The Canadian rapper Drake and the American rapper Kendrick Lamar have been involved in a highly publicized rivalry since 2013, when Drake responded to Lamar's verse on the Big Sean song "Control". In 2024, their feud escalated to a series of diss and answer tracks following the release of "Like That" by Lamar, Future and Metro Boomin, in which Lamar insults Drake. The feud has been the subject of extensive media coverage, and music journalists consider it one of the largest in hip-hop history.
Drake and Lamar have been among hip-hop's most prominent figures since the 2010s. Their relationship began on favorable terms, but turned acrimonious after Lamar named Drake among rappers he sought to compete with on "Control". Over the next decade, the two sent sneak disses across various songs. After the American rapper J. Cole named himself, Lamar, and Drake the "big three" of modern hip-hop on Drake's song "First Person Shooter" in October 2023, Lamar insulted them on "Like That" in March 2024. In April, Cole responded with "7 Minute Drill", but quickly apologized and removed it from streaming services. Drake responded with the diss tracks "Push Ups" and "Taylor Made Freestyle", prompting Lamar to respond with "Euphoria". The feud grew to involve other hip-hop artists known for their animosity towards Drake, including ASAP Rocky, Rick Ross, the Weeknd, and Kanye West.
On May 3, the feud escalated with Drake's "Family Matters", in which he accuses Lamar of domestic abuse and claims that Lamar's creative partner Dave Free is the biological father of his son. Twenty minutes later, Lamar released "Meet the Grahams", in which he accuses Drake of sexual predation, running a sex trafficking ring, and—building on claims from the American rapper Pusha T's diss track "The Story of Adidon" (2018)—having fathered a secret child. The next day, Lamar released "Not Like Us", in which he accuses Drake of pedophilia and exploiting Atlanta's hip-hop culture. On May 5, Drake released "The Heart Part 6", in which he denies Lamar's allegations and reiterates his; Lamar did not respond. Lamar and Drake reflected on the feud in releases including Lamar's "Watch the Party Die" and GNX (2024) and Drake's "Gimme a Hug" (2025) and Iceman (2026).
Commentators have praised the feud for its spectacle and for maintaining hip-hop's cultural relevance, though some criticized Drake and Lamar for how they made and responded to allegations. Lamar was widely viewed as the victor following the release of "Not Like Us"; in February 2025, he won five Grammy Awards for "Not Like Us", and performed it and "Euphoria" during the Super Bowl LIX halftime show. In January, Drake filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group, the label to which he and Lamar are signed, in a New York federal court, alleging that "Not Like Us" defamed him. It was dismissed in October.
Background
Rivalries between rappers, including the Roxanne Wars, the East Coast–West Coast feud, the Jay-Z–Nas feud, and the 50 Cent–Ja Rule feud, have been a major aspect of hip-hop culture since the genre's inception. Some feuds have involved the participants exchanging diss and answer tracks, while others have involved exchanging insults in interviews and over social media. Some have escalated to violence; the East Coast–West Coast feud culminated in the murders of Tupac Shakur in 1996 and of the Notorious B.I.G. in 1997. In 2025, Janeé Bolden of Rolling Stone observed that feuds have "always walked a fine line between competition and chaos".
Drake and Lamar
Since the 2010s, the Canadian rapper Drake and the American rapper Kendrick Lamar have been regarded as two of hip-hop's most prominent figures. Their relationship began on favorable terms, with the collaboration "Buried Alive Interlude", a two-minute track performed by Lamar on Drake's 2011 studio album Take Care. Lamar raps about how meeting Drake felt like an introduction into the tempting, but potentially harmful world of celebrity, luxury, and fame. Lamar expresses complex feelings about fame—both desiring and fearing what it might bring into his life, especially after witnessing Drake's life of luxury—and shares his impatience when finding out that he was the same age as Drake. This fraught relationship with fame became a recurring theme in Lamar's music and often stood in contrast with Drake's celebration of luxury. GQ described "Buried Alive Interlude" as foreshadowing themes that would lead to Drake and Lamar's feud.
