


Drake on Tuesday dropped his legal claim accusing Universal Music Group and Spotify of artificially boosting the streams of Kendrick Lamar’s hugely successful diss track, “Not Like Us,” but a similar legal action accusing the label of paying iHeartRadio to boost airplay of the song is still pending.
Drake attends the "Top Boy" UK Premiere at Hackney Picturehouse on Sept. 4, 2019 in London, England. ... [+]
withdrawn from New York court.
A legal petition by Drake demanding Universal Music Group and Spotify turn over information for a potential future lawsuit, accusing them of a scheme that relied on bots to drive up the streams of Lamar’s hit "Not Like Us"—which calls Drake and people on his team “certified pedophiles"—wassecond petition against record label Universal Music Group in Texas court, alleging the label paid iHeartRadio to boost airplay of Lamar’s “Not Like Us” and that the label knew the diss track contained “false” allegations about Drake—including that he is a “certified pedophile” and “predator”—yet it did not stop the song’s release.
Drake’s lawyers filed afiled a petition in New York court alleging UMG artificially inflated Spotify streams of Lamar’s “Not Like Us” by using bots and licensing the song at “drastically reduced rates to Spotify,” which UMG denied, stating “fans choose the music they want to hear” (Drake has not filed suit, but his petition asked Spotify and UMG to provide information for a potential lawsuit against unspecified parties).
Drake’s Frozen Moments LLCnew album “GNX,” on which he makes slight references to the Drake feud: On the opening track “wacced out murals,” he raps about his surprise that Snoop Dogg reposted Drake’s diss track, “Taylor Made Freestyle,” to his Instagram story, and the track “heart pt. 6” bears the same name as one of Drake’s disses.
Lamar surprise-droppedGrammy nominations, including for Record and Song of the Year, while Drake did not receive any nods.
Lamar’s “Not Like Us” earned fivelyrics—like, “Just walked that man down, that’ll do everyone a solid / It’s love but tough love, sometimes you gotta result in violence”—were viewed as subtle digs at Drake.
Lamar released an untitled song frequently referred to by fans as “Watch The Party Die,” which does not directly mention Drake and is primarily a critique of celebrity culture and materialism, though someLil Wayne should have been chosen to headline, a controversy Drake appeared to fan by posting photos of Lil Wayne, his frequent collaborator, to his Instagram story.
The NFL announced Lamar as the headliner for the upcoming Super Bowl LIX halftime show in New Orleans—viewed as another victory lap for the rapper this year, while also criticized by some who felt New Orleans nativemusic video for “Not Like Us,” which contains several digs at Drake, including a shot of Lamar doing push-ups, a reference to Drake’s diss track, “Push Ups,” and a shot of Lamar dancing with his partner Whitney Alford, interpreted by fans as refuting Drake’s allegation that Lamar had been physically abusive to her.
Lamar released aLamar performed his Drake diss tracks for the first time at his “The Pop Out: Ken & Friends” concert, including five straight performances of “Not Like Us” in which the rapper was joined onstage by dozens of Los Angeles-native celebrities, including rappers YG and Dr. Dre and NBA players DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook.
story post that read, “Good times. Summer vibes up next.”
Fans noticed all of Drake's posts on Instagram referencing the beef, including the post promoting his latest diss track, "The Heart Part 6," had been quietly deleted, weeks after Drake seemed to indicate he would be putting the rap battle behind him in a May 12 InstagramU My Everything,” his first release since his series of diss tracks; halfway through his verse, the beat switches up and he raps over Metro Boomin’s “BBL Drizzy” beat, saying he and “the surgeon got history” and “BBL Drizzy, they want a new body, they ask me for it.”
Drake featured on Sexyy Red’s “Billboard Hot 100 chart as Lamar’s “Not Like Us” debuted at No. 1 with more than 70 million streams, “Euphoria” rose from No. 11 to No. 3 and “Like That” rose two spots to No. 6, while Drake’s “Family Matters” entered at No. 7.
Lamar and Drake’s feud took over this week’sNBC News, but he did not “leave the property when directed” and was given a ticket.
