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 toward Drake.
To dive deeper into their historical past, be taught extra concerning 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 famous person statuses. While they rejoice being on the high of the sport, Cole offers 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 state of affairs and particularly calling out the “Big 3” line from “First Person Shooter“ with: “Motherf*** the large three, n***a, it’s simply massive 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 peak. 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, focusing on his credibility, fame, and even his skills as a father. At one level, he raps, “I received a son to lift, however 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 workforce 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 almost eight-minute monitor included controversial traces, suggesting that Kendrick’s youngster was really fathered by his supervisor, Dave Free. Drake additionally took purpose at Lamar’s relationship together 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 sequence of letters to Drake’s son, Adonis, his dad and mom, an alleged secret daughter, and at last 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,” enjoying off Lamar’s groundbreaking “Heart” franchise. In the monitor, he addresses the daughter rumor, claiming that his workforce 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 in the end, it turned the track that marked Kendrick popping out on high.
In addition to the direct references to Drake, reminiscent of calling him out by identify twice, the track is filled with inventive 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 shouldn’t be suing Kendrick. However, the “Not Like Us” monitor turned the middle of a defamation lawsuit filed by Drake in opposition to Universal Music Group, the father or mother 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 further consideration. Drake alleges this was carried out regardless of the monitor serving as a diss aimed toward him and referencing his identify instantly.