{"id":142377,"date":"2025-01-06T22:31:45","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T22:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/06\/kendrick-lamar-and-drakes-feud-a-complete-timeline\/"},"modified":"2025-01-06T22:31:45","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T22:31:45","slug":"kendrick-lamar-and-drakes-feud-a-complete-timeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/06\/kendrick-lamar-and-drakes-feud-a-complete-timeline\/","title":{"rendered":"Kendrick Lamar and Drake\u2019s Feud: A Complete Timeline"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n Kendrick Lamar and Drake<\/span> Getty Images (2)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kendrick Lamar<\/strong><\/a> and Drake<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s feud has become one of the most storied rap beefs in history, but their relationship wasn\u2019t always so fraught with tension.<\/p>\n

Before Lamar made his major label debut with 2012\u2019s \u200b\u200bGood Kid, M.A.A.D City<\/em>, the Compton native and Drake were on good terms. Lamar made a guest appearance on Drake\u2019s 2011 album, Take Care<\/em>, and later opened for the Canadian rapper on his 2012 Club Paradise<\/em> tour. That same year, the duo contributed guest verses to ASAP Rocky<\/strong>\u2019s \u201cF\u2014in\u2019 Problems,\u201d and Drake appeared on Lamar\u2019s track \u201cPoetic Justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just one year later, however, cracks in their professional relationship started to show as the pair began taking shots at each other in their music, starting with Lamar\u2019s verse on Big Sean<\/strong>\u2019s \u201cControl.\u201d In the decade-plus since, the drama has only escalated \u2014 and there\u2019s no sign that these two ever plan on burying the hatchet.<\/p>\n

Keep scrolling for a complete timeline of Drake and Lamar\u2019s feud:\n<\/p>\n

August 14, 2013<\/h3>\n

The drama kicked off when Lamar took aim at Drake \u2014 and every other popular rapper of the era \u2014 in his verse on Big Sean\u2019s \u201cControl\u201d with Jay Electronica<\/strong>. \u201cI\u2019m usually homeboys with the same n\u2014-s I\u2019m rhymin\u2019 with \/ But this is hip-hop, and them n\u2014-s should know what time it is \/ And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Wale \/ Pusha T, Meek Millz, ASAP Rocky, Drake \/ Big Sean, Jay Electron\u2019, Tyler, Mac Miller \/ I got love for you all, but I\u2019m tryna murder you n\u2014-s \/ Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you n\u2014-s \/ They don\u2019t wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you n\u2014-s.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Kendrick<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>A Complete Guide to All the Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake Diss Tracks<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tKendrick Lamar and Drake\u2019s rap feud is so heated that it may burn the hip-hop world to the ground. Lamar, 36, and Drake, 37, have been waging lyrical war with increasingly personal diss tracks released over the last several days. Drake\u2019s \u201cFamily Matters\u201d song accused Lamar of being a \u201cmake-believe\u201d activist, claimed Lamar got physically [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

At the time, Drake said he was unbothered by the song, telling Billboard<\/em> he \u201cgot dinner and kept it moving\u201d after hearing the track. \u201cI didn\u2019t really have anything to say about it,\u201d he added. \u201cIt just sounded like an ambitious thought to me. That\u2019s all it was. I know good and well that Kendrick\u2019s not murdering me, at all, in any platform. So when that day presents itself, I guess we can revisit the topic.\u201d<\/p>\n

September 24, 2013<\/h3>\n

Drake released his third studio album, Nothing Was the Same<\/em>, which included a track called \u201cThe Language\u201d that some fans believed was a response to Lamar\u2019s \u201cControl\u201d boasts. \u201cI don\u2019t know why they been lyin\u2019 but your s\u2014 is not that inspirin\u2019 \/ Bank account statement just look like I\u2019m ready for early retirement,\u201d Drake rapped on the first verse. \u201cF\u2014 any n\u2014- that\u2019s talking that shit just to get a reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

October 15, 2013<\/h3>\n
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\n Kendrick Lamar<\/span> Arnold Jerocki\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During the BET Hip Hop Awards, Lamar seemingly snuck in a dig at Drake during his freestyle performance with the TDE cypher, rapping, \u201cYeah, and nothing been the same since they dropped \u2018Control\u2019 \/ And tucked a sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n

