The Complex Rivalry of Drake and Kendrick

Drake and Kendrick Lamar hate each other. Well, at least one of them hates the other person, while the other has tried many times to be friendly and squash things. One rapper seemed to believe that they were actually friends, while the other looked at their relationship as a business transaction. After two weeks of research, it's safe to say that one MC has lost every ounce of respect for the other. You guys really liked my last video where I broke down all the subliminal disses from Drake's new album, so I decided to stick with a similar style. And in my last video, I asked you guys to hit the like button, which is something I don't usually do, but the video did really well, and I don't know if that's why, but just do me a favor and hit that like button again, thanks. So, when it comes to Kendrick and Drake, they weren't always on bad terms. Back in 2011, Drake had already blown up, and Kendrick had yet to release a major debut album. Now, Kendrick was definitely buzzing. But he was far from the star that Drake was. Even back in 2009, Kendrick mentioned Drake on a track, where he pretty much admits that he thinks he's better. Man, my girl split the buck at the KFC. She listening to Drake, and all I can say is, damn, these niggas that much better than me, baby. So Kendrick identified really early on that the mainstream hip-hop wasn't really his thing. However, on June 16, 2011, Kendrick performed in Toronto for the very first time. And when Drake found out he was in the city, he decided to hit him up so that they could meet. And Kendrick would speak about meeting Drake in a XXL magazine and said, That's a real good dude. He got a real genuine soul. We clicked immediately. And it was during that meeting that Kendrick provided Drake with a copy of his unreleased album, Section 80. Kendrick said that Drake was the first person outside of his team to hear Section 80, and that Drake was blown away by the project. I even found a 2011 tweet where Drake posted Kendrick's lyrics from ADHD. Drake liked Kendrick's music so much that he asked him to be on his upcoming sophomore album, Take Care. Throughout the track, Kendrick talks about meeting Drake for the first time, and how he was surprised that Drake wasn't fake like most of the music business. Kendrick outlines how Drake showed him a taste of what being rich and famous actually looked like. On the track, Kendrick really battles with the idea of becoming famous, as he's worried that it will change him for the worse. This next level that I'm going to, will I get caught up in the lifestyle and will that make me or break me? And that was what the whole record was about when I did the interlude. And I mean, even back then, we could see the difference in these two artists where Drake is talking about the Maybachs and his lavish life. And Kendrick is worried about his mental health and his, you know, his relationships, his friendships. It's interesting because just two or three years later, the dude did get depressed from just being in the industry. I didn't know you were suffering from depression. the way you said you was on that yeah did the industry cause that not not the industry just the change and drake only continues to show kendrick more love by taking him and asap rocky on his club paradise tour this is my brother asap rocky this is my brother kendrick lamar on his club paradise tour matter of fact my nigga drake tde high power win this and drake has always claimed to have fought with management to take these guys on tour because his label had other plans. Drake would mention this again in 2016 on his track 4PM in Calabasas. However, Kendrick's superstardom quickly catches up with Drake, As a year later, he dropped one of the best hip-hop albums of all time, Good Kid, Mad City. I used to be jealous of him to follow. He was the one to follow. And Black Boy Fly is a bonus track. But to me, that's one of the most beautiful songs on that album. Absolutely amazing storytelling. And it was on that album where Drake returns the favor and gives Kendrick a feature on Poetic Justice. I really hope you play this, cause oh girl, you test my patience. And on the day that the album dropped, Drake even posted a tweet saying, Congratulations to Kendrick, incredible body of work. honored to be a part of it. However, even at this point, Kendrick and Drake couldn't be more different in terms of how they approach music and life in general. Really, money really don't make me, I'm learning that now. You know, that's not really my, um, my peace of mind, having money. I love Elektra Chung's shoulders. You love the shoulders? I just love her shoulders. She's actually blushing as well. She's- No doubt about it, they're just two different guys. Next, we get a bit of an- inside look on how Kendrick actually sees Drake as a person when the legend himself DMX claims that he would love to beat Drake up. And just a few days later Kendrick was asked about his thoughts on DMX's rant and he thought it was hilarious saying that his entire tour buzz you Nearly died of laughter. I wonder why these niggas in the front of the bus just cracking up, like hitting walls and shit. Just crying. I'm like, what the fuck are you niggas talking about? They mute. They stop laughing, right? I just hear X going off on a laptop. I'm like, what the fuck is going on? He's like, yeah, he's going in right now. Now remember. Drake is pretty sensitive, so if he did see that, he probably felt a way about it. So the two would work together for the very last time on one of 2013's biggest hits, ASAP Rocky's Problems. But that was it. After that, you never see these two on a track together again. In 2013, things started to get a lot more competitive between the