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Kendrick Lamar seemingly alluded to his infamous beef with Drake at the press conference for the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX halftime show on February 6, 2025. Lamar is scheduled to headline the show with a guest appearance from his longtime collaborator SZA.
Kendrick Lamar was one of the most talked-about artists of last year. In addition to his beef with Drizzy, the 37-year-old rapper released his chart-topping sixth studio album, GNX, and was chosen to headline the 2025 Super Bowl.
This month, his diss track Not Like Us set records at the 67th Annual Grammy Award ceremony by winning five awards including Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, Best Music Video, and Record of the Year.
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During his conversation on February 6, K Dot was asked about his "intent" last year. Seemingly alluding to his beef with Drake, the rapper said:
"My intent from day one was to always keep the nature of it as a sport. I don't care how motherf*ckers look at it as far as like a collaborative effort. I love it when artists grit their teeth. I still watch battle raps, Smack URL, Murda Mook, Lux, Tay Roc, and my bro Daylyt. This has always been the core definition of who I am, and it has been that way since day one."
The Pulitzer-winning rapper also talked about his development as a rapper, the process of recording his latest album GNX, and his professional relationship with SZA in the press conference. Thereafter, he answered a few questions from the audience.
Exploring the feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar
The relationship between Drizzy and Kendrick Lamar began on favorable terms at the beginning of their respective hip-hop careers. Kendrick Lamar even performed as the opening act for Drake's Club Paradise Tour in 2012. The first signs of friction between the two arose in 2013 when Lamar dissed Drake and other rappers while featuring in Big Sean's Control. However, he later clarified that the badmouthing was part of a "friendly competition."
In 2023, Drake and J. Cole released First Person Shooter where the latter claimed that he, Drizzy, and Kendrick Lamar formed the "big three" of modern hip-hop. In response, K Dot released Like That in March 2024, claiming that "it's just big me."
Drake's reply came the next month in the form of diss tracks Push Ups and Taylor Made Freestyle. K Dot reciprocated with Euphoria and 6:16 in LA on April 30 and May 3, respectively.
The feud peaked when Drizzy released Family Matters on May 3, 2024, accusing Kendrick Lamar of domestic violence. In the same track, he claimed that one of Lamar's children is fathered by his longtime collaborator Dave Free.
In response, Kendrick Lamar released Meet the Grahams less than an hour after Drizzy's drop. In the track, K Dot claimed that Drake was a s*xual predator and had a secret child. The next day, he dropped Not Like Us in which the Compton rapper accused Drizzy of p*dophilia.
On May 5, Drizzy responded by releasing The Heart Part 6. In the song, the God's Plan rapper denied the accusations and claimed that his team had supplied wrong information to Lamar about the alleged secret child. After The Heart Part 6, the feud cooled down for some months.
In October 2024, Drizzy rekindled it by filing two pre-action petitions against Universal Music Group (UMG), the record label that manages the work of both himself and K Dot. In the pre-action petition, the rapper alleged that UMG tried to artificially inflate the popularity of the song, which was described as defamatory.
However, he withdrew the pre-action petition in January 2025. The next day, he filed another lawsuit against Universal Music Group claiming defamation with regards to the lyrics of Not Like Us.
The same month, Drake seemingly alluded to his feud with Kendrick Lamar in his track Fighting Irish. However, he later took down the song.
The most popular diss track from the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar feud so far has been Not Like Us. The music video for the diss track has 195 million views on YouTube. It was also Lamar's fourth song to peak on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Kendrick Lamar performed the song in front of a live audience for the first time at his Ken & Friends concert on June 19, 2024.
