Rap followers had been on the sting of their seats this weekend as two of the style’s greatest stars continued to impress each other with allegations of pedophilia, home abuse, infidelity and harbouring secret kids.
The most recent instalment of the rap beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar noticed the Toronto-born artist launch his fourth diss monitor towards Lamar, entitled The Coronary heart Half 6, on Sunday.
The moody monitor is over 5 minutes lengthy and makes an attempt to dispute a number of claims made by Lamar, 36, in his earlier raps concentrating on Drake, 37. A lot of the response sees Drake deny grooming underage women for intercourse, an allegation that has adopted the rapper for years now.
Drake referred to as Lamar’s claims that he’s a pedophile “the s—t I anticipated.”
“I by no means been with nobody underage, however now I perceive why this the angle that you just actually mess with,” Drake raps. “Only for readability, I really feel disgusted, I’m too revered / If I used to be f—ing younger women, I promise I’d have been arrested / I’m method too well-known for this s—t you simply instructed.”
Within the track, Drake addresses his controversial friendship with Stranger Issues actor Millie Bobby Brown, who was 14 years previous when she met the rapper. In 2018, Brown (now 20) stated she and Drake texted usually and that he commonly supplied her profession and life recommendation.
“Millie Bobby Browns, I’d by no means look twice at no teenager,” Drake defends himself within the new diss monitor.
(Rap beef apart, Drake has by no means been formally accused of pedophilia.)
He additionally fired again at Lamar’s allegations that he’s been hiding an 11-year-old daughter.
The declare, made in Lamar’s track Meet the Grahams, got here as a shock to Drake’s core fanbase, who speculated whether or not the rapper might have one other little one away from the general public eye, just like his son Adonis. After a 2018 rap beef with rapper Pusha T, Drake confirmed he had a son who was born the 12 months prior.
As for Lamar’s insistence that Drake has one other little one, the rapper stated in The Coronary heart Half 6 that he and his staff “fed” Lamar dangerous info.
“We plotted for every week after which we fed you the knowledge / A daughter that’s eleven years previous, I wager he takes it,” Drake raps. “We thought of giving a faux title or a vacation spot / However you so thirsty, you not involved with investigation.”
To this point, there’s been 9 tracks launched within the ongoing feud between Drake and Lamar — although Drake appeared to suggest he’s rising bored with their forwards and backwards, no matter how enthusiastic their collective fanbases have been.
“I don’t wanna diss you anymore, this actually acquired me second-guessing,” Drake raps on The Coronary heart Half 6, later including, “I’m not gonna lie, this s— t was some good train. It’s good to get out, get the pen working.”
Regardless, the meat has received each rappers placement on this week’s Scorching 100 music charts. Need to know the entire story? Learn on for an intensive rationalization of what’s occurring.
Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s rap beef, defined
It’s been no-holds-barred (or slightly, no holds bars) between Drake and Lamar since late March, however the rappers have been arguing since even earlier than then, starting in 2013 when Lamar rapped on Huge Sean’s Management a couple of need to “homicide” Drake and different well-known rappers.
Throughout their quite a few diss tracks in current months, the rappers have repeatedly doubled down on their allegations towards each other, with arguments spanning from comparisons of artistry to unlawful behaviour.
Followers of each Drake and Lamar have been taking sides and eagerly dissecting and meme-ifying each verse, beat and intelligent (or not-so-clever) quip.
Like That — Future, Metro Boomin, and Kendrick Lamar
The rap beef’s first instalment got here on March 22, when Lamar — alongside rapper Future and producer Metro Boomin — launched Like That.
Over a flashy, synthesizer drumbeat, Lamar disavowed rap’s “Huge Three,” a standard consensus that he, Drake and J. Cole are the perfect rappers within the music sport.
Lamar, a Pulitzer Prize winner, slammed the Huge Three, declaring as a substitute “it’s solely me.”
“Fore all of your canines gettin’ buried / That’s a Ok with all these nines, he gon’ see Pet Sematary,” Lamar raps, referencing Drake’s 2023 album For All of the Canines.
Lamar in contrast himself to Prince and Drake to Michael Jackson, boasting, “Prince outlived Mike Jack.”
Push Ups — Drake
Three weeks after the discharge of Like That, Drake hit again at Lamar with the discharge of Push Ups on April 13.
