Two of hip-hop’s biggest stars are having issues and people are taking sides.
Kendrick Lamar and Drake have been locked in a lyrical battle in recent weeks that intensified over the weekend. Each of the two artists released songs about the other, in one case, Lamar didn’t even wait a full hour before releasing a song in response to one from Drake.
Here’s what you need to know about the verses that have been a hot topic of cultural conversation.
Early collaborations
There’s a lot we don’t know in terms of why there is apparent animosity between the two superstar rappers, but we do know there is history.
In 2011, Lamar appeared on Drake’s second album, “Take Care,” in “Buried Alive Interlude.” It was the same year that Lamar released his debut studio album, “Section.80.”
The two men were carving out a place for themselves in the industry at the time, and Drake was best known as an actor for his role as student Jimmy Brooks on the Canadian teen television series “Degrassi.”
The pair would tour together and collaborate on the song “Poetic Justice” from Lamar’s second studio album, “Good Kid, MAAD City.”
“King of New York” tries to take “control”
As one of hip-hop’s rising stars, Lamar leveraged his growing success with the swagger one would expect in the rap game during a guest appearance on Big Sean’s 2013 single, “Control.”
Several artists are name-checked in the song, including Drake. The lyrics include: “I love them all, but I try to murder them”, a euphemism for outdoing them professionally. Lamar proclaims himself “King of New York” and “King of the Coast.”
Drake told Billboard of the verse: “I didn’t really have anything to say about it.”
“It just seemed like an ambitious thought to me. That’s it,” Drake said at the time. “I know very well that Kendrick is not murdering me, at all, on any platform. So when he shows up that day, I guess we can broach the topic again.”
An ‘Infinity War’ of rappers
The pair have continued to go at each other on the slopes over the years, but this latest skirmish appears to have started in October 2023, when rapper J. Cole collaborated with Drake on the song “First Person Shooter.”
In the song, Cole refers to himself, Lamar and Drake as the “big three” of rap. Drake compared his own popularity in the game to the stardom of the late singer Michael Jackson.
Lamar apparently took issue with the comparisons and responded with a collaborative song with Future and Metro Boomin that caught fire in March 2024, titled “Like That.”
Lamar makes it clear in the song that there is no “big three,” only “the big me.” He introduces himself as the Prince to Drake’s Jackson, and notes that the former survived the latter.
“Like That” is a cut from the album “We Don’t Trust You,” which many believe is full of criticism directed at Drake. The apparent jabs surprised some listeners, as Drake and Future have been longtime collaborators.
Things got even hotter when Future and Metro Boomin released the follow-up track “We Still Don’t Trust You,” which Billboard magazine declared is “full of Drake disses, not just from Future, but from The Weeknd as well.” and A$AP Rocky.” .”
With so many lyrically pursuing the Canadian rapper, it started to feel like the Marvel Infinity War of hip-hop superheroes battling it out. The man who helped start it all, J. Cole, quickly left the battle.
Cole released “7 Minute Drill” on a surprise project “Might Delete Later” in which he came after Lamar, only to later declare the song boring. He removed it from streaming services, publicly apologized, and has remained silent since.
Drake backs away
Last month, Drake released the song “Push Ups” in which he mocked Lamar’s shoe size and his past collaborations with pop stars.
“Maroon 5 need a verse, you better be clever / So we need a verse for the Swifties,” Drake raps, appearing to mock Lamar’s work with Maroon 5 on his song “Don’t Wanna Know” and with Swift on her song . “Bad blood.”
Drake also attacked Rick Ross, who appeared on “We Don’t Trust You.” Ross then started a war of words on social media with Drake, which included accusing Drake of having plastic surgery.
K.Dot’s attack
Lamar, also known as K.Dot, responded with multiple volleys.
First there was “Euphoria,” which is now as famous for the insults hurled at Drake as it is for raising awareness among the general public that the rapper was also an executive producer of the hit HBO drama. (HBO is owned by CNN’s parent company.)
A few days later, Lamar followed up with “6:16 in LA,” which many interpreted as a mockery of Drake’s penchant for titling songs with times and places.
Drake gets personal with “Family Matters”
Things got increasingly personal in this rap battle on Saturday, when Drake dropped the eight-minute track, “Family Matters.” In the song, he makes accusations about abuse and infidelity involving Lamar and his fiancée, Whitney Alford.
Don’t mess with a Pulitzer Prize winner
Lest we forget that Lamar made history in 2018 by becoming the first rapper to win a prestigious Pulitzer Prize for his album “DAMN,” he didn’t let even an hour pass after the release of “Family Matters” to drop a response: titled “Meet the Grahams.” (Drake’s legal name is Aubrey Graham.)
The song gets heavy when Lamar addresses Drake’s parents and Drake’s paternity, accusing him of having a secret daughter. Lamar followed that up a few hours later with another song, titled “Not Like Us,” in which he accuses Drake of being attracted to underage girls.
Drake responds
Drake expressed his opinion again on Sunday with “The Heart Part 6.” In this song, Drake claims that he was the one who gave Lamar false information about a secret boy.
“We plotted for a week and then we gave you the information/An 11 year old daughter, I bet she takes it,” Drake raps.
CNN has reached out to representatives for both artists for comment.