two, because at this point, Kendrick was not just an up-and-comer, he had become that guy. Get a lot of accolades from your peers and the hip-hop icons. Thank you. I love Kendrick Lamar. Number one on that list. Kendrick Lamar, what's up? The hip-hop savior, it seems like. And let's not forget, Drake is still Drake. He had a phenomenal year also. Shout out to Hamilton. Shout out to Toronto one time. Like the best rap album goes, and they said take care of it. Oh my God. Let's go. Given the success of both artists, the media and fans started to debate who was better, and Kendrick started off the year with a bang when he was awarded MTV's Hottest MC in Hip Hop. And we went through about 15 of them, narrowed it down to 10, the 10 became 5, the 5 became 2, and you Kendrick Lamar are the hottest MC in the game according to the MTV brand. And most of Kendrick's Hip Hop friends seemed to be happy for him. I heard you're not happy about that. Nah, I wasn't until I found out who's number one. They made my man number one, K-Dot, Kendrick, so I'm straight with that. However, Drake was one person that certainly did not send any sort of congratulations to Kendrick. What about your rap peers? Did they call? I know it's kind of competitive, so did they say congratulations? My rap peers? Um, they called. Okay. Yeah, that's about it. And I mean, at this point, Drake's at least gotta be thinking, like... This guy's starting to become a problem. He's getting a little bit close now. And Kendrick's winning streak was just beginning as two months later, he cleaned up at the 2013 BET Awards, winning the Best Male Hip Hop Artist over Drake. I came up in that same county building, food stamps, welfare, Section 8. And this time, I did find a tweet from Drake where he congratulates Kendrick on the win. Congrats to Kendrick as well. Nothing was the same. With all that said, things were about to change. August 12th, 2013 was a special moment for hip-hop. To this day, it still stands out as one of the most exciting things to happen in the last decade. On Big Sean's control, Kendrick let everyone in hip-hop know just how competitive he was when it came to that number one spot. I'm usually homeboys with the same... And let's just give it off for Big Sean, because to me, he had one of his career best verses, but it just got overshadowed because of Kendrick's verse. But when it came to Kendrick's verse, nobody that he mentioned had a problem with it. K-Dot and them niggas, that's fam, yo. I think hip-hop need this shit, man, you know. You know, I knew what it was for hip-hop culture. I knew how important it was. He said my name. He said a couple people's name, and he said he's the best rapper. I say I'm the best rapper every song I'm on. Yeah, but he wasn't coming at him in a disrespectful way. He's coming at him in a competitive way. So for me, it's one of those things where I appreciate it. I didn't take it necessarily as a digsit. Hip-hop is competitive, but I am a competitor. Wait, sorry. Nobody had a problem except for Drake. I just like, I don't know. It just wasn't real to me. It's like I saw him after that and it was just like love. So it's like, was that real? Or was that just like for the people? You know what I mean? I think it's a sparring kind of sport. Yeah, but at the same time, it's like, you know, then let it be real then, you know, I mean, because those were harsh words, right? So it's like, don't just you can't just say that and then see me and be like, yeah, man, what's up? Pretending like nothing ever happened. That's not real. And this right here is a. perfectly good example of why people call drake soft and emotional you can't act this way and then sit back and wonder why people are labeling you as such like this is this is why and it's interesting because when drake came into the game he seemed to understand that competition came with the genre it's a great thing though to be competitive with those guys because you're always pushing yourself i mean and look drake was not a rapper that you could just push around he did go toe-to-toe with people before Back in the day, a Toronto rapper by the name of Aristo seriously tried to end Drake's career, and it didn't end well for this guy. And it's the room of resolution, I'm finishing it in here. If I copy buttons flow, you mimicking his career. It was good riddance, it was lights out, it was a body, and that's what it was, man. And that's why, good riddance. And what happened? Good riddance, right? Bye. I remember when this dropped, because it was all over the hip-hop blogs in Canada. And yeah, we did have hip-hop logs in Canada in 2009. They did exist. With all that said, Drake dropped Nothing Was The Same, and we get to hear the first subliminal shot for Kendrick. On the track titled The Language, Drake immediately starts out with a shot. So, when Kendrick's control verse dropped, Drake stated on multiple occasions that he did not find the verse impressive, that he thought it was for shock value, and that it would soon be forgotten. But it was real cool for like, you know, a couple weeks. But like, if I asked you, for example, like, how does that verse start? One of Drake's more notable claims was that Kendrick had a great first album, but he questioned whether or not he could do it again. And as far as Kendrick goes, like, I can't wait to see what he does because Now it's time to show and prove and consistency has been one album. Consistency is like you need more than one album, you know what I'm saying? So it's like it's time to show and prove it. Drake claimed that he was all about putting out memorable bodies of work as opposed to creating moments. When it comes to competition, I'm just I'm more worried about consistency. I'm more worried about bodies