Lamar complimented Drake after their initial meeting and collaboration, describing him as "a real good dude [with] a real genuine soul". He said that Drake had been the first to hear his debut album, Section.80 (2011). Their relationship continued to develop amicably. "Buried Alive Interlude" received positive reviews, and Lamar (alongside ASAP Rocky) opened for Drake's Club Paradise Tour in early 2012. Around that time, Lamar signed to a major label, Interscope Records. In October 2012, Lamar and Drake appeared on ASAP Rocky's single "Fuckin' Problems", and Lamar released his first major-label album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. Drake made a guest appearance on the track "Poetic Justice", which became a successful single, though it would be his last collaboration with Lamar.
Other feuds involving Drake
In June 2015, the American rapper Meek Mill accused Drake of not writing his raps as he had always claimed, but instead having them ghostwritten by his creative partner Quentin Miller. Doreen St. Félix wrote for The New Yorker in 2018 that Drake's success "hinged on outfoxing artists who are stubbornly attached to rap's dated notions of [cultural] authenticity", and that his "complicated virtue out of riding genres and trends [made] him oddly impervious to attempts to puncture his credibility". Drake responded to Meek Mill with what St. Félix described as "a juvenile but charismatic two-song barrage", the diss tracks "Charged Up" and "Back to Back". The hip-hop community regarded Drake as the victor over Meek Mill.
As a member of the YMCMB entourage, Drake became involved in a rivalry with the American rapper Kanye West's GOOD Music crew, which included artists such as Big Sean, Kid Cudi, and Pusha T. In May 2018, Pusha T released the West-produced album Daytona. On the track "Infrared", Pusha T likens Drake using Miller as a ghostwriter to Donald Trump winning the 2016 presidential election with Russian assistance. St. Félix wrote that Drake's responses ("Duppy Freestyle" and "I'm Upset") kept him in good standing with audiences concerned about authenticity, one reason being that on "Duppy Freestyle", he rebutted the ghostwriting claims by noting that he helped write West's lyrics on "30 Hours" (2016).
Pusha T responded with "The Story of Adidon", which St. Félix wrote severely undermined Drake's credibility; Pitchfork's Sheldon Pearce described it as character assassination. Pusha T raps that Drake, who is biracial, is insecure about his race, and used a previously obscure photo of Drake smiling while wearing blackface, evoking a minstrel show performer, as the cover. He revealed that Drake was hiding a son, Adonis, from the public, and accused him of being a deadbeat parent. Drake released a statement explaining that the photo was intended as a satire on Black stereotyping and typecasting; later in 2018, he confirmed his fatherhood and said he would publicly raise Adonis. He never released a response track and, in 2019, conceded that he lost to Pusha T. While Drake continued to find success in hip-hop, Char Adams of NBC News wrote that Pusha T put "[his] cultural identity on trial". Pusha T's attacks mirrored those Lamar would make in 2024.
Past backlash against Drake for alleged misconduct
In September 2018, tabloids reported that Drake, then aged 31, went on a dinner date with 18-year-old model Bella Harris; the pair knew each other since the latter was 16 years old. Harris and Drake both denied that they went on this date and that they were ever in a relationship.
Later that year, actress Millie Bobby Brown, then aged 14, revealed in an interview that she had a concurrent online friendship with Drake. This led to accusations from social media users that Drake was grooming Brown. Brown addressed the controversy and defended their friendship in an Instagram post: "Why u gotta make a lovely friendship ur headline? U guys are weird... for real. I'm lucky to have people in the business extend their time to help me further my career and offer their wisdom and guidance." Drake belittled critics of his friendship with Brown on his 2023 song "Another Late Night".
In January 2019, a 2010 video of Drake interacting with a fan during a performance in Denver resurfaced on social media. During the performance, Drake brought the fan from the crowd onstage, slow-danced with her, kissed her, and put his arms on her breasts. He paused, telling the crowd, then her: "Y'all gonna have me get carried away again. I get in trouble for shit like this! How old are you?" She answered "17", to which Drake replied: "I can't go to jail yet, man! Why do you look like that? You're thick. Look at all this."
