Just when many thought the Drake and Kendrick Lamar feud couldn’t get any messier—in the span of less than 48 hours—the situation has blown up to even bigger proportions.
Following the release of such a biting diss track like “euphoria,” the next plan of action for Drake was naturally to drop one of his own. His rendition, an over seven minute diss entitled “Family Matters,” was released on May 3. Throughout this track, he calls Lamar out for sitting on his high horse and behaving as though he is superior to the rest of the rap world, saying “You always actin’ like an activist / It’s make-believe.” Later, he attempts to threaten Lamar by drumming up paranoia, telling him, “Your darkest secrets are coming to light / It’s all on your face like what happened to Mike,” a metaphor that can be traced back to Michael Jackson and his vitiligo, a condition which caused the pop-star’s darker skin to pale over time.
Many were quick to point out that, in hindsight, “Family Matters” was indeed a strong track; it was lyrically fluid, it was chock-full of sturdy disses, and it furthermore included Drake’s regular melodic genius; but in comparison to the next two songs that Kendrick would drop immediately after, “Family Matters” could not stand a chance.
Kendrick’s penultimate diss track in the chronology was the hauntingly aggressive “meet the grahams,” a song that many have deemed to be not only the most heavy-hitting contender of the feud, but also one of the most hostile disparagement since Tupac and Biggie. The entirety of the song is spent addressing each member of the Graham family by name, ending with an admonishing monologue to Drake himself.
Lamar begins by conversing with Drake’s only child, six-year-old Adonis Graham, berating the immature parental figure that Drake plays in his life. “Dear Adonis / I’m sorry that that man is your father let me be honest / It takes a man to be a man / your dad is not responsive,” Lamar says, accusations that he soon follows up by a slew of charges against Drake. These allegations include Drake’s supposed gambling, alcohol, and drug addictions, with additional mention to his propensity for soliciting women.
Most notably, Lamar divulges Drake’s hidden daughter, a conspiracy that—despite having no definitive evidence to back it up—served as a centerpiece for much of the ongoing battle between the two. The Compton rapper spits fire when he says, “You gon’ hide those baby mamas, ain’t ya? / You embarrassed of them, That’s not right, that ain’t how mama raised us / Take that mask off, I wanna see what’s under them achievements / Why believe you? You never gave us nothin’ to believe in.”
While this theory has not yet been completely debunked, many online were quick to bring up the previous occurrence of Drake’s hesitation to claim Adonis as his child, as he waited close to one year to reveal that he had a son. Some even claimed that the only reason Drake was prompted to stop hiding Adonis from the world was because of a diss track called “The Story of Adidon,” a 2018 affront by rapper Pusha T that provided undeniable evidence of Adonis’ existence. As many pointed out, there was little stopping Drake from repeating the same circumstance again but with a daughter.
Later in the song, Lamar calls out Drake’s parents, Sandra Graham and Dennis Graham, warning them of their son’s alleged predatory behavior and even comparing him to American convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein, saying, “Your son’s a sick man with sick thoughts / And we gotta raise our daughters knowing there’s predators like him lurking.”
Soon after, he goes on to personally address Drake, once again bringing up accusations of pedophilic conduct. This section of the song serves as Lamar’s grim omen to the families that allow their children to be manipulated by Drake, singing “To anybody that embody the love for their kids / Keep the family away / They lookin’ at you too if you standin’ by him / Keep the family away / I’m lookin’ to shoot through any pervert that lives / Keep the family safe.”
Peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, it seemed as though Lamar had pulled every play possible in the book to ensure the defeat of his seemingly-ruined opponent.
Yet—a mere 24 hours later—Lamar revealed the final trick up his sleeve: a relentlessly upbeat and cutthroat track entitled “Not Like Us.” This hilariously blunt and bellicose approach to take Drake down combined Lamar’s musically aggressive persona with his customary punchy lyricism. With its brusque lyrics blowing up online almost immediately, Kendrick wastes no time getting to the facts in this song.
While his previous diss tracks focused on multiple angles of attack, a majority of “Not Like Us” delves deeper into the child predator allegations that Drake has faced over the years. While Lamar is known for his metaphors and entendres, he gets unapologetically straight to the point when—a sound bite that has now gone viral on the internet—he says “Say, Drake / I hear you like ‘em young / You better not ever go to cell block one / To any [redacted] who talk to him and they in love / Just make sure you hide your lil’ sister from him.”
In the next verse, Lamar once again hones into this track’s viciously kiddish libretto, rapping, “Certified Lover Boy? / Certified pedophile,” a reference to Drake’s 2021 album by the name of the former lyric. Additionally, the cover photo of this track was a picture of Drake’s mansion on a registered sex offender map, an image that only lead to an even farther escalation in the situation.
Unlike the rumors of Drake’s hidden daughter, the claims of Drake exhibiting creepy and questionable behavior around underage females have more legitimacy from them. As people online were quick to dig out from the archives, many of Drake’s now-deleted social media posts point towards predatory behavior, including images of him kissing socialite Kylie Jenner at her Sweet-16 birthday party and a video of him making sexual comments to a minor at one of his concerts even after learning her age.
Facing all of these allegations, Drake released the track that served as his departure to the brawl, “The Heart Part 6,” on May 5 on YouTube. A song riddled with unfruitful attempts to deny the accusations that Lamar brought against him, he closes the record by calling the feud “good exercise,” ultimately cementing his denouement from the situation.
Giving the rap community a years worth of quality music all in the span of a few days, it is safe to say that while both parties might not have enjoyed partaking in the battle, everyone watching the grueling fight at home sure did. And in the end—while Kendrick has evidently emerged victorious—this rap battle serves as a testament to the fact that, amidst such apprehensive affairs, even the most sacred cows are fair game.