A person who allegedly trespassed on Drake’s property on May 9 returned to Drake’s home in Toronto “to get his bike back,” police toldtold Forbes—marking the third incident at Drake’s house in as many days.
A trespasser at Drake’s Toronto home was involved in an altercation with security guards around 3:30 p.m. before being taken to the hospital, Toronto Police spokesperson Laura Brabantmental health act and taken to receive medical assistance, Toronto Police spokesperson Ashley Visser confirmed to Forbes (CNN reported the incident was not related to Tuesday’s shooting at Drake’s house, citing police).
Officers were called to Drake’s property after a person attempted to gain access to the property, and the person was apprehended under Ontario’srecord to become the most streamed American hip-hip song in a single-day with 6.59 million.
Lamar's "Not Like Us" broke a Spotify streamingBillboard Hot 100, with Future’s "Like That" (guest-starring Lamar) at No. 8 and "Push Ups" by Drake at No. 17.
"Euphoria" by Lamar debuted at No. 11 on thewas shot outside of Drake's sprawling Toronto estate early Tuesday morning, in what police told CBC was a drive-by shooting—it’s unclear if the shooting was related to the beef between the two artists, though Lamar used a Google Maps image of his rival’s house for the cover of his latest diss track, or if Drake was home at the time (neither artist has reacted publicly to the shooting).
A security guardDrake denied Lamar’s latest claims about his history and flat-out stated “I never been with no one under age” in a Sunday night release called “The Heart Part 6," in which he says he and his team purposefully fed his adversary false information (including about a secret daughter) in the hopes he'd use it in a song: "We plotted for a week and then we fed you the information/A daughter that’s 11 years old, I bet he takes it.”
beat called “BBL Drizzy,” and inviting fans to rap over it, offering a free beat to the best song; Drake previously dissed Boomin on “Push Ups” by telling him to “shut up and make some drums.”
Producer Metro Boomin jumped into the beef by releasing aLamar dropped yet another diss track, his third song in 36 hours, titled “Not Like Us” early Saturday evening in which he alludes to Drake’s alleged affinity for younger women and calls him and people on his team “certified pedophiles.”
Drake posted an Instagram story denying Lamar’s claim of a secret daughter, writing: “nahhhh hold on can someone find my hidden daughter pls and send her to me.”
Drake diss track, “6:16 in LA”—likely a play on a format Drake has often used for song titles, including his “8am in Charlotte” and “5am in Toronto”—in which Lamar alleges Drake’s own team is against him, rapping that “everyone inside your team is whispering that you deserve it,” and stating Drake “can't ‘Toosie Slide’ up out of this one,” a reference to his 2020 song.
Lamar dropped a secondMeet the Grahams,” a reference to Drake’s legal name, Aubrey Drake Graham, calling him a “narcissist, misogynist, livin’ inside his songs" and suggesting the star fathered a daughter he has never publicly addressed. (Read more about the two new diss tracks).
Lamar hit back at Drake with “Family Matters” Friday night—slamming Lamar’s engagement to longtime partner Whitney Alford and suggesting infidelity within their relationship.
Drake released a new single “daily U.S. Spotify chart, while Drake’s “Push Ups” rose from No. 15 to No. 11, marking a big increase in streams for both rappers—Drake ranks No. 2 on the Spotify artists daily chart, while Lamar rose from No. 9 to No. 3, both behind Taylor Swift.
“Euphoria” jumped from No. 19 to No. 1 on theInstagram story in which Julia Stiles’ character Kat lists all the reasons she hates Heath Ledger’s character Patrick—possibly mirroring a part of “Euphoria” where Lamar lists reasons he hates Drake.
Drake seemingly responded to Lamar’s diss by posting a clip from the 1999 film “10 Things I Hate About You” on hisLamar dropped “Euphoria,” a six-minute long diss track in which he lambasts Drake’s biracial identity (suggesting he shouldn’t be able to say the n-word), slams the rapper’s ability as a father and calls Drake a “scam artist,” questioning his authenticity as a rapper.
Like That,” taking shots at Drake’s music and his deal with Universal Music Group, stating he and his collaborators are “energized” for the “elimination of Drake.”
