Quick timeline of the whole Drake/ Kendrick fued:
- Drake and J. Cole collaborated in “First-Person Shooter”
- Kendrick Lamar laid down a verse on “Like that” – emphasising he’s on his own level
- J. Cole fired back at Kendrick with the since-deleted “7 Minute Drill”. J. Cole then made a public apology to Kendrick and bowed out of the rap battle.
- Drake came at Kendrick with “Push Ups.”
- Drake followed up with another pointed track titled “Taylor Made.”
- Kendrick responded with “Euphora”
- Kendrick released “6:16 in LA”
- Drake releases “Family Matters”
- Kendrick releases “Meet the Grahams”
- Kendrick then releases “Not Like Us”
- Drake drops “The Heart Pt.6”
Following these exchanges, there was a flurry of activity including Super Bowl headlines, legal actions, and Kendrick dropping a fresh album, among other events.
Fast-forward to 2025, Kendrick Lamar sweeps the Grammys with five awards for “Not Like Us,” a track targeting Drake, specifically winning:
- Record of the Year
- Song of the Year
- Best Music Video
- Best Rap Song
- Best Rap Performance
Despite criticisms, Drake’s standing as a pre-eminent artist of our era remains untouched by Kendrick’s shots towards him. But to keep dissing someone for no reason except for your ego, and for them to go on and win 5 grammys for a song dissing you, is a bit embarrassing.
You could also say that Kendrick started it with his verse on “Like That”… But anyhoo..
The reason I found this to be so interesting is because I’ve never liked Drake. Some of his music, yes, but not him as a person. His vibes are weird. He teaches nothing. Makes no real difference in the world, when he actually could.
Drake came out and called Kendrick a woman basher and implied his kid wasn’t his. Kendrick was able to squash the rumours, but no one actually could squash the rumours about Drake being a pdfile. Now I’m sure he’s not. But he is known to associate with young girls.. and it’s weird.
At the end of the day, it’s all pride and ego. I don’t think winning 5 awards from tearing down another human being is very inspirational. Regardless of it being someone as annoying as Drake, and regardless of Drake deserving the criticsm. But “Not Like Us” is the least exciting part of Kenny’s body of work, and sometimes, you do need to put these Drake-type individuals in their place. Kendrick is a phenomenal artist and I wish he was acknowledged for his depth, spiritual knowledge and teachings and perceptions, rather than a diss song calling a weirdo a weirdo.
In saying all of that, I understand these awards etc do matter in their industry. But in my opinion, as far as the whole rap beef goes, J. Cole won.
Choose peace.
Inner Truth Gym 