10 Shocking Moments in the Drake and Kendrick Lamar FEUD

Top 10 Shocking Moments in the Drake and Kendrick Lamar Feud

Welcome to WatchMojo and today, we’re counting down our picks for the twists, reveals, and jaw-dropping moments in this fiery, fast-paced battle royale that left us — and the world — speechless.

#10: The First Shots Fired

“First Person Shooter” (2023)
The beef that gripped social media in 2024 started off innocuously enough. A #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 from the time of its release, fans delighted in hearing the two superstars of the genre trade off braggadocious bars. The fun and games took a turn, however, when Cole declared himself, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar the “Big Three” of contemporary hip hop. While the line itself appeared to be simply a playful acknowledgment of the trio’s friendly rivalry at the time, few could’ve known how ugly the situation would get in the coming months.

#9: New Challenger Approaching

“Champagne Moments” (2024)
Drake’s official solo entry into the feud, “Push Ups,” was seen as a declaration of all-out war in the hip hop community. Maybe the most shocking jab the Torontonian takes on the song is at Florida rapper Rick Ross. To say the least, hip hop fans were surprised — Ross had been a consistent presence on Drake’s songs over the course of the past decade, on songs like “Money in the Grave” and “Lemon Pepper Freestyle.” According to Genius, the resentment stems from Drake’s decision to threaten French Montana, signed to Ross’ record label Maybach Music, with legal action over an unreleased song. It also didn’t help that, on “Push Ups,” Drake mocked Ross’ past as a prison officer.

#8: A Whimper, Not a Bang

“The Heart Part 6” (2024)
In the moment that seemingly spelled the end of the rapid-fire feud, Drake answered back to Lamar’s bombshell allegations made on “Meet the Grahams” and “Not Like Us.” Fans eagerly anticipated Drake’s response to Lamar’s serious accusations… and were promptly disappointed. Instead of striking back with full force, Graham merely denied them, employing a questionable line of logic as part of a head-scratching strategy which saw him once again repeating claims he had made on previous songs. The artist was also criticized for his misinterpretation of “Mother I Sober,” from Lamar’s album “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers.” In a spoken word outro, Drake baselessly reiterates that his claims are “facts”... while simultaneously challenging Lamar to provide proof for his.

#7: “It’s Just Big Me”

“Like That” (2024)
After the release of “First Person Shooter” on Drake’s 2023 album “For All the Dogs,” months passed before Kendrick officially responded to J. Cole’s declaration that the latter, Drake, and Lamar constituted rap’s “Big Three.” On this #1 hit from Future and Metro Boomin’s 2024 collaborative album “We Don’t Trust You,” Lamar minced no words in rejecting Cole’s statement, dedicating the entirety of his verse to firing back at Drake. His widely-discussed contribution to “Like That” finds the Grammy winner taking precise aim at the “6ix God.” In no uncertain terms, the rapper born Kendrick Lamar Duckworth questions Drake’s credibility as an artist and asserts that his music won’t stand the test of time. And this was just the beginning.

#6: No Old Friends, Either

“All to Myself” (2024)
This one must’ve stung. Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye was first brought to prominence by his association with Drake, making a vocal cameo on “Take Care”’s “Crew Love,” among other credits on that album. In fact, Tesfaye’s music initially garnered attention after being posted to the October’s Very Own blog by Drake’s manager. The two’s frequent collaborations led to speculation that the Weeknd would sign to OVO Sound. At this point, it’s rumored that the two eventually fell out over creative and interpersonal differences. This business breakup is seemingly alluded to in Tesfaye's verse on “All to Myself.” It’s a real Obi-Wan/Anakin kind of situation. Hey, it’s WatchMojo. You didn’t think we’d make at least one “Star Wars” reference?

#5: J. Cole Drops In, Then Almost Immediately Drops Out

“7 Minute Drill” (2024)
In a hip hop saga full of newsworthy developments, somehow one of the most bizarre was J. Cole’s ultimately brief involvement in it. Shortly after the release of “Like That,” Cole dropped “7 Minute Drill,” his official response to Kendrick’s diss verse. Despite Cole’s relatively humorous approach, in which he references “The Simpsons” and downplays the impact of Lamar’s discography, general reactions to “7 Minute Drill” were mixed — so much so that, only two days later, Cole formally apologized for his role in the beef, essentially pulling out, and wiped the song from the Internet in the process.

#4: Drake Drops Two Songs At Once & Gets Sued

“Push Ups” & “Taylor Made Freestyle” (2024)
Like we mentioned earlier about “Champagne Moments,” “Push Ups” marked the moment when things really started to heat up. Even the song’s cover art was a petty diss in itself, reportedly referring to Kendrick’s shoe size. Of course, Kendrick wasn’t Drake’s only victim; explicit shots are taken at Metro Boomin, Rick Ross, and former protegée the Weeknd. “Push Ups” also initiated the beef’s rapid back-and-forth — Drake released “Taylor Made Freestyle” the same day. That song aroused the ire of Tupac Shakur’s estate for using AI-generated vocals of the late artist that sided with Drake at Lamar’s expense, forcing Graham to immediately pull “Taylor Made Freestyle” off of streaming services.

#3: Drake Implies That Kendrick Isn’t Actually His Son’s Father

“Family Matters” (2024)
The moment that “Family Matters” came out will forever be remembered as a brief consensus that Drake had conclusively ended the beef… for 20 minutes, until “Meet the Grahams” came out. Still, “Family Matters” in itself is an impressively raw, impressively gossipy expose primarily against Kendrick Lamar, with the Weeknd, Rick Ross, A$AP Rocky, and Metro Boomin catching strays along the way. Drake even addresses Whitney Alford, Kendrick’s co-parent, directly. Boldest of all, he goes as far as accusing Lamar of domestic abuse and adultery, questioning his motives as to his supposed move to New York City. Oh, maybe that’s not as bold as alleging that the biological father of Lamar’s son is actually Dave Free, his manager.

#2: Kendrick Makes It Personal… A Lot More Personal

“Euphoria” (2024)
While the aforementioned “Family Matters” was a relatively shocking response, it seems fair to say that Drake wouldn’t have gone that hard if Kendrick hadn’t released “Euphoria” first. Reportedly a reference to the HBO teen drama of the same name (of which Drake is credited as an executive producer), Kendrick eviscerates every aspect of Drake’s career on his first official diss song. On “Euphoria,” he once again calls into question Drake’s authenticity and legitimacy as a rap artist, going so far as to invoke the latter’s background and identity. Oddly, somehow the song’s biggest slight is Kendrick’s impression of a “Toronto accent,” complete with region-specific slang and name-dropping New Ho King, a late-night staple of Chinese cuisine on Spadina Avenue.

#1: Kendrick Disses Drake’s Entire Family

“Meet the Grahams” (2024)
You know this beef was on an entirely different level when an AI-generated Tupac verse dissing Kendrick Lamar was only #4 on our list. On “Meet the Grahams,” Kendrick not only attacks Drake himself, but dedicates entire verses to dissing members of his family, in particular his parents, son Adonis, and… wait for it… an alleged daughter whose existence Drake had kept under wraps. This echoed Pusha T’s 2018 Drake diss “The Story of Adidon,” where Pusha made knowledge of Adonis public. While Drake denied the girl’s existence on “The Heart Part 6,” on which he claimed that he had fed Kendrick disinformation, no modern-day hip hop fan will forget where they were when Lamar’s response to “Family Matters” dropped.


Talk about an exciting time to love hip hop! What have been your favorite moments from the Drake / Kendrick Lamar beef of 2024? How quickly do you think they’ll respond to this video? Let us know in the comments below!