December 17, 2013<\/h3>\n

Drake hopped on a remix of Future<\/strong>\u2019s track \u201cS\u2014\u201d with Juicy J<\/strong> and hit back at Lamar, rapping, \u201cI hear you talk about your city like you run that.\u201d He also referenced Lamar mentioning him on \u201cControl\u201d with the lines, \u201cAnd if a n\u2014- say my name, he the hot s\u2014 \/ But if I say the n\u2014- name, he still the hot s\u2014 \/ F\u2014ed up, lucky I don\u2019t feed into the gossip.\u201d<\/p>\n

Days later, Vibe<\/em> published a cover story featuring Drake, in which he claimed that \u201cThe Language\u201d was not a direct rebuttal to \u201cControl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t ever want to get into responses,\u201d he said when asked directly whether the track was a response to Lamar. \u201c\u2018The Language\u2019 is just energy. What it was inspired by, I\u2019m sure that, and other things. It\u2019s just me talking my s\u2014. I never once felt the need to respond to that record. The sentiment he was putting forth is what he should have. Of course you wanna be the best. 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. What am I supposed to say? \u2018Nah, we\u2019ll be buddy-buddy?\u2019 Mind you, I never once said he\u2019s a bad guy [or] I don\u2019t like him. I think he\u2019s a f\u2014ing genius in his own right, but I also stood my ground as I should.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>21 Savage and More Stars Weigh In on Drake and Kendrick Lamar Beef<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\t\u00a0 The beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar has many people, including some A-list stars, talking about hip-hop. The clash between the two rappers came to a head when Metro Boomin teamed with Future \u2014 who\u2019s worked frequently with Drake in the past \u2014 for We Don\u2019t Trust You and We Still Don\u2019t Trust You, [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Drake noted that he hadn\u2019t seen Lamar since the BET Hip Hop Awards, but he thought things would be fine between them. \u201cI have no ill feelings toward that guy,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just like, it\u2019s there for me if I wanna fall for it. I\u2019m just too smart for that. \u2026 We haven\u2019t seen each other [since the BET cypher], but I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll see each other and it\u2019ll be cool. And if it\u2019s not, then I guess that\u2019s how our story unfolds.\u201d<\/p>\n

March 15, 2015<\/h3>\n

Lamar released his third studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly<\/em>, featuring the song \u201cKing Kunta.\u201d One line in particular \u2014 \u201cI can dig rapping, but a rapper with a ghost writer? What the f\u2014 happened?\u201d \u2014 left fans wondering whether Lamar was acknowledging rumors that Drake doesn\u2019t write his own raps. (Lamar has never confirmed who that quip was about.)<\/p>\n

June 26, 2015<\/h3>\n
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\n Drake<\/span> BG027\/Bauer-Griffin\/GC Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The duo\u2019s more subtle beef continued during Drake\u2019s guest appearance on The Game<\/strong>\u2019s \u201c100,\u201d in which he seemingly took a shot at Lamar\u2019s reputation for socially conscious lyrics. \u201cI would have all of your fans \/ If I didn\u2019t go pop and I stayed on some conscious s\u2014,\u201d Drake boasted.<\/p>\n

October 6, 2023<\/h3>\n

While the pair traded a few more subtle barbs after \u201cKing Kunta\u201d and \u201c100,\u201d their feud didn\u2019t really kick off again until 2023 when Drake released his album For All the Dogs<\/em>. On the track \u201cFirst Person Shooter,\u201d J. Cole<\/strong> delivered the lines that seemingly inspired all the back-and-forth that was yet to come: \u201cLove 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.\u201d (K.Dot refers to Lamar\u2019s original stage name, while Aubrey is Drake\u2019s given first name.)<\/p>\n

Drake, meanwhile, described himself as \u201cbig as the Super Bowl\u201d \u2014 a reference he\u2019d arguably come to regret later on.<\/p>\n

March 22, 2024<\/h3>\n

Five months later, Lamar responded to Cole\u2019s \u201cbig three\u201d lines on \u201cLike That,\u201d which appeared on Future and Metro Boomin<\/strong>\u2019s album We Don\u2019t Trust You<\/em>. \u201cMotherf\u2014 the big three, n\u2014-, it\u2019s just big me,\u201d he rapped.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Dua Lipa Breaks Down the Drake and Kendrick Lamar Feud on \u2018SNL\u2019<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tIf you\u2019re confused by Drake and Kendrick Lamar\u2019s feud, look no further than Dua Lipa for all the intel. The pop star, 28, tried to explain the rappers\u2019 bad blood while hosting Saturday Night Live on Saturday, May 4, in a skit titled \u201cGood Morning Greenville.\u201d (Dua was also the episode\u2019s musical guest.) In the [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Two days later, Drake seemingly responded to the dig on stage, telling a Florida crowd, \u201cA lot of people ask me how I\u2019m feeling. \u2026 I got my f\u2014ing head up high, my back straight, I\u2019m 10 f\u2014ing toes down in Florida and anywhere else I go. And I know that no matter what, it\u2019s not a n\u2014- on this Earth that could ever f\u2014 with me in my life!\u201d<\/p>\n

