Taylor Swift and Charli XCX. Cardi B and Nicki Minaj. Yes, these two feuds between the ultra popular female musicians are taking over headlines recently, but they are far from the biggest musical feud to command the public's attention. No, that title belongs to Drake, 38, and Kendrick Lamar, 38. The rappers' beef reached its pinnacle in February when Kendrick performed at the Super Bowl Half Time show, but it's been going on for over a decade. From wild accusations to multiple diss tracks, the feud between Drake and Kendrick has mesmerized their fans for years.
Drake first rose to fame on the Canadian teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation. He starred as Jimmy Brooks for seven seasons, but left the show to focus on his music career. The rapper released his first album, Thank Me Later, in 2010 and received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance.
Kendrick grew up in Compton, California, and began rapping during high school. During the early 2000s, he released five mixtapes, including C4 which was a tribute project to Lil Wayne's album Tha Carter III. While his mixtapes garnered Kendrick a fanbase, his debut album – good kid, m.A.A.d city – wasn't released until October 22, 2012.
Here's everything you need to know about the feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
© Getty Images2011 – 2012: Things between Drake and Kendrick started out good
In 2011, Drake featured Kendrick on "Buried Alive Interlude," a song from his second album, Take Care. In a November 2011 interview, Kendrick told XXL Mag: "[Drake's] a real good dude. He got a real genuine soul. We clicked immediately. We had spoken probably one time before that."
© Getty ImagesThe "All The Stars" rapper opened for Drake on his Club Paradise tour with A$AP Rocky. And in October 2012, Kendrick featured Drake on "Poetic Justice," which was the sixth track on his album good kid, m.A.A.d city.
2013: The feud between Drake and Kendrick begins
© FilmMagicIn August 2013, Kendrick was featured in fellow rapper Big Sean's song "Control." He wrote a verse listing out 11 rappers, including Drake, in which he said: "I got love for you all, but I'm tryna murder you [expletives]." The "Passionfruit" singer responded in an interview with Billboard, saying: "I know good and well that Kendrick's not murdering me, at all, in any platform. So when that day presents itself, I guess we can revisit the topic."
A month later, Drake released "The Language" which was believed to be a diss about Kendrick. He rapped: "[Expletive] any [expletive] that's talkin' that [expletive] just to get a reaction." Kendrick responded during a live rapping segment at the 2013 BET Hip-Hop Awards, rapping: "Nothing's been the same since they dropped 'Control,' and tucked a sensitive rapper back into his pajama clothes."
© GettyAfter Drake told Vibe Magazine that he "never once said [Kendrick's] a bad guy or I don't like him," Kendrick appeared on The Breakfast Club radio show and said: "I can’t see myself going bar for bar with Drake. We’re two different types of artists."
2015 – 2021: Drake and Kendrick's feud continues with subtly
For six years, the rappers subtly dug at each other in their songs and in the press. Neither of them specifically called each other out, but fans read in between the lines. In Kendrick's song "King Kunta" he rapped: "I can dig rapping, but a rapper with a ghostwriter? What the [expletive] happened?" This seemed to reference the accusations that Drake used ghostwriters.
© InstagramDrake punched back on his song "Engery" where he rapped: "Got a lot of enemies, got a lot of people tryna drain me of my energy." Their feud was so well known that the then-President Barack Obama chimed in on who he thought would win a rap battle. He told YouTuber Swoozie: "Gotta go with Kendrick. I think Drake is an outstanding entertainer, but Kendrick, his lyrics." Drake responded in his song "Summer Sixteen," rapping, "Tell Obama that my verses are just like the whips that he in, they bulletproof."
For a few more years, Drake and Kendrick rapped about each other about actually rapping about each other. But that all changed in 2022.
2022 - present: Kendrick and Drake's feud blew up
© InstagramIn 2022, Kendrick released his fifth studio album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. And he directly named Drake in "Father Time" where he rapped: "When Kanye got back with Drake, I was slightly confused. Guess I'm not mature as I think, got some healin' to do." Over a year later, Drake signed on to a response in his song with rapper J.Cole "First Person Shooter."
"Love when they argue the hardest emcee. 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," J.Cole rapped, using Kendrick's nickname "K. Dot" and Drake's first name "Aubrey."
Things really took a turn in March 2024, when Kendrick and rappers Future and Metro Boomin released the song "Like That" in which Kendrick rapped: "[Expletive sneak dissin', first-person shooter, I hope they came with three switches ... Mother-[expletive[ the big three, [expletive], it's just big me." The verse directly called out Drake's song "First Person Shooter."
© Getty ImagesIn April and May, Drake released four diss tracks against Kendrick – "Push Ups" which called out Top Dawg Entertainment (Kendrick's label), "Taylor Made Freestyle" which used AI to rap in Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg's voices (Kendrick's main influences), "Family Matters" where he accused Kendrick of domestic violence against his fiancée Whitney Alford, and "THE HEART PART 6" in which Drake responds to Kendrick's diss tracks.
During those same months, Kendrick also released four diss tracks. His first was "euphoria," a six minute response to Drake in which he rapped: "I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress ... I even hate when you say the word [expletive], but that's just me, I guess." The other songs were "6:16 in LA" – possibly making fun of Drake's song 4PM in Calabasas – and "meet the grahams" in which Kendrick rapped about Drake's parenting, addictions and weight loss.
© GettyThe biggest song of the feud was "Not Like Us," which Kendrick released on May 4, 2024. The song, which went on to win five Grammys, includes lyrics explicitly accusing Drake of being a pedophile, including: "Say, Drake, I hear you like 'em young ... Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles." Kendrick performed the song at the Super Bowl wearing a Canadian tuxedo.
The feud is still ongoing, with Drake releasing an album on Valentine's Day called $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, in which he rapped: "Yeah, Drake elimination, fake intimidation," and later goes on to say, "[Expletive] a rap beef, I'm tryna get the party lit."
