Topline
Rapper Drake shot back at Kendrick Lamar Friday night, releasing a diss track targeting the California rapper after Lamar released a pair of his own diss tracks against Drake—and Lamar was quick to strike back with yet another response track, claiming Drake has a secret daughter (which Drake seemed to deny) fueling their already prolific feud.
Drake struck back at Kendrick Lamar with the release of his diss track "Family Matters," and Lamar ... [+]
Key Facts
Drake, a five-time Grammy Award winning Canadian hip hop artist, released a new single “Family Matters” Friday night in response to Lamar’s recent diss tracks “Euphoria” and “6:16 in LA.”
In “Family Matters,” Drake slams Lamar’s engagement to longtime partner Whitney Alford, and their son, rapping: “Why you never hold your son and tell him, ‘say cheese’” (Lamar had previously attacked Drake as a father in “Euphoria”).
Drake also targeted Lamar’s lyrics, rapping that Lamar is “just acting like an activist it’s make believe, but you won’t go back to your hood and plant no money trees,” referencing Lamar’s 2012 hit “Money Trees” off “Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City.”
Lamar then hit back at Drake with his release of “Meet the Grahams,” a reference to Drake’s legal name, Aubrey Drake Graham.
In that song, the 17-time Grammy Award winner name-dropped Drake’s son Adonis, addressing him in the beginning of the song, saying, “Dear Adonis, I’m sorry that that man is your father” and adding: “It takes a man to be a man, your dad is not responsive.”
Lamar also calls out Drake’s parents, saying “your son got some habits” and that they “raised a horrible f**king person,” before suggesting Drake fathered a daughter he has never publicly addressed, saying: “Should be teachin’ you timetables or watchin’ ‘Frozen’ with you … instead, he be in Turks, paying for sex and poppin’ Percs.”
Lamar went on to slam Drake as a “narcissist, misogynist, livin’ inside his songs,” addressing Drake’s alleged secret daughter in a line of “Meet the Grahams,” saying he’s “sorry that your father not active inside your world,” and that Drake does not “commit to much but his music.”
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
Chief Critic
Drake rejected Lamar’s claim of a secret daughter in an Instagram story Saturday afternoon, writing: “nahhhh hold on can someone find my hidden daughter pls and send her to me.”
Key Background
Drake and Lamar, two of the biggest rappers of their generation, have taken digs at each other for over a decade. Their long-running beef was put back on the front burner this year with the release of rappers Future and Metro Boomin’s track with Lamar “Like That.” In that song, Lamar blasted Drake’s 2023 song with J. Cole called “First Person Shooter,” in which Cole and Drake referred to themselves and Lamar as the “big three.” Lamar’s response: “It’s just big me.” Drake responded to Lamar last month with the release of “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made Freestyle,” targeting Lamar’s height (he’s reportedly around 5 feet 6 inches) and his history of collaborating with mainstream pop artists such as Taylor Swift. Lamar then went after Drake in his diss track “Euphoria,” a six-minute single he dropped earlier this week in response to “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made Freestyle” and after Drake called on Lamar to respond in a since-deleted Instagram post. In “Euphoria,” Lamar attacked Drake’s family, saying: “I got a son to raise, but I can see you don’t know nothin’ ‘bout that” (Drake and Lamar both have children).
Surprising Fact
The ongoing beef between Drake and Lamar has grown to involve a group of rappers, including J. Cole, Pusha T, A$AP Rocky and Kanye West. Last month, the estate of late rapper Tupac Shakur became involved in the feud, issuing a cease and desist order in an effort to end streaming of Drake’s “Taylor Made Freestyle,” a song he released with the AI-generated voice of Shakur and hip hop star Snoop Dog. Drake, in response, pulled the song off streaming platforms.
