Unlike much of the online hip-hop community, Questlove was less than impressed with the rap beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Over the weekend, the two rappers exchanged a slew of acidic diss tracks — “6:16 In LA,” “Family Matters,” “Meet The Grahams,” “Not Like Us,” and “The Heart Part 6” — that did little to promote either rapper as the vanguard of a generation in favor of simply airing out each other’s dirty laundry.
Questlove, a 30-plus-year veteran of the rap business, who heard “Rapper’s Delight” on the radio and has written at least two books about the history of hip-hop as pop culture, deplored the contest on his Instagram, where he wrote, “Nobody won the war.”
This wasn’t about skill. This was a wrestling match level mudslinging and takedown by any means necessary — women & children (& actual facts) be damned. Same audience wanting blood will soon put up ‘rip’ posts like they weren’t part of the problem. Hip Hop truly is dead.
As one of hip-hop’s foremost historians, Quest’s opinion holds a lot of weight. He also sees and remembers more than most. His ominous pronouncement isn’t just doomsaying, it’s a remembrance; interviews with prominent hip-hop journalists from the ’90s expressing regret over the coverage of the interpersonal feud between Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. aren’t hard to find.
And no, it doesn’t seem like either Drake or Kendrick would do some dummy sh*t and escalate the conflict to violence, but that doesn’t mean those around them won’t — or even unrelated superfans taking their jabs to heart. If nothing else, the pair never seemed to consider the effects of the battle on those they care about. Kendrick directly addressed Drake’s mother and son on “Meet The Grahams,” while Drake insinuated Kendrick’s manager was schtupping his fiancée on “Family Matters.”
Those are things you can’t take back and, honestly, probably would warrant violence in a face-to-face confrontation — I’ve seen folks punched in the face at rap battles for less (maybe they should take up Shawn Michaels on his WWE invitation and put on a shoot match for the ages). The battle wasn’t exactly “good for hip-hop” in the way many — who really just wanted to see a couple of really good rappers RAP — might see it. There were always plenty of raps, but many underground stars just looking to climb their way into public notice had rollouts ruined, opportunities overlooked, and releases swept to the side in the rush to hear these two guys air their personal grievances. Quest’s pronouncement that “hip-hop is truly dead” might be dramatic, but the spirit of friendly competition seems to have gotten lost in the modern climate of ad hominem and frankly outrageous accusations.
Kendrick Lamar released “Not Like Us,” on May 4, as the latest in a number of lyrical onslaughts that target Drake. The tensions between Kendrick Lamar and Drake seem to have escalated after J. Cole referred to them as the “big three” of modern Hip Hop. However, it’s become increasingly evident that Kendrick has a bone to pick with Drizzy. In fact, one would say that he absolutely despises the Toronto rapper, and Kendrick is airing Drake’s alleged dirty laundry on the track. As a result, their back-and-forth disses have continued to evolve from playful jabs to personal shots. It looks like Kendrick is currently at an edge over Drake though, as the public has been leaning in his favor following the back-to-back disses on “Meet the Grahams,” and now, “Not Like Us.”
While Kendrick’s lyrics about Drake definitely steal the show, the production on “Not Like Us” does deserve a few points as well. The instrumental is a collaboration between producers Mustard and Sounwave. The track’s tempo is relentless, creating an urgent atmosphere that features pronounced snares and bass, emphasizing the aggressive tone. Nonetheless, Kendrick Lamar’s vocal performance takes center stage, with the instrumentation allowing his words to cut through.
Sex Offense Allegations
The song opens with a haunting line, “Pss, I see dead people,” referencing M. Night Shyamalan’s Sixth Sense (starring Haley Joel Osment) before diving into a barrage of insults aimed at Drake. Kendrick calls him a “free throw,” an easy target and continues with a series of accusations and metaphors that paint Drake as weak, untrustworthy, and worse, a predator. Throughout “Not Like Us,” Kendrick accuses Drake of having inappropriate sexual relationships with minors. This is also a topic Drake has had to debunk in the past. However, Kendrick doesn’t shy away from blowing up the rumors surrounding Drake’s personal life with his lyrics like, “Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young / You better not ever go to cell block one / To any b**ch that talk to him and they in love / Just make sure you hide your lil’ sister from him.”
