaake? Draaaaaaaaake? The n***a that got bodied by Pusha T? The n***a that hiding his kid from the world, but his world want to hide from the kid? Aubrey Graham in a wheelchair? Draaaaaake? Y’all n***as better stop playing with me man. Y’all talking about the lightskin ni**a from Degrassi?” Afterward, Soulja claimed he taught Drake everything he knew. He said, “”Stop playing with me. Stop playing me like I ain’t teach Drake everything he know. Y’all ain’t hear Drake on his first song?”
Soulja proceeded to sing a line from Drake’s 2010 song, “Miss Me,” from his debut album, Thank Me Later. He claimed Drake stole the song’s first bars from his 2007 song, “What’s Hannenin.” He claimed, “”That’s Soulja! That’s my bar. He copied my whole f**king flow. He copied my whole f**king flow. Word for word. Bar for bar. Don’t act like I didn’t make Drake, ni**a.” During an interview with XXL, Soulja also questioned why Drake never invited him on tour to perform their 2013 collaboration, “We Made It.” He also wondered why Drake never shot a video for the song.
Drake and Soulja eventually settled their beef. The 6 God got tagged to a video of Soulja Boy shopping from his OVO store in Los Angeles in February 2019. He then sent messages to Soulja, which the latter posted on X, formerly Twitter. In the message, Drake wrote, “You know it’s always been love all jokes aside. I dunno if you was serious about the video thing but I never knew you wanted to do a video for we made it you know I would have done that shit…” Drake then acknowledged Soulja’s hilarious meme from his interview on The Breakfast Club, writing, “but on some real shit…Draaaaaaaaaaaaake?!?! kill that show.”
1. Soulja Boy Vs. Bow Wow Beef
Soulja Boy and Bow Wow are now friends, but they have endured some low points in their friendship. The duo has toured together, collaborated on several songs, and also has a joint mixtape. However, at their worst, the pair engaged in heated exchanges online. The sour point in their friendship came after Soulja Boy dissed Nas in an eight-minute video in December 2008, declaring that the iconic rapper killed hip-hop due to his 2006 single, “Hip-Hop Is Dead.” However, Bow Wow, who idolizes Nas, released a freestyle over Jay-Z’s “Friend or Foe.” In the track, he responded to Soulja’s Nas diss, saying, “I’d never disrespect Nas, I’m not Soulja Boy.”
Bow Wow’s line fueled a back-and-forth with Soulja, who responded by uploading a video of himself in a new white Lamborghini. He then challenged Bow Wow to a race in their Lamborghinis. He vowed, “If I lose to you, I’ll give my pink slip to you. You can have that motherfucker.” Bow Wow responded two days later with a video of him driving his orange Lamborghini through a garage. He trolled Soulja Boy for driving a poor man’s Lamborghini and using plastic rims, among other shades. Days later, Soulja released a video claiming Bow Wow rented the Lamborghini he was driving. He also released a diss track titled “F**k Bow Wow,” in which he called the latter several derogatory names.
Bow Wow responded to Soulja’s diss track with a video in which he dissed his career, saying, “The only reason you’re in the game is because of me.” He followed that up with a diss track titled “What I Think About You” in which he rapped that Soulja’s career was dead. The pair kept going at each other in 2009 but things quietened afterward. Much wasn’t heard about the pair’s beef for many years until September 2016, when Soulja Boy appeared in an interview on Say Cheese! During the interview, he revealed that he and Bow Wow were no longer feuding but were now friends. He said their beef was due to them being young and in different mind spaces.
Soulja Boy added, “We straight now. That Shit crazy. That’s like one of my best home boys. I was just in his crib like two days ago. I’m telling you, once years go by, you get some experience in this industry. You get you some real money, you get off of that shit.” Soulja and Bow Wow proved they were truly reconciled with the release of their joint tape Ignorant Shit. After Soulja called out Drake for not crediting his influence, Bow Wow appeared in an interview with Hollywood Unlocked: Uncensored and credited Soulja for being among the top artists who changed hip-hop. Bow Wow added that Soulja Boy was the “first big digital internet sensation that we saw.”
Bow Wow and Soulja Boy seemed to be feuding again in May 2021 after rumors of them facing off in a Verzuz battle emerged. However, Soulja clarified that it was all love between them. It was eventually confirmed that the rappers would face off in the rap battle, and they hyped up the event on social media and engaged in playful jabs with each other. The Verzuz battle was held on June 26, 2021, in Los Angeles. It was a memorable event, with both rappers engaging in friendly competition and eventually shutting the place down.