April 5, 2024<\/h3>\n

Cole released a Lamar diss track called \u201c7 Minute Drill\u201d on the mixtape Might Delete Later<\/em>, featuring pointed lyrics like, \u201cYour first s\u2014 was classic, your last s\u2014 was tragic.\u201d Two days later, however, he issued a public apology, saying he \u201cfelt terrible\u201d about the song, which he later removed from streaming services.<\/p>\n

April 12, 2024<\/h3>\n

Future and Metro released their collaborative album We Still Don\u2019t Trust You<\/em>, which included guest appearances from ASAP Rocky and The Weeknd<\/strong>, both of whom fans believed insulted Drake on their respective tracks. On \u201cShow of Hands,\u201d ASAP appeared to take shots at For All the Dogs<\/em> not making much of a cultural impact, while The Weeknd seemed to express relief that he hadn\u2019t signed with Drake\u2019s label, OVO Sound.<\/p>\n

April 13, 2024<\/h3>\n
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\n Drake<\/span> Prince Williams\/Wireimage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The diss track war began in earnest with the leak of Drake\u2019s \u201cPush Ups,\u201d which mocked Lamar\u2019s height and called him a \u201cpipsqueak.\u201d<\/p>\n

April 19, 2024<\/h3>\n

Days later, Drake followed up with \u201cTaylor Made Freestyle,\u201d which took aim at Lamar\u2019s connection to Taylor Swift<\/strong> (the pair collaborated on the \u201cBad Blood\u201d remix in 2015). The song ended up making headlines for a different reason, however: It incorporated an AI-generated sample of Tupac Shakur<\/strong>. Shakur\u2019s estate sent Drake a cease-and-desist over the use of the sample, and Drake removed the track from streaming services.<\/p>\n

April 30, 2024<\/h3>\n

Lamar hit back with \u201cEuphoria\u201d \u2014 the first of several diss tracks \u2014 as a nod to the HBO drama of the same name (which Drake executive produces). The six-minute song saw Lamar hurling insults like, \u201cI hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress \/ Surprised you wanted that feature request \/ You know that we got some shit to address \/ I even hate when you say the word \u2018n\u2014-,\u2019 but that\u2019s just me, I guess \/ Some s\u2014 just cringeworthy, it ain\u2019t even gotta be deep, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

May 3, 2024<\/h3>\n

Days later, the pair were at it again, with Lamar dropping \u201c6:16 in LA\u201d and Drake releasing \u201cFamily Matters\u201d in response. Lamar\u2019s song claimed that there was a mole within OVO sharing dirt on Drake, while Drake accused Lamar of cheating on his wife, Whitney Alford<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

May 4, 2024<\/h3>\n
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Arturo Holmes\/MG23\/Getty Images for The Met Museum\/Vogue<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lamar dropped two more songs that most commentators agreed effectively ended the battle: \u201cMeet the Grahams\u201d and \u201cNot Like Us.\u201d In the former track, Lamar alleged that Drake has a secret daughter he\u2019s never publicly acknowledged, and in the latter he famously accused him of pedophilia.<\/p>\n

May 5, 2024<\/h3>\n

Drake denied the allegations<\/a> in \u201cMeet the Grahams\u201d and \u201cNot Like Us\u201d with \u201cThe Heart Part 6,\u201d the title of which is a play on Lamar\u2019s own \u201cThe Heart\u201d series. In one verse, Drake claimed that he baited Lamar into receiving fake intel about the alleged secret daughter, rapping: \u201cWe plotted for a week and then we fed you the information \/ A daughter that\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Metro Boomin, meanwhile, released the instantly viral \u201cBBL Drizzy\u201d sample and offered a prize to the person who delivered the best rap over the beat. (The song\u2019s title and hook is a reference to Rick Ross<\/strong>\u2019 joking that Drake had a Brazilian butt lift.)<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>J. Cole Apologizes for Kendrick Lamar Diss Track on His Latest Album<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tIn an unforeseen turn of events, J. Cole has had a change of heart about his recent Kendrick Lamar diss track. Videos posted to social media that showed Cole, 39, addressing the crown during his set at Raleigh\u2019s Dreamville Festival on Sunday, April 7. Cole released his latest album, Might Delete Later, two days prior, [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