Accusing Drake of being sexual with underaged women has become a recurring topic in Kendrick’s diss tracks. However, K. Dot found new, creative ways to hurl these heavy allegations at Drizzy, but that’s not all. Another standout moment in “Not Like Us” comes when Kendrick hits Drake with the line, “Why you trollin’ like a b*tch? Ain’t you tired? Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A-Minor.” With this, Kendrick is referencing all of the memes and online insults Drake posted on social media last month in order to goad Kendrick into responding.
The predator accusations on “Not Like Us” don’t stop with Drake, as Kendrick moves on to accuse the entire OVO crew. The cover art for the track is in fact an aerial view picture of Drake’s mansion, allegedly dotted with sex offender location tags. Kendrick alleges that Drake’s close friend Chubbs, gets his “hand-me-downs;” a metaphor for the women Drake has sexual relations with. He also accuses PartyNextDoor of having a drug addiction before moving on to address Baka Not Nice, Drake’s former bodyguard and rapper who has had a history of run-ins with the law. “They tell me Chubbs the only one that get your hand-me-downs / And Party at the party, playin’ with his nose now / And Baka got a weird case, why is he around? Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles,” he raps. Later, he doubles back on these allegations, rapping, “And your homeboy need a subpoena, that predator move in flocks / That name gotta be registered and placed on neighborhood watch.”
J. Cole & Lil Wayne Relationship
One of the most striking lines on “Not Like Us” is “Led a n*gga to the cross, he walk around like Teezo.” Here, Kendrick doesn’t just stop at suggesting that Drake’s actions have always been hypocritical. He follows up with names of those who have allegedly been subjected to Drake’s wiles, starting with J. Cole and Lil Wayne. “Did Cole fouI, I don’t know why you still pretendin’ / What is the owl? Bird n***as and bird b***hes, go. The J. Cole lyric is perhaps referencing the fact that Drake keeps mentioning Cole in a beef he does not want to be a part of anymore. Evidently, this comes off as an attempt to goad a reaction out of him too.
“Fucked on Wayne girl while he was in jail, that’s connivin’ / Then get his face tatted like a bitch apologizin’,” he continues. The second lyric is much more explicit in its meaning and is as on-the-nose as can be. Kendrick references Drake getting intimate with Lil Wayne’s girlfriend while Wayne was in prison. Wayne confirmed the rumor in his 2016 memoir Gone Til November. Drake subsequently tattooed Lil Wayne’s face on his arm in 2017, which Kendrick claims was a way to apologize.
Kendrick Questions Drake’s Authenticity On “Not Like Us”
Kendrick also lists other names within the industry on “Not Like Us,” specifically rappers from Atlanta, whom Drake allegedly leveraged to get his street cred. However, first, he opens the second verse condemning Drake for using A.I vocals of rap legend 2Pac in his diss track “Taylor Made Freestyle.” “You think the Bay gon’ let you disrespect Pac, n***a? / I think that Oakland show gon’ be your last stop, n***a.”
The social climbing accusations are also consistent with his lyrics on “Meet The Grahams.” Summarily, K. Dot reminds listeners about how Drake allegedly only embraces his Blackness when it’s convenient. Kendrick gives a history lesson about how slaves built the city of Atlanta on their backs. White settlers eventually exploited these slaves. He then infers that Drake, who is biracial and Canadian, is a white settler in Hip-Hop. Altogether, he believes these Atlanta rappers have helped Drake get his reputation in the industry.
“Atlanta was the Mecca, buildin’ railroads and trains / Bear with me for a second, let me put y’all on game / The settlers was usin’ town folk to make ’em richer / Fast-forward, 2024, you got the same agenda/ You run to Atlanta when you need a check balance / Let me break it down for you, this the real n***a challenge / You called Future when you didn’t see the club / Lil Baby helped you get your lingo up / 21 gave you false street cred / Thug made you feel like you a slime in your head / Quavo said you can be from Northside / 2 Chainz say you good, but he lied,” he raps on the third verse.
Drake’s previous diss tracks, including “Push Ups,” released in April, took direct aim at Kendrick Lamar. On the track, Drake referred to Kendrick as a “pipsqueak.” He also questioned his stature in the industry. How the f*ck you big steppin’ with a size-seven men’s on?