After weeks of one of the most prolific rap beefs in recent memory, it seems the smoke between Drake and Kendrick Lamar is finally dying down. ICYMI, and we don’t know how you could have, the two giants reignited their long-standing disdain for one another in March with the release of Future and Metro Boomin’s track “Like That,” featuring a verse from Lamar that took aim at Drake and J. Cole. While Cole quickly bowed out, Drake and Lamar escalated their rivalry with a series of aggressive diss tracks.
Then the response came. Drake shot back with “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made Freestyle,” targeting Lamar directly. Fans eagerly awaited each new release, encouraging the escalating conflict. Lamar quickly fired back with “6:16 in LA,” prompting Drake’s “Family Matters.” The feud intensified with Lamar’s “Meet the Grahams” and “Not Like Us,” leading to Drake’s rebuttal, “The Heart Part 6.” These tracks became increasingly personal, featuring serious, albeit unverified, allegations about domestic violence, pedophilia, and secret children.
Initially seen as competitive, the potentially career-ending accusations between Drake and Lamar have raised the stakes, especially in this hyper sensitive cultural climate, suggesting the conflict on wax, could spill into the courtroom.
Legal reporter Matt Ford humorously pondered on X, “Has anyone ever filed a defamation lawsuit over a diss track before?” Not too far reaching when you think about it.
Though unprecedented, a defamation suit isn’t out of the question. Daliah Saper, a principal attorney at Saper Law specializing in defamation, noted that public figures like Drake and Lamar would face high legal benchmarks. “They would have this added heightened pleading standard,” Saper explained, emphasizing the need to prove “actual malice.”
Saper highlighted a critical issue of public perception: “Do people now think Drake is a pedophile?” This question became pertinent after a video resurfaced showing Drake allegedly fondling a 17-year-old fan onstage. Lamar’s diss tracks accused Drake of predatory behavior and keeping sex offenders on his label’s payroll. In “Not Like Us,” Lamar went further, calling Drake and his entourage “Certified pedophiles.”
Saper suggested that Drake might consider legal action if he believed a PR campaign or responsive rap wouldn’t suffice to clear his name. For now, Drake has chosen to respond through music, addressing the allegations in “The Heart Part 6.” His defense—that his fame would have already led to his arrest if the claims were true—was criticized as tone-deaf, especially in the context of the #MeToo movement.
Drake also tackled Lamar’s claim of a secret daughter, rapping, “The ones that you’re getting your stories from, they’re all clowns. We plotted for a week and then we fed you the information/ A daughter that’s 11 years old, I bet he takes it.” Saper pointed out that this admission could undermine any defamation claim, as it suggests Lamar did not act with reckless disregard for the truth.
Ultimately, it seems unlikely that either rapper will pursue a defamation lawsuit. But in these times, you never know. Despite the serious, cancellable accusations, their careers have thrived amidst the feud, albeit for now, with boosted streams and sales. Saper concluded, “I do think it’s giving them each notoriety. They’re already incredibly famous, but this is elevating their music to another level. It’s probably ultimately a great PR play for both of them.”
The beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar appears to have died down, as neither artist has released a diss track in a little while now. So, now that we’re at what looks like the end, Lil Yachty is taking a look back at the situation. He believes that from the very start, many people had already decided that Lamar was the winner.
On a new episode of the A Safe Place podcast, Yachty said:
“Drake was deemed a loser in this battle before it started, because people don’t like him, and haven’t, and he’s won for a very long time. And he’s sat at the top of the throne… honestly, respectfully, I think he still sits on top of the throne. I think that even if opinionated masses would say that Kendrick won, I don’t think that people are going to stop listening to Drake and Drake’s career is going to flush, you know?”
He added, “I said to Drake, I told him, ‘I don’t feel like you won or lost.’ Rappers have lost and then lost everything. […] I think Drake will still be in everyone’s rap Spotify at the end of the year at the top. He can still drop hits and it will still control the summer. I think that Kendrick made very smart moves, and I don’t think Drake would disagree.”
Lil Yachty speaking on the Kendrick Lamar & Drake rap battle
“Drake was deemed a loser in this battle before it started, cause people don’t like him and havent… I think he still sits on top of the throne… I told Drake I don’t feel like you won or lost”
T.I. is no stranger to rap battles. When he was beefing with Shawty Lo, the Atlanta rapper went to Lo’s neighborhood and shot the music video for the diss record “What Up, What’s Haapnin’.” He knows how to be disrespectful. That being said, TI is not thrilled with the direction that the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar battle went. He recently went on Big Boy TV to discuss the fallout of the battle, and asserted that it has been harmful to some of the other rappers who have tried to drop in 2024.