May 24, 2024<\/h3>\n

Drake contributed a guest verse on Sexxy Red<\/strong>\u2019s \u201cU My Everything,\u201d which incorporated a sample of \u201cBBL Drizzy.\u201d<\/p>\n

June 19, 2024<\/h3>\n

At his Pop Out<\/em> concert on Juneteenth, Lamar performed \u201cNot Like Us\u201d five consecutive times. Notable attendees included NBA stars LeBron James<\/strong>, Russell Westbrook<\/strong> and James Harden<\/strong> as well as actors Ayo Edebiri<\/strong> and LaKeith Stanfield<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

July 4, 2024<\/h3>\n

Lamar released the \u201cNot Like Us\u201d music video<\/a>, which includes a scene that shows him beating up an owl puppet. (The logo for Drake\u2019s OVO brand is an owl.)<\/p>\n

September 8, 2024<\/h3>\n
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\n Kendrick Lamar<\/span> Taylor Hill\/WireImage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The NFL announced Lamar as the halftime show<\/a> performer for Super Bowl LIX, meaning that he \u2014 not Drake \u2014 would officially be as \u201cbig as the Super Bowl.\u201d<\/p>\n

September 11, 2024<\/h3>\n

After several musicians criticized the NFL for not choosing Lil Wayne<\/strong> as the halftime headliner (the game will take place in his hometown of New Orleans), Drake seemingly weighed in<\/a> by sharing several photos of Wayne via his Instagram Story.<\/p>\n

October 1, 2024<\/h3>\n

Drake denied speculation<\/a> that he sent a cease-and-desist letter to Lamar about performing \u201cNot Like Us\u201d at the halftime show. \u201cThe rumors are completely false,\u201d a rep for the rapper told Us<\/em> at the time.<\/p>\n

November 22, 2024<\/h3>\n

Lamar surprised fans with the release of his sixth studio album<\/a>, GNX<\/em>, which features production by longtime Swift pal and collaborator Jack Antonoff<\/strong>. On the opening track \u201cWacced Out Murals,\u201d he addressed the controversy surrounding his halftime show gig and hinted that he and Drake will never kiss and make up: \u201cI never peaced it up, that s\u2014 don\u2019t sit well with me \/ Before I take a truce, I\u2019ll take \u2019em to hell with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

November 25, 2024<\/h3>\n
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\n Drake<\/span> Prince Williams\/Wireimage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a legal complaint, Drake alleged that Lamar\u2019s record label, Universal Music Group (which is also his own record label), conspired to \u201cartificially inflate\u201d<\/a> the popularity of \u201cNot Like Us.\u201d The filing listed several methods UMG allegedly used to popularize \u201cNot Like Us,\u201d including hiring bots, paying influencers to boost the song and charging Spotify reduced licensing rates in exchange for recommending the song to users searching for \u201cunrelated songs and artists.\u201d The document also accused UMG of paying Apple to have Siri \u201cpurposely misdirect\u201d users to Lamar\u2019s track.<\/p>\n

UMG vehemently denied Drake\u2019s claims in a statement, telling Billboard<\/em>: \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Kendrick Lamar Taps Jack Antonoff After Drake Drags Taylor Swift Into Feud<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tThere\u2019s clearly beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, but after Lamar\u2019s newest diss track, will there be \u201cbad blood\u201d between Drake and Taylor Swift? Lamar, 36, surprised fans on Friday, May 3, by releasing \u201c6:16 in LA.\u201d This second diss track came mere days after he shared \u201cEuphoria,\u201d his long-awaited response to Drake\u2019s \u201cPush Ups\u201d [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

November 26, 2024<\/h3>\n

Drake filed a second motion against UMG, accusing the label of allegedly using payola to promote \u201cNot Like Us\u201d with iHeartRadio. He also accused UMG of defamation, claiming they could have prevented the song\u2019s release because of its lyrics \u201cfalsely accusing him of being a sex offender.\u201d<\/p>\n

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