This was in response to Kendrick’s verse on Metro Boomin and Future’s “Like That,” where he dismissed the notion of the “big three,” which included himself, Drake, and J. Cole. No one expected that those lines would lead to a series of songs that serve as character assassinations. However, 24 hours after “Not Like Us,” Drake followed with “The Heart Part 6.” On the track, he made sure to address Kendrick’s pedophilia accusations while also claiming Kendrick was working with false information about him.
“I never been with no one under age but now / I understand why this the angle that you really mess with / Just for clarity, I feel disgusted I’m too respected / If I was fucking young girls, I promise I’d been done arrested / I’m way too famous for this shit you just suggested, but that’s not the lesson, clearly there’s a deeper message,” he raps. Though it marked the first time
A rumor is running rampant online, stating Universal Music Group is looking to step in and host a group Zoom, with Kendrick Lamar and Drake included. The rumor alleged Lamar is doing damage to Drake’s reputation with pedophile allegations.
TMZ hopped in and stated the rumor was “totally unfounded,” and no one asked Lamar to put out a statement that would backtrack his statements in the diss records. Furthermore, there was no Zoom meeting and no ask of a Zoom meeting. Additionally, UMG would never interject in the feud.
Also, why should UMG want it to wrap up? More music, more beef, more streams, more dollars.
This might be the wildest Zoom call in corporate history: Drake’s team, UMG and Nike reps asking Kendrick to stop the rap beef because allegations are costing everyone involved “a lot of money” pic.twitter.com/pGw7dEjEax
According to ChartData, “Not Like Us” has the biggest single streaming day for a Hip-Hop song in history, surpassing Drake’s “Girls Like Girls” featuring Lil Baby.
“Not Like Us” has hit the top of the Global Spotif chart with 10.986 million streams. “Girls Like Girls” was at 6.593.
Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” rises to #1 on the global Spotify chart with a new daily high of 10.986 million streams, up 41%.
All you have to do is mention Sweet Chin Music, and WWE icon Shawn Michaels will be right around the corner. Kendrick Lamar mentioned the wrestling finishing move on “Not Like Us,” prompting Michaels to offer his services to the duo to settle the differences.
“Put the wrong label on me, I’ma get ’em dropped/Sweet Chin Music and I won’t pass the aux,” Kendrick Lamar rapped.
“A little Sweet Chin Music goes a long way,” Michaels wrote. “@kendricklamar, you and @Drake are formally invited to #WWENXT to settle this thing. I’m even offering my services to mediate.”
At this point, the ongoing beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake has permeated essentially the entirety of culture. Need proof? Joe Biden’s team is capitalizing on the situation to go after Donald Trump.
A video shared on social media by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ campaign team on May 6 is set to the part of Kendrick Lamar’s “Euphoria” that goes, “It’s always been about love and hate, now let me say I’m the biggest hater / I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress / I hate the way that you sneak diss, if I catch flight, it’s gon’ be direct.”
That scores a gallery of Trump photos and text subtitles showing off alternate lyrics, which read, “It’s always been about love and hate, now let me say I’m the biggest hater. I hate the way that you walk over women’s rights, the way that you talk about immigrants. I hate the way that you dress, I hate the way that you sneak diss on Truth Social.”
Meanwhile, Seth Rogen just joked about the beef at his Seth Smokes The Bowl event last night, saying in part, “Could you imagine going to a club and seeing a room full of people dancing to a song about you being a pedophile?”
The Drake and Kendrick Lamar rap beef is still ongoing. After a weekend that featured multiple songs from each artist, there have been a couple of days of silence on both fonts. Fans and onlookers who have been exhausted by the whirlwind of diss tracks and information in the beef have been able to couch up and catch their breath. Everyone seems to have an opinion on the beef. It’s the cultural event of the moment right now and has been a pretty vicious back and forth. Both rappers have alleged nefarious things about the other to varying degrees. ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith thinks it has gone too far.