TI made it clear upfront that he didn’t care about rappers lying. He considered it to be part of the game. He told the radio host that his focus goes towards the wordplay and the writing. “All this sh*t they saying can’t be true,” he asserted. “I mostly listen for the double entendres, the metaphors and the skill in which they present their art. They hard. I think it’s good for the game.” The Atlanta icon was less positive with regards to what the battle has done to other rappers. He pointed out that Drake and Dot sucked up all the oxygen in the room with regards to hip-hop, and everything else has been effectively drowned out.
T.I. reacts to the Drake & Kendrick Lamar battle, alludes to not believing the allegations
“all this sh*t they saying cant be true… I mostly listen for the double entendres, the metaphors and the skill… they done f*cked it up for some other people who were planning to drop… pic.twitter.com/ssUdbCf84p
“I will say this,” TI added. “They done kinda f*cked it up for some other who were planning to drop in this period.” The rapper has a fair point. Gunna recently dropped a new album, One of Wun, and most of the attention was on the bars that could be perceived as digs at the 6 God. TI, himself, has been working on completing his final album, Kill the King. There isn’t a release date yet, but the Atlanta rapper definitely had no plans of dropping a double album in the midst of the biggest rap battle of the 21st century.
TI also talked to Big Boy about J. Cole’s decision to avoid the battle. While many industry veterans have criticized the rapper for buckling, TIP was complimentary. “I feel [like] he chose peace and tranquility,” he noted. “You got to have thick skin… We don’t know where that would take him. That was quite mature of him.” Fans are still waiting on that TI album, but he did recently drop a killer freestyle over West Coast instrumentals.
The Drake and Kendrick Lamar feud has finally died down a bit. After Kendrick’s release of “Not Like Us,” it seemed many had sided with the Compton rapper over Drake. Last week, ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith spoke about the beef, saying it went entirely too far. He stated that it was inappropriate to make such insensitive and personal allegations as well as to bring up family members and subjects like pedophilia in a rap beef. Smith was adamant in his position of the beef being overkill and straying away from what he believes to be what rap feuds are for proving who is the better artist or lyricist. Overall, Stephen A. seemed taken aback by the viscousness of the beef. Now, he has finally decided to declare a winner.
It seems like the landmark choice for the winner of the Drake-Kendrick Lamar beef is Kendrick. Everyone has pretty much assumed Drake has thrown in the towel, even though the Toronto rapper had the last word. Although he released the latest diss track, it was drowned out by a much better and much more bumping song in “Not Like Us.” Stephen A. Smith has declared Kendrick the winner for that very reason. Drake seemed like he wanted it to end, and Kendrick wanted to win.
It’s simple for Stephen A. Smith. He says the winner is Keendrik because “Drake wanted to squash more so than Kendrick.” he then says, “I personally believe both of them lost to some degree with how personal they appeared to be willing to get, and I don’t think anybody wins in that.” He continued, “If you the one who want to surrender, then usually you’re the one who’s losing. That’s just logic.” His take is pretty much the consensus. Drake wanted it to end more than Kendrick. Kendrick seemed fine, going back and forth for however long he needed to.
Stephen A. Smith previously expressed that he hoped the quarrel wouldn’t escalate into violence. He also gave J Cole credit for ending the dispute a few weeks ago. Stephen A. Smith seems to have found the entire experience unbelievable and finds it hard to comprehend how far it has come. Overall, Stephen A. claims that, in the end, the rivalry is made them both appear bad.
On June 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, the 2024 BET Awards will air live from Los Angeles. As for who’s contending for what awards, that’s information we now have, as the full list of nominations was just revealed today, May 16.
Drake is the leader with seven total nods, while Nicki Minaj is right behind him with six nominations. Beyond that, J. Cole, Sexyy Red, SZA, Victoria Monét have five nominations apiece, while 21 Savage, Beyoncé, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Tyla, and Usher have four each.
Check out the full list of nominations below (via Billboard).
Album Of The Year
Chris Brown, 11:11
Gunna, A Gift & A Curse
21 Savage, American Dream
Usher, Coming Home
Drake, For All the Dogs (Scary Hours Edition)
Victoria Monét, Jaguar II
Killer Mike, Michael
Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday 2
Best Female R&B/Pop Artist
Beyoncé
Coco Jones
Doja Cat
H.E.R.