2013–2014: Early disagreements
On August 14, 2013, Big Sean released the track "Control", featuring Lamar and Jay Electronica. It was intended for Big Sean's album Hall of Fame, but was excluded due to sample clearance problems. In his verse, Lamar calls out many popular rappers of his generation, including Drake, and challenges them. Lamar, declaring his greatness, raps: "I got love for you all, but I'm tryna murder you niggas / Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you niggas". The verse quickly went viral on social media and was the subject of widespread discussion within the hip-hop community. Lamar said that he intended for the verse to encourage competition in hip-hop: "A lot of cats that I named, they're actually good friends of mine... But when you're in that booth, you have to be able to annihilate whoever out there and that keeps the level of hip-hop alive, as far as the culture".
In an interview with Billboard on August 30, Drake dismissed Lamar's verse: "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, Drake joined Elliott Wilson's live interview series #CRWN. When asked about "Control", Drake replied that Lamar's in-person attitude contradicted the sentiments of his verse: "I saw him five days later at the VMAs and it was all love... If it's really 'fuck everybody' then it needs to be 'fuck everybody'. It can't just be halfway". In the same interview, Drake described the impact of the Control verse as, "It was real cool for a couple weeks. If I asked you, for example, how does that verse start?". On September 24, Drake released his third studio album, Nothing Was the Same. Multiple outlets interpreted the first verse on its fifth single, "The Language" as a response to the "Control" verse, with Drake insinuating that Lamar's music was "not that inspiring" despite its popularity and acclaim. Birdman, head of Drake's then-label Cash Money Records, said "The Language" was not about Lamar.
During a freestyle performance at the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards in October, Lamar rapped: "Nothing's been the same since they dropped 'Control' and tucked a sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes". In December, Drake appeared on a remix of Future's "Shit", rapping "funny how they dangling the bait but I'm one killing niggas on the hook"; media outlets interpreted this as a diss targeting Lamar. Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith and Punch, key figures at Lamar's label Top Dawg Entertainment, disregarded Drake's disses on Twitter. That month, Drake addressed Lamar's BET Hip Hop Awards performance and "The Language" in a cover story for Vibe, mocking the idea of them being "buddy-buddy" and stating he already "stood [his] ground" in response to "Control". Nevertheless, Drake maintained that "The Language" was not a Lamar diss, praised Lamar as a "genius in his own right", and insisted there was "no real issue". In June 2014, Drake posted a video on Instagram of himself rapping to "Cut You Off (To Grow Closer)" from Lamar's 2010 mixtape Overly Dedicated.
In October 2014, Jay Rock released "Pay for It" featuring Lamar. Lamar's verse references "The Language" and includes lyrics that media outlets interpreted as disses: "See my opponent then, cease your existence / Endin' our friendship, baby, I'd rather die alone". Like Drake, Lamar denied rumors of a feud. In an interview with Dazed on November 3, Lamar said: "I got no beef with Drake". On November 4, Lamar appeared on WWPR-FM's The Breakfast Club, where he said: "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."
2015–2023: Sneak disses
Although Drake and Lamar publicly denied a feud, they continued to send sneak disses (intentionally subtle diss lyrics). Marc Griffin, writing for Vibe, described the period between 2014 and 2023 as "the Cold War between the two men". In February 2015, Drake released the mixtape If You're Reading This It's Too Late. Billboard's Brandon Caldwell identified lyrics in "Used To" as Drake indicating he still took offense to the "Control" verse. In March, Lamar released the album To Pimp a Butterfly. Meek Mill's feud with Drake prompted media outlets to interpret its song "King Kunta", in which Lamar criticizes rappers who use ghostwriters, as a Drake diss. In August, Lamar made guest appearances on Dr. Dre's album Compton and references an unidentified enemy in his verses; media outlets interpreted this as referring to Drake.
In January 2016, US President Barack Obama participated in a series of interviews conducted by YouTube influencers. Adande Thorne asked Obama if he thought Drake or Lamar would win in a rap battle. Obama responded: "Got to go with Kendrick. I think Drake is an outstanding entertainer. But Kendrick—his lyrics, his last album [To Pimp a Butterfly] was outstanding. Best album, I think, last year." Later that month, Drake released "Summer Sixteen", rapping: "Tell Obama that my verses are just like the whips that he in / They bulletproof". Vibe's Iyana Robertson said the ensuing conversation "reignited a debate that has been going on since the conception of [Drake and Lamar's] respective careers".