Stephen A., known for speaking his mind, had many thoughts about the direction the beef has taken. Yesterday, Stephen A. Smith took the time to address the ongoing rap feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Stephen A. said the beef has gone incredibly too far and has strayed from who is the better artist or lyricist. Stephen A. Smith explained his position on the beef on his show, The Stephen A. Smith Show.
Stephen A. Smith says, “The shi*t ain’t cool,” when beginning his rant on the Kendrick Drake Beef. He goes on to say the personal and inflammatory accusations and mentions of pedophilia and family members have been out of line. Smith then goes on to describe his connections to hip-hop, saying he grew up in the hip-hop generation and was around the greats from NYC, where he grew up. Stephen A. describes what he believes rap beef should stick to. He believes it should be strictly on artistic and lyrical ability. Stephen A. has no time for the gossip and the remarks made by either rapper. Smith says that we don’t know if any of it is true and that it’s not our business.
He is thankful that the beef will hopefully not turn violent. He also credits j Cole for bowing out of the feud weeks ago. Stephen A. Smith is in disbelief over the whole ordeal and cannot believe where it has gone. Ultimately, Stephen A. says the beef is making them both look bad.
Last night (May 7), Seth Rogen hosted Seth Smokes The Bowl, a Hilarity For Charity benefit event at the Hollywood Bowl. The event featured various performers, and at one point between acts, Rogen shared his take on the ongoing Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef.
Rogen started, “If you’re a rap fan, there’s some crazy sh*t going on right now.” He then gave a broad overview of the situation, summarizing by saying the two are feuding by writing “mean rhymes about each other.” When he got the point of Lamar’s “Not Like Us” and Drake’s “The Heart Part 6,” specifically how Lamar accused Drake of an inappropriate interest in underage women and Drake refuted it, Rogen said, “I would say as soon as you are asserting in a rap song that you should not be a registered sex offender, you’ve lost the rap battle.”
He added, “What’s crazy is these are not, like, personal correspondences: These are songs! These are hit songs! These are No. 1 and 2 on iTunes, like, right now! These are songs the Apple algorithm is telling my mother to listen to while working out.”
He then compared the song to Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know,” which is famously believed to be about Dave Coulier. After pointing out the relative mystery behind the song’s official, confirmed meaning, Rogen continued, “But now Kendrick is like, ‘F*ck you Drake, you’re a pedophile.’ And these are hit… people are dancing to these songs! Could you imagine going to a club and seeing a room full of people dancing to a song about you being a pedophile? Especially if you were one? I don’t know if he is, but if he was, I assume that’d be a very alarming moment in your life. ‘Oh no, they’re on to me.’”
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a banger/ Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” has bounced Drake out of holding a Spotify record. According to ChartData, “Not Like Us” has the biggest single streaming day for a Hip-Hop song in history, surpassing Drake’s “Girls Like Girls” featuring Lil Baby.
“Not Like Us” has hit the top of the Global Spotif chart with 10.986 million streams. “Girls Like Girls” was at 6.593.
Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” rises to #1 on the global Spotify chart with a new daily high of 10.986 million streams, up 41%.
All you have to do is mention Sweet Chin Music, and WWE icon Shawn Michaels will be right around the corner. Kendrick Lamar mentioned the wrestling finishing move on “Not Like Us,” prompting Michaels to offer his services to the duo to settle the differences.
“Put the wrong label on me, I’ma get ’em dropped/Sweet Chin Music and I won’t pass the aux,” Kendrick Lamar rapped.
“A little Sweet Chin Music goes a long way,” Michaels wrote. “@kendricklamar, you and @Drake are formally invited to #WWENXT to settle this thing. I’m even offering my services to mediate.”
The hate is real. Kendrick Lamar put on a diss record masterclass over the last seven days, with three diss tracks and a rollout that completely stomped on his opponent’s. Drake rapped incredibly well on his responses, but the momentum is with Lamar, and his former TDE label mates are celebrating. Jay Rock got on X (formerly Twitter) on May 7 to let fans know who won the battle. He also took time out to make fun of Drake fans who were trying to dig stuff up on Lamar and his camp.