Kanye West jumped into the beef on a remix of “Taylor Made Freestyle,” using AI-generated voices of Snoop Dogg and the late Tupac Shakur to diss Lamar, daring him to respond: “We waitin' on you,” Drake rapped.
Drake released another diss track, “Champagne Moments,” alleging that Drake had multiple cosmetic procedures done including a nose job and ab surgery, while also accusing him of using ghostwriters (an accusation Drake has repeatedly denied).
Ross responded to Drake with “Drake’s response to Lamar, “Push Ups,” leaked online (before its April 19 release), with lyrics slamming Lamar’s shorter stature and his mainstream collaborations with Taylor Swift and Maroon 5, while also dissing other artists including Rick Ross and The Weeknd.
J. Cole backed down from the feud, stating he felt pressured to respond because “the world wanna see blood.”
Just two days after releasing “7 Minute Drill,”7 Minute Drill,” in which he fired “warning shots” at the rapper, accusing him of seeking “attention” and slamming his latest music releases as “tragic.”
J. Cole dropped his own Lamar diss track, “Lamar responded on his verse on Metro Boomin and Future’s song “Like That,” slamming the rappers for “sneak dissing” and rejecting their idea of the “big three,” instead rapping: “It’s just big me.”
released collaboration “First Person Shooter,” in which J. Cole raps that himself, Drake and Lamar are the “big three” of rap.
Drake and J. ColeGet Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar performs onstage at Hard Rock Stadium on July 24, 2022.
Drake’s “Taylor Made Freestyle” is no longer available to stream after Tupac Shakur’s estate threatened legal action for the AI-generated use of his voice. Drake posted the song to his X and Instagram accounts on April 19, but deleted them a week later.
Drake and Lamar’s beef spans more than the past decade. The two once had a seemingly friendly relationship, collaborating multiple times between 2011 and 2012. But in 2013, their relationship appeared to change after Lamar featured on Big Sean’s song, “Control,” in which he called out Drake and many other rappers, including Pusha T, Mac Miller and A$AP Rocky. “I got love for you all, but I'm tryna murder you,” Lamar rapped, adding he’s “tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you.” Fans have since theorized that the two have taken subtle shots at each other in their raps throughout the years. Some interpreted Lamar’s shots at artists who use ghostwriters in his 2015 song “King Kunta” could be a dig at Drake. Fans and observers of Lamar and Drake’s beef have interpreted the feud to be over who could be considered the greatest rapper of today—though a Rolling Stone analysis of their feud noted the two have different strengths and different claims to the title of “greatest” rapper. Lamar has long been known for his critically acclaimed work, including 17 Grammy Award wins and a Pulitzer Prize for his 2017 album, “DAMN.” Drake, meanwhile, is commercially dominant: He was the most-streamed artist of the 2010s on Spotify, and he has the most certified digital singles of any artist, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. "Euphoria" by Lamar debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 7.
Drake, Lamar and other artists involved in the feud have found recent success on the charts, possibly thanks to the publicity offered by the feud. “Like That” has dominated the Billboard Hot 100 since release—it topped the chart for three consecutive weeks and has remained on the chart for six weeks today. “7 Minute Drill” debuted at No. 6 on the Hot 100 after its release, while “Push Ups” debuted at No. 19 (the fifth-highest non-Swift song). Lamar’s “Euphoria” was the No. 1 trending video on YouTube one day after release with 8 million views and debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 11. Drake rose from No. 18 to No. 3 the Billboard Artist 100, which measures the most popular artists in a given week based on sales, streaming and radio airplay numbers.
Kendrick Lamar Is Winning His Rap Battle With Drake—At Least On The Charts (Forbes)
Shooting Outside Drake's Toronto House Leaves Man Seriously Injured (Forbes)
Kendrick Lamar Slams ‘Scam Artist’ Drake In New Diss Track ‘Euphoria’—Latest Chapter In Their Beef (Forbes)
Drake And Rick Ross Beef: What To Know About The Diss Tracks, Nose Job Allegations And ‘BBL Drizzy’ (Forbes)
Drake’s Security Guards Report ‘Altercation’ In Third Incident At His Toronto Home This Week (Forbes)