What caused the tension between Kendrick Lamar and Drake?

Since 2011, rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake They have exchanged hints through their songs, but it was not until 2024 that these references became explicit in their latest releases. Even though it seemed like the conflict between them had ended after Lamar’s 2017 album “Dream,” the situation is more active than ever.

The relationship between the artists began in 2010 when Kendrick had not yet released his album “Section 80” and was not a well-established artist. He even appears with the voice behind “One dance” in the song “Buried Alive Interlude”, from Drake’s album “Take Care (Deluxe)”, where the latter seemed to support Lamar in raising his career.

A year later, Drake took Kendrick on tour and that same year Lamar decided to invite him to participate in the album “Good Kid Maad City” specifically in the song “Poetic Justice”, one of the singer’s most recognized songs today.

In 2013, Kendrick appeared with “Control,” a song that gave rise to controversy among rappers. In it there was a controversial verse where he named the artists who for him are the best rappers in history such as Jay Z, Eminem, and he compared himself to them saying that he is part of the select group.

However, the dilemma arose when Lamar also mentioned famous contemporaries whom he considered not to be on his level and whom he could surpass in lyrical terms. In that context, in addition to naming J Cole, ASAP Rocky, Pusha T, Tyler The Creator and Mc Miller, he also pointed out Drake. While most didn’t take Kendrick’s verse the wrong way, Drake did.

The “Passionfruit” singer came out to defend himself before the media by discrediting Lamar’s verse, mentioning that “it is not a memorable verse,” which motivated Lamar to create a new song with more references against Drake.

“Cypher by BET” is the song where Kendrick makes a play on the name of Drake’s third album “Take Care”, and talks about how the relationship between the two is no longer the same since the song “Control” was released. ”.

Then, Drake would respond in 2015 with “Used To”, so that Kendrick would later respond on the album “To Pimp a Butterfly” during the song “King Kunta” where he rhymes to Drake alluding and criticizing the fact that the rapper uses a writer. anonymous behind his songs.

Two years later, in 2017, Lamar released the album “Damn”, just after the release of “More Life” by Drake, where he once again attacked Kendrick, who responded in the song “Element” and from then on the conflict simulated go out. The public speculated that this was because the rappers had reconciled, but it was more because Lamar had since lowered the number of songs he released annually.

However now, after Drake released a new strip in his song “Push Ups”, released on April 19, the so-called “beef” between both rappers once again interested the entire international rap scene.

Kendrick did not sit idly by and on April 30 he published his response with the song “Euphoria”, where for the first time he makes direct reference in different verses to Drake, while still being an innovative song in terms of rhythms and sounds, with three beat changes, including soul, trumpets like on the album “Family Days”, and closing with aggressive bass.

“Those superpowers are being neutralized, I can only watch silently.”

The famous actor we once knew seems paranoid, and now he’s spiraling

You move like a heavy degenerate clown, it feels unpleasant

I can even predict your angles

You make up stories on the family front, because you heard Mr. Moral

A pathetic master manipulator, I can smell the stories about you now

You’re not a rap artist, you’re a hustler hoping to be accepted

Tommy Hilfiger stood out, but FUBU had never been your collection

How I make music that electrifies them, you make music that pacifies them

I can duplicate that line, but this time I’ll spare you, it’s random acts of kindness

I know you’re a master manipulator and a habitual liar too.

But don’t tell lies about me, and I won’t tell truths about you,” says the song “Euphoria” in its first part, now the public was waiting for a new response from Drake.

Drake took only two days to respond to Lamar, and he did so with the song “Family Matters,” the title adopted by the rapper, in relation to the title of “Family Ties,” one of the most popular. by Kendrick Lamar.

But what impressed the audience most was the almost immediate response from Kendrick Lamar who, upon seeing that Drake had published a song against him again, responded just an hour later with a new song even though it had a generic title “6:16 in.” LA”, and is not available on platforms. Fans are now beginning to call this back-and-forth one of the most important moments in modern hip-hop.