Kendrick Lamar actually popped up and confirmed out.
On Sunday, Feb 9, the rapper delivered a Tremendous Bowl halftime efficiency like no different. This marked the primary time a rap star headlined the halftime present solo. Lamar had beforehand carried out on the Tremendous Bowl in 2022 as a part of a star-studded lineup with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and Eminem.
But it surely wasn’t simply the headline efficiency with particular visitor SZA that had followers buzzing; it was the execution—particularly when KDOT carried out his Grammy-winning monitor “Not Like Us,” his notorious diss monitor aimed at Drake.
To dive deeper into their historical past, be taught extra in regards to the music, and extra, maintain studying.
Kendrick Lamar & Drake’s Feud (The Brief-ish Model)
Right here’s the timeline:
- October 31, 2023: Drake Drops “First Particular person Shooter”
- Within the music that includes J. Cole, Drake and Cole rap about their famous person statuses. Whereas they have a good time being on the prime of the sport, Cole offers Kendrick a shoutout, referring to the trio as “the Massive 3.” Nonetheless, Kendrick didn’t appear to understand the point out.
- March 26, 2024: Kendrick Lamar Responds With “Like That” Verse
- Kendrick determined to go on the assault, addressing the scenario and particularly calling out the “Massive 3” line from “First Particular person Shooter“ with: “Motherf*** the large three, n***a, it’s simply large me.”
- April 13, 2024: Drake’s Tune “Push Ups” Leaks
- Drake fired again by mysteriously leaking “Push Ups,” revisiting the “Massive 3” line and taking photographs at Kendrick’s peak. Extra notably, he additionally insulted the rapper’s cope with his former label, High Dawg Leisure.
- April 19, 2024: Drake Drops “Taylor Made Freestyle”
- Whereas awaiting Lamar’s response to “Push Ups,” Drake additionally launched the now-deleted monitor “Taylor Made Freestyle,”the place he used AI-generated voices of Lamar’s idols Tupac and Snoop Dogg to take photographs at him. This transfer led to a stop and desist from Tupac’s property.
- April 30, 2024: Kendrick Hits Again at Drake With “euphoria”
- With “euphoria,” Kendrick takes quite a few photographs at Drake over the six-minute monitor, concentrating on his credibility, status, and even his skills as a father. At one level, he raps, “I received a son to boost, however I can see you don’t know nothin’ ’bout that.”
- Might 3, 2024: Kendrick Again-to-Backs Drake With “6:16 in LA”
- Simply as Drake adopted up his 2015 diss monitor “Again to Again” with “Charged Up” towards Meek Mill, Kendrick wasted no time with a response of his personal. Lower than three days after dropping “euphoria,” he launched “6:16 in LA,” aimed toward Drake. Within the monitor, Kendrick suggests that somebody from Drake’s crew could also be leaking data to him.
- Might 3, 2024: Drake Fires Again With “Household Issues”
- On the identical day Kendrick dropped “6:16 in LA,” Drake launched “Household Issues” together with its music video. The almost eight-minute monitor included controversial traces, suggesting that Kendrick’s baby was really fathered by his supervisor, Dave Free. Drake additionally took goal at Lamar’s relationship along with his fiancée, Whitney Alford.
- Might 3, 2024: Kendrick Lamar Instantly Responds With “Meet the Grahams”
- Simply 20 minutes after Drake dropped “Household Issues,” Kendrick responded with the monitor “Meet the Grahams.” The music is structured as a sequence of letters to Drake’s son, Adonis, his dad and mom, an alleged secret daughter, and eventually to Drake himself. Probably the most talked-about claims within the music was Kendrick’s allegation that Drake has an 11-year-old daughter.
- Might 4, 2024: Kendrick Jabs Drake Once more With “Not Like Us”
- The following day, Kendrick took one other shot at Drake with the music “Not Like Us,” the place he doubled down on the allegations of sexual abuse towards Drake and people related to OVO that he made in “Meet the Grahams.”
- Might 5, 2024: Drake Responds With “The Coronary heart Half 6”
- Drake launched his five-minute rebuttal, “The Coronary heart Pt. 6,” taking part in off Lamar’s groundbreaking “Coronary heart” franchise. Within the monitor, he addresses the daughter rumor, claiming that his crew fed false data to Kendrick, and denies each the sexual abuse allegations and the accusations of being concerned with underage ladies.
Is “Not Like Us” About Drake?
The monitor “Not Like Us” is undeniably aimed toward Drake.
It got here as a part of Kendrick’s ongoing back-and-forth with Drake (as outlined above), and in the end, it grew to become the music that marked Kendrick popping out on prime.
Along with the direct references to Drake, similar to calling him out by title twice, the music is filled with artistic traces and refined jabs, that are much more obvious within the accompanying music video. The visuals solely amplified the message Kendrick was sending, making it probably the most talked-about tracks of their rivalry.
In Kendrick’s halftime present efficiency, the rapper shunned utilizing the phrase “pedophile,” however he nonetheless managed to get lots of people singing together with the road: “Tryna ring a bell and it’s in all probability A minorrrrrr.” Notably, tennis famous person Serena Williams, who was as soon as romantically linked to Drake, was seen dancing through the monitor.
From Compton to NOLA. @SerenaWilliams @KendrickLamar #AppleMusicHalftime pic.twitter.com/mnzuP7fJ1N
— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2025
Is Drake Suing Kendrick Lamar?
No, Drake isn’t suing Kendrick. Nonetheless, the “Not Like Us” monitor grew to become the middle of a defamation lawsuit filed by Drake towards Common Music Group, the mum or dad label to which each he and Lamar are signed.
In line with Billboard, the Canadian rapper determined to sue the music label, accusing UMG of conducting an unlawful “scheme” to advertise Kendrick’s music, making certain that it acquired further consideration. Drake alleges this was completed regardless of the monitor serving as a diss aimed toward him and referencing his title immediately.