“He was much better than Drake the whole way" — Joe Budden dances to Kendrick Lamar's diss track Not Like Us as he claims rapper won the battle

In response to Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us, popular podcaster and former rapper Joe Budden openly celebrated what he perceives as Kendrick's victory over Drake. On May 8, 2024, on his podcast, Budden spoke out his thoughts on the matter, marking a notable moment in this high-profile feud.

“I think he won this off skill. He was much better than Drake the whole way,” Joe Budden declared on The Joe Budden Podcast.

Budden discussed the ongoing feud and entertained his audience by dancing to Kendrick's diss track, adding more layers to the discussion surrounding the rap battle.

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Joe Budden and other rappers comments on Drake and Lamar feud

Joe Budden's assertion that Kendrick Lamar triumphed over Drake "off skill" and was "much better... the whole way" sets the tone for how he perceives the evolution of their rivalry. His view is rooted in a detailed analysis of both artists' approaches to the battle.

Budden elaborated on his thoughts, critiquing Drake for not being prepared for all outcomes.

“If I’m battling you, I need to have my options ready for all the variables; Drake didn’t. And if you feel that way, then when I was telling you to stop saying that I’m outside looking for the n-gga that saying he been outside. All that sh*t he was feeding to [Akademiks], talking about, ‘Oh, it’s been 10 years.’ Nah, nah, nah — you follow it through." he explained.

Joe Budden further pointed out that Drake seemed to be backing down quickly from the fight and criticized the shift in his attitude, noting how rapidly he went from dismissive responses to saying he was going on vacation and finally to declaring he wouldn’t respond anymore.

Don’t sound like a n-gga that’s trying to fight a losing battle! He went from, ‘Nah, nah, nah’ to, ‘I’m going on vacation’ to, ‘I’m not replying no more.’ That was the fastest change of tone.” He said.

Adding humor to his critique, Joe Budden also referenced a line from Drake's Push Ups.

“This n-gga said, ‘You gonna make me have to wake the demon up.’ You know how many f*cking sleeping pills I’ve taken in my life? What type of sleeping pills the demon taking? That demon is snoring! He lost unequivocally. The n-gga took it from him.”

He made this statement during the same podcast episode, where Joe Budden used the opportunity to speak about what he sees as Drake's lack of impactful responses in the feud.

Other influential figures in the hip-hop community, Cam’ron and Ma$e, both recognized for their contributions to the genre, have shared their thoughts on the ongoing feud. On the recent episode of the show It Is What It Is, aired May 8, 2024, Cam’ron said,

“Right now, man, I’ma be honest, Kendrick Lamar.”

He expressed disappointment with Drake's recent track The Heart Part 6, saying

"I don’t like what Drake dropped last night because it wasn’t bad but I don’t like the way that it ended."

Meanwhile, Ma$e praised Kendrick’s strategic releases of the recent diss tracks.

“I’m going with Kendrick as well. It seemed like whatever he started out doing, he picked up the speed — pause — and really did what he was supposed to do. I thought the last record that he did ['Not Like Us'] was the one. He should’ve done it a little bit earlier. " He said.

He further stated that, according to him, the impactful delivery of Meet the Grahams set a solid foundation, creating anticipation and setting the stage for the follow-up track, Not Like Us, which arrived with perfect timing to maximize its effect and majorly boosted Kendrick's position in the feud.