Kendrick Lamar actually popped up and confirmed out.
On Sunday, Feb 9, the rapper delivered a Super 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 Super Bowl in 2022 as a part of a star-studded lineup with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and Eminem.
But it 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, study extra in regards to the track, and extra, maintain studying.
Kendrick Lamar & Drake’s Feud (The Short-ish Version)
Here’s the timeline:
- October 31, 2023: Drake Drops “First Person Shooter”
- In the track that includes J. Cole, Drake and Cole rap about their celebrity statuses. While they have a good time being on the high of the sport, Cole provides Kendrick a shoutout, referring to the trio as “the Big 3.” However, 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 “Big 3” line from “First Person Shooter“ with: “Motherf*** the big three, n***a, it’s just big me.”
- April 13, 2024: Drake’s Song “Push Ups” Leaks
- Drake fired again by mysteriously leaking “Push Ups,” revisiting the “Big 3” line and taking photographs at Kendrick’s top. More notably, he additionally insulted the rapper’s take care of his former label, Top Dawg Entertainment.
- April 19, 2024: Drake Drops “Taylor Made Freestyle”
- While 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 Back at Drake With “euphoria”
- With “euphoria,” Kendrick takes quite a few photographs at Drake over the six-minute monitor, concentrating on his credibility, repute, and even his skills as a father. At one level, he raps, “I got a son to raise, but I can see you don’t know nothin’ ’bout that.”
- May 3, 2024: Kendrick Back-to-Backs Drake With “6:16 in LA”
- Just as Drake adopted up his 2015 diss monitor “Back to Back” with “Charged Up” in opposition to Meek Mill, Kendrick wasted no time with a response of his personal. Less than three days after dropping “euphoria,” he launched “6:16 in LA,” aimed toward Drake. In the monitor, Kendrick suggests that somebody from Drake’s crew could also be leaking info to him.
- May 3, 2024: Drake Fires Back With “Family Matters”
- On the identical day Kendrick dropped “6:16 in LA,” Drake launched “Family Matters” together with its music video. The practically eight-minute monitor included controversial strains, suggesting that Kendrick’s youngster was truly fathered by his supervisor, Dave Free. Drake additionally took goal at Lamar’s relationship along with his fiancée, Whitney Alford.
- May 3, 2024: Kendrick Lamar Immediately Responds With “Meet the Grahams”
- Just 20 minutes after Drake dropped “Family Matters,” Kendrick responded with the monitor “Meet the Grahams.” The track is structured as a collection of letters to Drake’s son, Adonis, his dad and mom, an alleged secret daughter, and eventually to Drake himself. One of essentially the most talked-about claims within the track was Kendrick’s allegation that Drake has an 11-year-old daughter.
- May 4, 2024: Kendrick Jabs Drake Again With “Not Like Us”
- The subsequent day, Kendrick took one other shot at Drake with the track “Not Like Us,” the place he doubled down on the allegations of sexual abuse in opposition to Drake and people related to OVO that he made in “Meet the Grahams.”
- May 5, 2024: Drake Responds With “The Heart Part 6”
- Drake launched his five-minute rebuttal, “The Heart Pt. 6,” taking part in off Lamar’s groundbreaking “Heart” franchise. In the monitor, he addresses the daughter rumor, claiming that his crew fed false info to Kendrick, and denies each the sexual abuse allegations and the accusations of being concerned with underage girls.
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 finally, it grew to become the track that marked Kendrick popping out on high.
In addition to the direct references to Drake, similar to calling him out by title twice, the track is full of inventive strains and refined jabs, that are much more obvious within the accompanying music video. The visuals solely amplified the message Kendrick was sending, making it one of the 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 strike a chord and it’s probably A minorrrrrr.” Notably, tennis celebrity Serena Williams, who was as soon as romantically linked to Drake, was seen dancing in the course of 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. However, the “Not Like Us” monitor grew to become the middle of a defamation lawsuit filed by Drake in opposition to Universal Music Group, the mother or father label to which each he and Lamar are signed.
According to Billboard, the Canadian rapper determined to sue the music label, accusing UMG of conducting an unlawful “scheme” to advertise Kendrick’s track, guaranteeing that it acquired extra consideration. Drake alleges this was carried out regardless of the monitor serving as a diss aimed toward him and referencing his title straight.