"Kendrick is a lyricist and I am also a lyricist" — Vybz Kartel says he has new music with Drake in the works, and claims Drizzy won the beef

Jamaican dancehall DJ Vybz Kartel is the latest artist to address the high-profile rap battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar in 2024. Kartel's opinions were included in his latest interview with Complex, published on December 31, 2024. For the unversed, Vybz Kartel was recently released from Kingston’s General Penitentiary in August after he was charged with the murder of Clive Williams in 2014.

During the interview, Kartel said he had new music with artists like Drake, Nicki Minaj and Cardi B on the horizon. When asked who won the rap battle between the Canadian rapper and Lamar, he answered:

“Kendrick is a lyricist and I am also a lyricist. So I appreciate his art. But to me, Drake gets the point across on a global scale.”

Kartel was one of the few artists who came to Drake's defense after the rap beef, in which many deemed Lamar as the victor. Other artists who shared Kartel's beliefs include Azealia Banks, Gillie Da Kid, and Jay Electronica.

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Drake seemingly continues the beef with a new freestyle

Drake seemingly decided to start the new year by allegedly taking shots at Kendrick Lamar and others in a new freestyle, titled Fighting Irish Freestyle. The snippet was uploaded on producer Conductor Williams' YouTube page on January 3, 2025, and was subsequently taken down hours later.

However, the song generated buzz on social media within the few hours it was public, with many believing the rapper was allegedly reigniting his feud with Kendrick Lamar with the lines:

"This n***a pulled a rabbit out the hat, and y'all love a magician/ It's funny to see you all rejoicin' and huggin' and kissin'."

There are also speculations that Drake took shots at basketball stars LeBron James and DeMar DeRozan for supporting Kendrick Lamar during the feud with the lines:

“The world fell in love with the gimmicks, even my brothers got tickets/ Seemed like they loved every minute, just know this s**t is personal to us, and it wasn’t just business.”

Both athletes, who had previously been friendly with the Canadian rapper, were seen celebrating Lamar's win during the beef. They were spotted at the rapper's Juneteenth pop-out show, with Lamar bringing DeRozan on stage while performing Not Like Us. The NBA player also appeared in the track's music video, released on July 4.

Lamar also name-dropped LeBron and DeRozan in his diss tracks. In meet the grahams, he urged James to "keep the family away" from the Canadian rapper due to allegations of him being a p*dophile.

"Ayy, LeBron, keep the family away, hey, Curry, keep the family away/ To anybody that embody the love for their kids, keep the family away," Lamar rapped.

In Not Like Us, Lamar seemingly rejoiced at the fact that DeRozan "came home", referring to the NBA star returning to the Sacramento Kings after playing with the Toronto Raptors, whose global ambassador was Drake.

In the new track, Drake also seemingly replied to some accusations mentioned in meet the grahams, where Lamar alleged the Canadian rapper had "gamblin' problems, drinkin' problems, pill-poppin' and spendin' problems." In the now-deleted freestyle, he rapped:

"I don't have a drinkin' problem, I got a subtle addiction/ I got my father's habits and I got my mother's permission."

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In other news, Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us was nominated for five Grammys, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Lamar received seven nominations, including two for his collaboration on the Metro Boomin and Future track Like That, which initiated the rap beef.