Drake and Kendrick are having one of the most contentious rap battles of 2024.
A series of diss tracks from hip-hop’s two biggest stars, Drake and Kendrick Lamar have the most high-profile rap beef in a generation, drawing global attention for online discussion and investigation. These two rappers have such a public and angry spat that has fascinated not just hip-hop fans but others around the globe- particularly as Drake and Lamar are rebuking each other lyrically at such a sudden and blistering pace.
Before the beef, both bonded through the collaboration on a few songs: Drake’s 2011 track “Buried Alive Interlude,” Lamar’s 2012 release “Poetic Justice,” and A$AP Rocky’s “(Expletive)’ Problems” that same year. The songs they collaborated on topped charts when released, making them both a powerful duo back then. During Drake’s debut outing, he turned the polarizing rookie to a full-fledged superstar.
Although that didn’t last very long. In 2013, Pulitzer Prize winner Lamar featured on Big Sean’s “Control,” which he calls out a slew of contemporary rappers including Drake, J. Cole, Meek Mill, Pusha T, A$AP Rocky, Big K.R.I.T., Wale, Pusha T and even Big Sean himself. “I got love for you all, but I’m trying to murder you,” he rapped. “Trying to make sure your core fans never heard of you.”
Drake responded in the Billboard cover story, saying “I know good and well that Kendrick’s not murdering me, at all, on any platform.” Shortly afterward, at the 2013 BET Hip-Hop Awards, Lamar took another dig at Drake.
