Rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar have been involved in an increasingly public feud featuring some diss tracks. However, their drama took an odd turn when Drake had the worst possible response to predator allegations levied against him by Lamar.
Public feuds and the exchange of diss tracks are nothing new in the rapping industry, but Lamar and Drake’s feud escalated beyond what is typical. The pair have been on uneasy terms since 2013 when Lamar name-dropped Drake while singing a verse in Big Sean’s song “Control.” In the song, he names many prominent rappers in the industry, claiming he’s trying to “murder” them and ensure their “core fans” don’t know who they are. While such a verse may seem incendiary, it’s not uncommon in the highly competitive rap industry, where rappers frequently try to stir the pot with each other. At the time, Drake claimed he had no response to the verse, although Lamar insinuated that things weren’t the same between them since “Control.”
As the years passed, many likely thought the drama was forgotten, but it appears the animosity was simply brewing all this time.
What happened between Drake and Kendrick Lamar?
Lamar fired the first shots in March with the release of “Like That” in collaboration with Future and Metro Boomin, where he challenged the idea that the “Big Three” rappers are him, Drake, and J. Cole, stating he was the only “big” rapper. Drake promptly responded in April with “Push Ups,” in which he calls Lamar a “pipsqueak” and tells him, “You ain’t in no big three.” He also utilized AI to release “Taylor Made Freestyle,” in which he mocks Lamar for not responding to his first diss track and for collaborating with Taylor Swift. However, Drake later took down the song over issues with Tupac Shakur’s estate, given that the song utilizes AI to generate Tupac’s voice.
Lamar responded with “Euphoria” and “6:16 in LA,” getting into more personal territory by taking shots at Drake’s parenting. This led to the most explosive diss tracks with Drake’s “Family Matters” and Lamar’s “Meet the Grahams.” In his track, Drake accuses Lamar of infidelity and domestic abuse. Lamar hit back viciously with “Meet the Grahams,” in which he claims Drake has a secret daughter and is a sexual predator involved in sex trafficking. Lamar doubled down on the predator allegations in “Not Like Us,” rapping, “Say, Drake, I hear you like ‘em young / You better not ever go to cell block one.” Many expected Drake’s follow-up, “The Heart Part 6,” to carry on the volatile feud. Instead, it brought the feud to a screeching halt as listeners were left dumbfounded by Drake’s response to the predator allegation.
How did Drake respond to Lamar’s predator allegations?
On May 5, Drake released “The Heart Part 6.” As anticipated, it addresses the predator allegations levied by Lamar, but not in the way listeners might have expected. The song is filled with many brutal jabs at Lamar, but the two lines that stood out the most read, “If I was f*****g young girls, I promise I’d have been arrested / I’m way too famous for this s**t you just suggested.” Wait a minute … Did Drake really publicly respond to multiple predator allegations by basically saying, “I’m way too famous to be a predator”?
The response was so ignorant it’s hard to believe he genuinely included that line and believed it to be a proper clapblack to Lamar. While Lamar’s allegations haven’t been proven, he’s not the only one to accuse Drake of predatory behavior. Drake’s behavior has been scrutinized for years, as many questioned his behavior toward young fans, his friendship with teenagers like Millie Bobby Brown and Billie Eilish when he was in his 30s, and his history of hitting on underage girls in his songs.
One would think that someone who has received scrutiny over alleged predatory behavior would offer a better defense than that he’s obviously “too famous” to be a predator, even though there is no connection between those two things. We’ve all seen how famous people are actually more likely to avoid consequences because of their status. Has Drake never heard of Harvey Weinstein, R. Kelly, Kevin Spacey, Jason Handy, and countless other predators (both alleged and convicted) who utilized their power in the industry to get away with years or even decades worth of abuse? Does he honestly believe powerful men are always arrested and held accountable for their actions? His statement does absolutely nothing to dismiss the allegations against him, and it’s also a bit offensive for him to completely disregard efforts like the #MeToo movement with his awful take that abuse of power simply doesn’t exist.
Naturally, Drake’s ridiculous statement left everyone on the internet face-palming and questioning if he even realizes that his defense did nothing to clear his name.
It remains to be seen if Lamar will respond to Drake’s disaster of a diss track, but a response doesn’t really seem warranted. After all, Drake ultimately said a lot more about himself with that flawed defense than he did about Lamar.
(featured image: Gregg DeGuire / Getty / Mike Marsland / Getty)