Muni Long
SZA
Tyla
Victoria Monét
Best Male R&B/Pop Artist
Brent Faiyaz
Bryson Tiller
Burna Boy
Chris Brown
Drake
Fridayy
October London
Usher
Best Group
¥$, Ye, Ty Dolla $ign
2 Chainz & Lil Wayne
41
Blxst & Bino Rideaux
City Girls
Flo
Maverick City Music
Wanmor
Best Collaboration
Lil Durk Feat. J. Cole, “All My Life”
Beyoncé Feat. Kendrick Lamar, “America Has a Problem (Remix)”
Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice (With Aqua), “Barbie World”
Cardi B Feat. Megan Thee Stallion, “Bongos”
¥$, Ye, Ty Dolla $ign Feat. Rich The Kid, Playboi Carti, “Carnival”
Lola Brooke Feat. Latto & Yung Miami, “Don’t Play With It (Remix)”
Nicki Minaj Feat. Lil Uzi Vert, “Everybody”
Usher, Summer Walker & 21 Savage, “Good Good”
Drake Feat. Sexyy Red & SZA, “Rich Baby Daddy”
Best Female Hip-Hop Artist
Cardi B
Doja Cat
GloRilla
Ice Spice
Latto
Megan Thee Stallion
Nicki Minaj
Sexyy Red
Best Male Hip-Hop Artist
21 Savage
Burna Boy
Drake
Future
Gunna
J. Cole
Kendrick Lamar
Lil Wayne
Best New Artist
41
4Batz
Ayra Starr
Bossman Dlow
Fridayy
October London
Sexyy Red
Tyla
Video Of The Year
Doja Cat, “Agora Hills”
Lil Durk feat J. Cole, “All My Life”
Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice (With Aqua), “Barbie World”
Cardi B Feat. Megan Thee Stallion, “Bongos”
Drake Feat. J. Cole, “First Person Shooter”
Usher, Summer Walker & 21 Savage, “Good Good”
Victoria Monét, “On My Mama”
Drake Feat. Sexyy Red & SZA, “Rich Baby Daddy”
Video Director Of The Year
Benny Boom
Child.
Cole Bennett
Dave Meyers
Janelle Monáe & Alan Ferguson
Offset
Tems
Tyler, The Creator
Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award
Shirley Caesar, “Award All of the Glory”
Kirk Franklin, “All Things”
Halle Bailey, “Angel”
CeCe Winans, “Come Jesus Come”
Erica Campbell, Do You Believe in Love?”
Maverick City Music, Naomi Raine & Chandler Moore, “God Problems”
Tems, “Me & U”
Kirk Franklin, “Try Love”
Viewer’s Choice Award
Doja Cat, “Agora Hills”
Lil Durk Feat. J. Cole, “All My Life”
Gunna, “Fukumean”
Jack Harlow, “Lovin on Me”
Muni Long, “Made for Me”
Victoria Monét, “On My Mama”
Drake Feat. Sexyy Red & SZA, “Rich Baby Daddy”
Chris Brown Feat. Davido & Lojay, “Sensational”
Beyoncé, “Texas Hold ‘Em”
Tyla, “Water”
Best International Act
Asake (Africa)
Aya Nakamura (France)
Ayra Starr (Africa)
Bk’ (Brazil)
Cleo Sol (UK)
Focalistic (Africa)
Karol Conká (Brazil)
Raye (UK)
Tiakola (France)
Tyla (Africa)
American Fiction
Bob Marley: One Love
Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Book of Clarence
The Color Purple
The Equalizer 3
The Little Mermaid
Best Actor
Anthony Mackie
Colman Domingo
Damson Idris
Denzel Washington
Donald Glover
Idris Elba
Jeffrey Wright
Lakeith Stanfield
Best Actress
Angela Bassett
Ayo Edebiri
Coco Jones
Danielle Brooks
Fantasia
Halle Bailey
Issa Rae
Regina King
YoungStars Award
Akira Akbar
Blue Ivy Carter
Demi Singleton
Heiress Diana Harris
Jabria McCullum
Jalyn Hall
Leah Jeffries
Van Van
Sportswoman Of The Year Award
A’ja Wilson
Angel Reese
Coco Gauff
Flau’jae Johnson
Juju Watkins
Naomi Osaka
Sha’carri Richardson
Simone Biles
Sportsman Of The Year Award
Anthony Edwards
Gervonta Davis
Jalen Brunson
Jalen Hurts
Kyrie Irving
LeBron James
Patrick Mahomes
Stephen Curry
cant stop a man on his walk with God
(@ClawWRLD) 
