"I feel honored and appalled"— YNW Melly responds to being mentioned in Kendrick Lamar's new diss track "Euphoria"

Rapper YNW Melly, who is currently incarcerated, responded to Kendrick Lamar name-dropping him in his Drake diss track, Euphoria, which Lamar released on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Melly, who spoke to TMZ Hip Hop in an exclusive, explained that the Compton-born rapper was one of his favorites, adding —

"Kendrick Lamar is one of my favorite rappers so I feel honored and appalled... I'm a household name — just for the wrong sh*t!!!"

Melly remains in prison because of an ongoing legal battle after being charged with murdering his friends, YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser. Referring to the case. Lamar, who is currently feuding with Toronto rapper Drake, wrote—

"Cole and Aubrey know I'm a selfish guy, the crown is heavy, I pray they my real friends, if not, I'm YNW Melly"

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YNW Melly mistakenly thought he was named on Kendrick Lamar's first Drake diss track, Like That

Drake and Kenny have been feuding since 2013, but the war of words escalated when Lamar appeared on Future and Metro Boomin’s Like That from their new collaborative album We Dont Trust You. Referring to Drake and J. Cole's First Person Shooter (2023), where Cole claims themselves along with Kenny the “big three” of hip-hop, Lamar rapped—

"Motherf*ck the big three. It’s just big me."

In response, Drake dropped two diss tracks in April — Push Ups and Taylor Made Freestyle. He released Push Ups on streaming services on April 19, after it was leaked a week earlier. He then dropped Taylor Made Freestyle on his Instagram, mocking Lamar for not responding to the earlier song. Euphoria is Kenny's response to the diatribe, which he also named YNW Melly.

Back in March, the Murder on My Mind rapper mistakenly thought he was named by Kendrick Lamar in Like That. Melly took to his Instagram stories to share a post by DJ Akademiks showing a screenshot of the song's lyrics on Genius that mistakenly mentions Melly Mel instead of Melle Mel with the caption—

"Wasn’t ready for this stray @kendricklamar you gone at least share my single today."

He later took to the comments section of the original post to again call out the West Coast rapper, stating—

"@kendricklamar thought we was cool I sent you my vocals for your record come on OG I’m innocent."

While Kendrick Lamar did not respond to YNW Melly, the verse in question referenced Melle Mel, the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. He rapped-

"I crash out, like, ‘F*ck rap,’ diss Melle Mel if I had to, Got 2TEEZ with me, I’m snatchin’ chains and burnin’ tattoos, it’s up."

Kendrick Lamar's diss came after Melle Mel questioned his standing at the No. 2 spot on Billboard's list of the 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time. During a March 2023 interview with The Art of Dialogue, he explained that while the HUMBLE rapper made some good songs, that didn't "translate into the street part of hip-hop."

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Jamell Maurice Demons, a.k.a. YNW Melly was arrested in February 2019 and charged with two counts of premeditated first-degree murder. While Melly claimed it was someone else who fired on him and his friends.

His trial began on June 12, 2023, and a shooting expert testified against the rapper, stating the victims were shot at close range. An autopsy revealed the victims were shot from the left side. Per the video evidence found by the police, Melly was sitting on the left side.

However, after deliberation over three days, the jury could not reach a unanimous decision, and Melly remained in custody awaiting a retrial. Per NBC, as of today, Melly's case is on pause awaiting the inclusion of video evidence.