Xzibit says Kendrick Lamar really likes to fight as he compares his beef with Drake to David and Goliath

Hip-hop veteran and West Coast legend Xzibit has weighed in on the escalating lyrical warfare between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, likening the ongoing feud to the biblical battle of David and Goliath.

On April 3, 2025, during an interview with American country music artist Johnny James, the American rapper, whose real name is Alvin Nathaniel Joiner, took a moment to reflect on hip-hop culture, including lyrical battles.

During the conversation, the Detroit-born rapper suggested that Kendrick Lamar likes to "fight" and further indicated that the Compton artist belongs to a generation that is heavily involved in gang-related culture —

"And so Kendrick really likes to fight, you know what I am saying, and he's in the environment that he comes from, he's the voice of a generation of very strong, you know gang, related culture and roots that don't have the voice to articulate the way he can," the rapper said.

The reference to Drake-Lamar's beef stems from their infamous rap battle, which escalated in March 2024 and seemed to settle in May 2024.

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Xzibit reflects on Kendrick Lamar's lyrical battle with Drake:

On Thursday, April 3, 2025, in a podcast show with Johnny James, Xzibit was asked to share his two cents on the lyrical battle fought between Kendrick Lamar and Drake.

He was also invited to share his thoughts on who supposedly won the battle and what difference that lyrical battle made to hip-hop culture. In response, Xzibit compared the Drake-Lamar feud with the biblical tale of David and Goliath, in which a young shepherd named David defeats the giant warrior Goliath in a battle.

Xzibit began by explaining that, in this context, the feud evolved into a contest between popularity and skill.

The Detroit-born rapper suggested that the battle became increasingly focused on mainstream appeal, with the conflict eventually resembling a herd mentality, where individuals unthinkingly followed one side without fully understanding the underlying dynamics or discerning the right course of action —

"Let's put the David and Goliath aspect of what we are talking about, and then it was become popularity versus skills. Right? Popular! popular... You know what I am saying. Your face is on everything...

And then there's skilled MC right! I think that kinda gave people a different route. Right now, group thinking is, for some reason a ,thing," the rapper said.

In addition, speaking about Kendrick Lamar's ability to fight lyrically, the Detroit artist suggested that the Compton artist picks up to fight with an artist who is equally compatible with giving a response —

"I look at what Kendrick is doing and he, man, you know I feel like I said this before but I feel like you don't pick a fight with somebody really likes to fight... Don't fight people who really like to fight," the rapper added.

This is not the first time that Xzibit has shared his opinion on the infamous rap battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. In March 2025, during an appearance on Bill Maher's Club Random Podcast, the Detroit artist suggested that Lamar is a "success", but he is not as "big" as Drake —

"What you're seeing and why people are celebrating it so much is that this big, huge machine and this so-called rapper from Compton… Yes, he has success, but he's not as big as his [Drake]," X said.

In addition, the rapper suggested that the rap battle they fought was serious and not a "testimony" or "deposition." He also indicated that the points each artist made against each other were part of the game.

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As of now, neither Drake nor Kendrick Lamar has reflected on the remarks made by Xzibit.