"Unless you're a psycho genius like me"- Kanye claims no one but him can beat Kendrick Lamar in a rap battle

Kanye West recently spoke up on the Drake and Kendrick Lamar rap battle that happened last year as he made an appearance on the Download podcast hosted by Justin Laboy, on February 5, 2025. Notably, Laboy claimed during the conversation that Lamar defeated Drake in the rap battle. Ye said in response:

"Yeah, for now. You can't ever count out Steph Curry. That man might get 200 points in one song or something."

Ye also mentioned that Lamar should never be challenged by anyone, except him, for a rap battle:

"If you rap against Kendrick, you will lose. This man does this specifically. You know Street Fighter? You get like a Chun Lee get a certain kick and no matter what you can't beat that thing."

Kanye West recalled that even Joe Budden had once advised everyone to not rap against Kendrick Lamar, adding that it is a difficult task. Ye described himself as a "psycho genius" and while Justin repeated that no one should rap against Kendrick Lamar, Ye replied:

"Unless you're a psycho genius like me."

---

Kanye West praised Kendrick Lamar and Drake for their work

On the podcast, Ye appreciated Lamar for beating Drake in the rap battle. According to The Mirror, Kendrick was once featured in a single from Kanye's album The Life of Pablo, titled No More Parties in LA, and the duo has collaborated on a few other projects in the past. At one point, Kanye West was heard praising Lamar and Drake's work at the same time as he said:

"Drake added something to the algorithm. He advanced it, Future advanced it and now Kendrick is advancing the frequency."

He said that people need to learn things, like what Kendrick Lamar did, or else the person might get "wiped out." According to Vibe magazine, Ye responded to the rappers' beef in the interview by saying:

"I was like, 'Man, you killed my nemesis. Where's the movies if it ain't no Drake?' Or at least he took him down for a little bit. You know in superhero films, maybe it's like one of the characters like Wolverine or something just goes away for a couple films."

Drake and Lamar's beef started after the release of the former's collaborative single with J. Cole, First Person Shooter, in October 2023, as per Billboard. The lyrics featured the duo saying that they, along with Lamar, are the "big three." Kendrick later responded to the duo in Future and Metro Boomin's song Like That, which came out last year.

“F–k sneak dissin’, first-person shooter/ I hope they came with three switches,” Lamar rapped.

Following the arrival of Like That, Kanye West also intervened by responding to the problems between Cole, Lamar, and Drake in a remix of the same track. According to BBC News, Ye referred to the lyrics from First Person Shooter and said:

"I can't even think of a Drake line."

On the other hand, Kanye West has shared a complicated relationship with Drake over the years. While the duo praised each other on different occasions, they also had problems that emerged out of various situations, including that Drake was reportedly seen with Ye's ex-girlfriend Amber Rose at a club in 2010, as per People magazine.