The track initially got here as a leak however was later launched to streaming platforms.
In Push Ups, Drake, who’s probably the most streamed rapper on this planet, pokes enjoyable at Lamar’s industrial success working with standard artists like Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift.
“Maroon 5 want a verse, you higher make it witty / Then we’d like a verse for the Swifties,” Drake chides. “You ain’t in no massive three, SZA acquired you wiped down / Travis acquired you wiped down, Savage acquired you wiped down.”
Drake additionally took purpose at rapper Rick Ross, who responded with a diss of his personal.
Taylor Made Freestyle — Drake
Days after Push Ups, Drake launched Taylor Made Freestyle on April 19.
The track has since been taken down, because it featured A.I.-generated voices of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg. Shakur’s property threatened to sue Drake over the track.
Drake rapped alongside the A.I. voices and accused Lamar of ready to answer Push Ups over fears of competing with Taylor Swift’s album launch for The Tortured Poets Division.
“Now we gotta wait a f—ing week trigger Taylor Swift is your new prime, and if you happen to boutta drop, she gotta approve,” Drake raps. “This lady actually ’bout to make you act such as you not in a feud / She tailored your schedule with Ant, you out of the loop.”
Snoop Dogg, 52, didn’t publicly threaten authorized motion, and appeared largely unbothered.
“They did what? When? How? Are you positive?” Snoop requested in a video posted to social media. “I’m going again to mattress. Goodnight.”
Euphoria — Kendrick Lamar
Followers didn’t have to attend lengthy for Lamar’s second diss, which arrived on April 30.
Named Euphoria after the HBO present Drake produces, Lamar’s verses slammed Drake’s use of A.I. and his rap artistry typically, calling him a “rip-off artist.”
However Lamar’s jabs weren’t solely about Drake’s profession. The rapper took purpose at Drake’s parenting, private life, allegations of cosmetic surgery and Drake’s racial identification.
“What number of extra fairytale tales about your life ’til we’ve had sufficient? What number of extra Black options ’til you lastly really feel that you just’re Black sufficient?” Lamar prods.
6:16 in LA — Kendrick Lamar
Simply as Drake did, Lamar once more dissed his opponent earlier than they might reply.
6:16 in LA was launched on Friday, with “6:16” seemingly a reference to June 16, Father’s Day.
Within the track, Lamar slams Drake’s report label, OVO, and referred to as the rapper a “bully.”
“Have you ever ever thought that OVO is workin’ for me?” Lamar warns. “Faux bully, I hate bullies, you have to be a horrible particular person / Everybody inside your staff is whispering that you just deserve it.”
The track was produced by Jack Antonoff, the acclaimed music producer and longtime collaborator of Taylor Swift.
“Ain’t no brownie factors for beating your chest, harassin’ Ant / F—in’ with good individuals make good individuals go to bat,” Lamar raps in reference to Antonoff.
Household Issues — Drake
Solely hours after Lamar’s 6:16 in LA drop, Drake launched Household Issues, a beat-switching, seven-minute monitor that turned the warmth up on Drake’s allegations towards Lamar.
Within the track, Drake means that Lamar’s kids, shared with fiancé Whitney Alford, are literally fathered by Lamar’s longtime inventive companion Dave Free.
Drake additionally accused Lamar of home abuse towards Alford.
“While you put your palms in your lady, is it self-defence ’trigger she’s greater than you?” he raps.
He later provides, “There’s nowhere to cover, there’s nowhere to cover, what I imply / They employed a disaster administration staff to wash up the truth that you beat in your queen.”
(Lamar has by no means been formally accused of home violence. Alford has not commented on the rap beef publicly.)
Drake additionally accused Lamar of pushing Shakur’s property to sue him over Taylor Made Freestyle.
Meet the Grahams — Kendrick Lamar
In his retaliation, launched 20 minutes after Household Issues, Lamar accused Drake of being hooked on playing, intercourse, medicine and alcohol.
Lamar stated Drake was mistaken to deliver his household into their feud. Within the track, he takes purpose at Drake’s family and raps that he was sorry for Drake’s son, Adonis.
Meet the Grahams can be the place Lamar accuses Drake of getting a secret daughter.
