Who Has Taste for Rap Beef?
This week's menu features one of Hip-Hop's greatest artists engaged in recent rap feuds
Renowned for his unpredictable actions, Kendrick Lamar has again stirred up the music scene. He made a surprise, uncredited appearance on Future and Metro Boomin's new album, "We Don’t Trust You." In this cameo, he delivered what appears to be a series of cutting remarks aimed at Drake and J. Cole. Kendrick’s unexpected feature adds a layer of intrigue and excitement to the album and showcases his bold choice to use the platform to address his peers in the industry.
His verses take center stage on the track, directly responding to a few lines from Drake and J. Cole's "First Person Shooter," featured on Drake's 2023 album "For All the Dogs." In that song, J. Cole references "the big three," alluding to himself, Kendrick, and Drake, setting the stage for his pointed reply in his unexpected cameo:
“Love when they argue the hardest emcee / Is it K. Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me? / We the big three like we started a league.”
Drake responded with a line that many interpreted as a slight towards Kendrick, subtly excluding him from the "big three" designation, escalating the lyrical back-and-forth between the artists:
“Who the G.O.A.T.? Who you bitches really rootin’ for? Like a kid that act bad from January to November, n—a, it’s just you and Cole.”
In "Like That," Kendrick explicitly addresses the bars from the other rappers, directly confronting them with his verses. He goes beyond mere retaliation by critiquing the quality of their music and asserting that his legacy will surpass their influence. He even draws a bold comparison between himself and Prince, positioning his relationship with Drake and J. Cole in a similar light to Prince's rivalry with Michael Jackson, emphasizing the historic and impactful nature of his career:
“Yeah get up with me, fuck sneak dissing / ‘First Person Shooter,’ I hope they came with three switches […] Motherfuck the big three, n—a, it’s just big me.”
“Your best work is a light pack / N—a, Prince outlived Mike Jack / N—a, bum, ‘fore all your dogs get buried / That’s a K with all these nines, he gon’ see Pet Sematary.”
Drake, on the other hand, purportedly retaliated—though there has been no official confirmation—through a diss track that emerged on social media on Saturday, April 13th.
Drake's track, purportedly named "Push Ups," doesn't hold back as the rapper takes aim in various directions. Right from the start, he directs some shots at Kendrick, firing off a few jabs of his own:
“How the fuck you big steppin with a size 7 mens on? […] Your last one bricked, you really not on shit / They make excuses for you ’cause they hate to see me lit / Pull your contract ’cause we gotta see the split / Ain’t no way you doin’ splits bitch your pants might rip.”
“Maroon 5 need a verse, you better make it witty / Then we need a verse for the Swifties / Top say drop, you better drop and give him 50 / Pipsqueak, pipe down / You ain’t in no big three, SZA got you wiped down, Travis got you wiped down, Savage got you wiped down / Like your label boy, you Interscope right now.”
He also appears to be taking shots at J. Cole:
"Look, I could never be nobody's number one fan / Your first number one, I had to put it in your hand […] And that fuckin’ song y’all got is not starting beef with us / This shit brewin’ in a pot, now I’m heating up / I don’t care what Cole think, that Dot shit was weak as fuck.”
Meanwhile, J. Cole adopted a more straightforward response by dropping a surprise project titled "Might Delete Later." It also includes a track called "7 Minute Drill," which serves as Cole's explicit rebuttal to Kendrick's diss:
“I got a phone call, they say that somebody dissing / You want some attention, it come with extensions / He still doing shows but fell off like ‘The Simpsons’ / Your first shit was classic, your last shit was tragic / Your second shit put n—s to sleep but they gassed it / Your third shit was massive and that was your prime / I was trailing right behind and I just now hit mine.”
However, while performing his headline set at Dreamville Festival in North Carolina on April 7th, J. Cole surprised fans with remorse for dropping his Kendrick diss track just two days earlier.
“I’m so proud of [‘Might Delete Later’], except for one part,” said Cole. “It’s one part of that shit that makes me feel like, man that’s the lamest shit I did in my fuckin’ life, right? And I know this is not what a lot of people want to hear […] I was conflicted because, one I know my heart and I know how I feel about my peers, these two n—s that I just been blessed to even stand beside in this game, let alone chase they greatness. So I felt conflicted ’cause I’m like, bruh I don’t even feel no way. But the world wanna see blood. I don’t know if y’all can feel that, but the world wanna see blood.”
Cole's remarks elicited mixed reactions. While some commended him for ending the conflict, others ridiculed the rapper for capitulating to Kendrick so swiftly.
Learn more about the ongoing feud with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe and New York Magazine writer Tirhakah Love via NPR.
Refreshing to have such a respectful perspective on differing insights concerning the latest rap beefs.
Love this piece.