Jay Rock didn’t mince words. He not only clowned Drake fans for crying about their favorite rapper losing, but he referred to the rapper by the nickname Lamar gave him on “Not Like Us.” The 6 God has been dubbed the “69 God,” at least on the West Coast. “Don’t be mad at me y’all 69 God lost,” Rock tweeted out. The Watts emcee then turned his attention to the fans who have been going through old tweets from the TDE camp. Metro Boomin underwent a similar fan investigation on X, and wound up looking pretty bad considering the questionable nature of some of his old tweets.
Jay Rock knows the Drake fans are looking for similar dirt on him and the rest of Lamar’s old label. He isn’t worried, though. “Lol old a*s tweets y’all digging up and still can’t read or comprehend,” he added. “14 year ago tweets y’all reaching for the stars lol.” This is not the first time Rock has voiced support for K. Dot during the battle. He praised his Black Hippy brother on X after the release of the first Drake diss, “Euphoria.” “Now this ain’t no AI,” he assured fans. “See I know Kdot!” He also updated fans on the score of the battle after Lamar dropped “Not Like Us.” “4-0 we already know,” he added.
A quick scroll through Jay Rock’s X timeline proves that he’s been team Dot the entire time. That being said, the rapper did delete the tweet about the “69 God” hours after posting it. It’s ironic, given that the Drake fans he alluded to are looking for messages that might get deleted. Jay Rock is also recording his new album, which is tentatively titled Eastside Johnny. A proper release date hasn’t been given, but Rock has confirmed that it will drop some time in 2024.
Never has a rap battle been saddled with so many conspiracy theories and false leads. Drake and Kendrick Lamar has not only had to contend with fake diss songs, but they’ve spread information about the other person without providing concrete evidence. The misinformation spree continued on May 7. Drake’s record label, UMG, was accused of stepping in and putting an end to the battle because the rapper was “losing.” A document surfaced online with a list of steps UMG has taken to end things.
The document in question claimed that UMG asked The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar to end their battle with Drake. It detailed Zoom meetings with the artists’ respective labels, and claims that UMG was losing money over Drake’s pedophile allegations. “Drake is losing the beef in UMG’s eyes,” the document read. “So from UMG’s perspective, the sooner than this beef ends the better.” It didn’t take long for real UMG reps to speak out and state that none of these actions have been taken.
UMG, which is short for Universal Music Group, issued a denial to TMZ. The label has never considered getting involved in the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar battle. “Kendrick and Drake’s beef is between them and completely separate from the business side of things,” TMZ reported. “And UMG just doesn’t think it’s their place to step in either way.” It’s easy to see why UMG is staying clear. The label is reaping the benefiting from the battle with historic streaming numbers.
Drake and Kendrick Lamar will draw over 250 million streams in the United States this week. This means that the handful of releases between will make up a staggering 20% of all streams on the Billboard Hot 100. Firstly, Drake, UMG’s artist, managed to land a top 20 single with “Push Ups.” Secondly, the music video for his follow-up diss, “Family Matters,” trended number one on YouTube. It’s since racked up an impressive 17 million views. If anything, UMG would benefit from the battle continuing to unfold. Drake may have had another diss prepped to drop on May 7, but a shooting outside of his home led to a delay.
Could the long-brewing feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar finally be coming to an end? Over the course of the past few weeks, Drake and Lamar have dropped several diss tracks aimed at each other. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse, after Drake’s bodyguard was reportedly shot near Drake’s Toronto home.
Neither Drake nor Lamar have commented directly on the matter, however, neither party has dropped a diss track since the incident. Many fans are wondering if the labels have since gotten involved, asking to end the beef.
Did Drake’s label ask Kendrick Lamar to end their rap beef?
A screenshot of a supposed blind item went viral on Twitter today (May 7), alleging that Universal Music Group had reached out to Lamar and his pgLang brand, as well as The Weeknd, asking them to end the feud, and to walk back comments calling Drake a pedophile.
The supposed blind item noted that Drake, Nike, and other parties involved were losing a lot of money, as Drake was losing the beef.
However, TMZ has said there is no truth to this blind item, and that the claims are entirely unfounded.
TMZ reported that sources close to the matter — who, evidently, are knowledgeable of how labels works — had not gotten involved, and likely, wouldn’t get involved with matters like this.
But given recent events, it seems as though continuing the feud would be in poor taste.
