Drake vs Kendrick Lamar: An In-Depth Look at Popular Songs, Career Highlights, and More

Kendrick Lamar and Drake are two icons in the rap industry who have greatly impacted the entertainment world and pop culture through their renowned feud. This rivalry has led to numerous chart-topping and record-breaking tracks as both artists utilized their lyrics as ammunition against one another.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kK_JjIJZnA

Drake on stage with Kendrick Lamar and ASAP Rocky (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kK_JjIJZnA)

Prior to the emergence of diss tracks, Kendrick Lamar and Drake had collaborated multiple times. In 2011, Lamar was featured on Drake’s track “Buried Alive Interlude”from the album Take Care.

Drake reciprocated in 2012 by appearing on Lamar’s “Poetic Justice,”which is part of the critically acclaimed album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. The origins of their feud can be traced back to the early 2010s.

Hip-hop enthusiasts and media outlets have long speculated about sneak disses hidden in various songs before the onset of full diss tracks that emerged in 2024.

Achievements of Drake and Kendrick Lamar: Popular Songs and Feud Timeline

Drake’s Career Highlights and Popular Songs

Aubrey Drake Graham, known professionally as Drake, launched his career with the debut mixtape Room for Improvement in 2006. He has been recognized as a trailblazer in blending R&B with hip-hop.

His first three albums—Thank Me Later, Take Care, and Nothing Was the Same, which were released in 2010, 2011, and 2013 respectively—debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart.

Drake’s sixth album, Certified Lover Boy, released in 2021, broke records for the most top-ten hits from a single album. He holds the title for the most-certified digital singles by RIAA and shares the record with Michael Jackson for the most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as a solo male artist.

The Canadian rapper boasts the highest number of top-ten debuts and singles, and was named the Artist of the Decade at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards, in addition to being Spotify’s most-streamed artist of the 2010s.

Drake’s album Take Care is listed as number 95 in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. He has won four Grammy Awards and has received 47 nominations throughout his career.

His most-streamed track on Spotify is “One Dance,”with over 3 billion streams. Other hit songs include “God’s Plan,””Passionfruit,””In My Feelings,”and “Hotline Bling.”

Kendrick Lamar’s Career Highlights and Popular Songs

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is acclaimed as one of the greatest rappers in history. The 37-year-old gained fame with his second album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.

His fourth studio album, Damn, earned the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2018, making it the first album outside of classical and jazz genres to receive this prestigious honor.

Albums like Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, To Pimp a Butterfly, and Damn have been included in Rolling Stone’s lists of the 500 greatest albums of all time and the 200 greatest hip-hop albums of all time in 2023.

Lamar’s hit song “Alright”has been recognized by Spotify as the greatest hip-hop track of the streaming era. He has received 13 Grammy Awards, placing him third among all rappers in Grammy wins.

During the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, Kendrick became the first artist to have four consecutive nominations for Album of the Year with his lead studio albums.

In celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary in 2023, both Vibe and Billboard ranked Lamar as the second greatest rapper of all time, following Jay-Z.

Kendrick Lamar’s top song on Spotify is “HUMBLE”with over two billion streams, and other well-known tracks include “All The Stars”featuring SZA, “Money Trees,”and “LOVE”featuring Zacari.

Drake and Kendrick Lamar Feud Timeline

Initially, Drake and Lamar’s relationship was amicable until August 2013, when Lamar’s verse on Big Sean’s “Control”took aim at Drake and other rappers. Lamar later clarified that his verse intended to depict friendly competition and that he “had love” for his peers while aiming to out-rap them.

In an interview with Billboard in August 2013, Drake downplayed any rumors of a feud, stating:

“It just sounded like an ambitious thought to me. That’s all it was. I know good and well that [Lamar]’s not murdering me, at all, in any platform.”

In September of the same year, during an interview with Elliot Wilson, Drake maintained their friendship post-VMAs.

Media speculation about potential diss verses continued following apparent jabs in Drake’s “The Language”and Lamar’s verse in “Pay For It.”In November 2014, Lamar addressed the situation on The Breakfast Club, stating:

“It wasn’t no issue from the jump. I think people talk about beef… it’s just a whole ‘nother dynamic. I can’t see myself going bar for bar with Drake. We’re two different types of artists.”

Between 2015 and 2022, despite repeated claims of no animosity, fans and media continued to note perceived digs in the lyrics of Drake’s If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late, Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, and Father Time in 2022.

The feud reignited in 2023 after J. Cole’s verse on “First Person Shooter”implied that he, Drake, and Lamar were the top three rappers in contemporary hip-hop. Lamar responded skeptically in a verse on his March 2024 track, “Like That”:

“Motherf**k the big three, ni**a, it’s just big me.”

J. Cole followed up with a diss track titled “7 Minute Drill,”containing lines that included:

“I got a phone call, they say that somebody dissing / You want some attention, it come with extensions / He still doing shows but fell off like ‘The Simpsons.’”

Later, J. Cole expressed remorse to Lamar during a concert in Raleigh, N.C., asserting that the responses to his song didn’t “sit right with his spirit.”

In April 2024, Drake released “Push Ups,”where he dissed Lamar’s height and suggested that artists like 21 Savage, Travis Scott, and SZA were superior to Lamar.

On the same day, Drake also dropped “Taylor Made Freestyle,”targeting Lamar with AI imitations of 2Pac and Snoop Dogg, which was condemned by 2Pac’s estate and subsequently removed.

Kendrick Lamar retaliated with “Euphoria,”making jabs at Drake’s parenting abilities.

After Drake’s “Family Matters”in May 2024, where he accused Lamar of domestic violence and infidelity, Lamar countered with “Meet The Grahams,”labeling Drake’s associates as sex offenders and alleging that he has a secret child.

Kendrick also released “Not Like Us”that month, which many critics consider his strongest response in the feud. In this track, Lamar refers to Drake and his circle as pedophiles.

“Not Like Us”broke streaming records, becoming the most-streamed diss track on Spotify and reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for two non-consecutive weeks.

Drake soon followed with “The Heart Part 6,”denying the allegations and challenging Lamar to substantiate his claims.

Despite the heated nature of their diss tracks, both Drake and Kendrick Lamar have made significant contributions to the evolution of modern rap, amassing numerous records and accolades.

Kendrick Lamar is set to headline the Super Bowl halftime show in New Orleans in 2025. Following this announcement, rumors emerged that Drake had sent him a cease and desist letter to prevent him from performing “Not Like Us”at the event. However, these claims have been denied by Drake’s representative.

Learn more about their songs and career highlights