“He a narcissist, misogynist, residing inside his songs / Strive destroy households slightly than takin’ care of his personal / Must be educating you timetables or watching Frozen with you / Or at your eleventh birthday singing poems with you,” Lamar raps. “It’s not your fault that he’s hiding one other little one.”
“A toddler ought to by no means be compromised and he holding his little one round them / And we gotta increase our daughters realizing there’s predators like him lurking,” Lamar continues. “I’m seeking to shoot by way of any pervert that lives, hold the household secure.”
On Instagram, Drake denied having a daughter and wrote, “Nahhhh maintain on can somebody discover my hidden daughter pls and ship her to me…these guys are in shambles.”
Not Like Us — Kendrick Lamar
Hours after the discharge of Meet the Grahams, Lamar additionally dropped Not Like Us on Saturday.
The monitor sees Lamar double down on lots of his accusations towards Drake.
“Say, Drake, I hear you want ’em younger / You higher not ever go to cell block one,” Lamar raps, including, “Licensed Lover Boy, licensed pedophiles…Tryna ring a bell and it’s most likely A minor.”
Lamar referred to as Drake a “colonizer” and attributed his success to the various different rappers Drake has labored with.
The Coronary heart Half 6 — Drake
Even the title of Drake’s newest diss, The Coronary heart Half 6, takes purpose at Lamar, who has an ongoing five-part sequence of songs below the identical title. Lamar launched The Coronary heart, Half 1 in 2010 forward of his mixtape Overly Devoted.
In addition to denying the existence of a daughter, Drake controversially references Lamar being molested as a toddler.
“My mother came visiting as we speak and I used to be like, ‘Mom I, mom I, mom I … / Wait a second, that’s that one report the place you say you bought molested,” Drake raps. “I simply made the entire connection / This about to get so miserable / That is trauma from your personal confessions.”
The road is in reference to Lamar’s track Mr. Morale & The Huge Steppers, through which Lamar says his mom was sexually abused. The track, nevertheless, maintains that Lamar wasn’t molested as a toddler, and he has by no means publicly stated in any other case.
BBL Drizzy — Metro Boomin
On April 13’s Push Ups, Drake raps, “Metro, shut your ho a— up and make some drums.”
In what’s since turn into a fan favorite launch, Metro on Sunday dropped a beat entitled BBL Drizzy. With a cheery 150 beats per minute (BPM) on the monitor, a singer passionately belts, “I’m thicker than a Snicker … These yams deserve a trophy.”
The beat is a diss by itself, poking enjoyable at a preferred hearsay that Drake (nickname Drizzy) had a Brazilian butt carry (BBL).
Metro inspired his followers to rap over the beat he created, even promoting that the creator of the “finest verse” would obtain a complementary beat from Metro for his or her private use. Because the drop, rap followers have used the monitor to diss Drake themselves in a number of languages.
The drop got here hours forward of Drake’s The Coronary heart Half 6.
The fallout
Followers of each rappers are both eagerly awaiting yet one more diss monitor or are hopeful that the longstanding feud will come to an inevitable, messy finish.
J. Cole, a member of the so-called “Huge Three,” appears to be hoping for the latter. Although Cole initially struck again at Lamar after the discharge of Like That, the rapper has since backed down and apologized.
Throughout April’s Dreamville Fest in Raleigh, N.C., Cole admitted he isn’t “proud” of his personal diss monitor, 7 Minute Drill. Cole stated releasing the track was a “lame” and “goofy” factor to do.
Cole has since eliminated 7 Minute Drill from streaming.
However for Drake and Lamar, in addition to their devoted followers, the meat continues. As followers anticipate extra music from the rappers, ought to it come, the respective camps backing Drake and Lamar have taken to trolling each other.
Lamar’s admirers are even tagging Drake’s Toronto Bridle Path house on Google Maps with remarks about pedophilia and ghost writing.
Regardless of the severity of among the allegations made by Drake and Lamar, rap followers have poked enjoyable on the feud on-line with an ever-growing movement of jokes and memes — and it doesn’t appear to be it should finish any time quickly.
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For those who or somebody is experiencing abuse or is concerned in an abusive scenario, please go to the Canadian Useful resource Centre for Victims of Crime for assist. They’re additionally reachable toll-free at 1-877-232-2610.