of work. However, Drake continues to send some more shots. Look at a nigga that's talking that shit just to get a reaction. Again, Drake refers to Kendrick as someone that wrote the control verse to get attention. A motor mouth is defined as a person who talks quickly and continuously, often without considering what they're saying. In this case, someone that raps fast. Is clearly about Kendrick. So outside of the DMX comment, there were some other interviews where Kendrick had laughed at Drake's expense. I heard about you touring with Drake. I was like, that's dope, that's dope. And I was like, well, I hope he doesn't hang with Drake too hard because Drake isn't exactly doing what we thought he would, what many of nerdy backpackers like myself thought he might be doing a few years ago. And honestly, man, at this point, I would not be one bit surprised if Kendrick said something behind Drake's back. and it got back to him like i i wouldn't be surprised at all at the 2013 bet hip-hop awards hendrick decided to throw some gas on the fire he went into the awards with the most nominations at 14 and drake was a very close second with 13. however kendrick would be the man to come out on top winning lyricist of the year mvp of the year album of the year and feature of the year drake also came out with a handful of awards for best hip-hop video track of the year and people's champ however it would be kendrick again that stole the show yeah and nothing been the same since they dropped control and took the sense of the rapper back in his pajama clothes high high jokes on you high five i'm bulletproof your shots will never penetrate pin a tail on a donkey boy you've been a fake so pretty self-explanatory kendrick uses drake's album title nothing was the same to call him out for being sensitive regarding the control verse. And this whole thing got a lot of people excited, and just the very next day, Sway asked Kendrick if the bars were meant for Drake. Was, uh, people want to know, was that directed towards Drake or anybody in particular? Huh? But Drake did not seem to think so, and just a few weeks later, he came with some more subliminal shots on a future track titled Shit. And that's the name of the song, Shit. But, uh, I always liked this record. And to me, this is one of the best subliminal shots of the whole saga. Like, Drake sounds like Jay-Z here. It's a very Hove-like thing to say where he's just completely sunning Kendrick. So it's been known that Kendrick puts on heavy for the West Coast, claiming that he's the king, but Drake refers to him as his son because Kendrick went on his first big tour with Drake, and of course they had some shows in California. At the time, even Kendrick admitted that he was not used to these large crowds. The transition of me doing... 2000 Vs I've been doing packed in is a little sketchy for me doing this 10,000. I got to really work some magic. I even found a Kendrick tweet from 2012 when he was on tour with Drake where he says, Finally home LA, club paradise, let's see what happens tonight. And if a nigga say my name, he the hot shit. But if I say that nigga name, he still the hot shit. F***ed up, lucky I don't feel into the gossip. So this one clearly a reference to Kendrick's control verse. A lot of MCs responded to Kendrick with a verse of their own. And Drake is basically claiming that given the fact that he's a bigger artist, if he says Kendrick's name, he's just doing him a favor. And this next one's not even a diss. I just want to show you guys my favorite line from the song. And niggas ain't got a grill, still ice grill hatin'. I know you already know Mike, we'll make it. Just lookin' at the numbers, nigga, I feelin' amazing. I'll call Michael, join up and Mike will make it. I'm the young rap. You know, he just signed a deal with Jordan, Mike Will made the beat. Shit's fire, come on. However, just a few days later, an issue of Vibe magazine was released, and Drake talks about Kendrick again, stating how he didn't like how the control verse messed with the rollout of his album. Where it became an issue is that I was rolling out an album while that verse was still bubbling, so my album rollout became about this thing. Drake then continues to position himself as someone that is above anything that Kendrick has to say. He's hungry, so he's going to do what he has to do, like the BET cypher, but again, it's not enough for me to go. I have to realize I'm being baited, and I'm not going to fall. Jordan doesn't have to play pick-up to prove that he can play ball. No offense. Now at this point in the story, we're about to witness one of the biggest upsets in Grammy history. At the 56th annual Grammy Awards, Kendrick lost the hip-hop album of the year to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and rightfully so people were outraged. All you got to do is look at Pharrell's face because it says it all. He's just trying to get off the stage as quickly as possible like why? Why did they get me to do this? And Macklemore, feeling the heat, decided to text Kendrick afterwards and say that he felt he should have won and that he got robbed. And it would have been a nice gesture if he didn't take a screenshot of the text and post it on social media for everyone to see. And just a month later, Drake gave his two cents in a Rolling Stone interview. You won. Why are you posting your text message? Just chill. Take your W. And if you feel like you didn't deserve it, go get better, make better music. It felt cheap. It didn't feel genuine. Why do that? Why feel guilt? You think those guys would pay homage to you if they won? To name just Kendrick? That shit made me feel funny. No, in that case, you robbed everybody. We all need text messages. Now you guys tell me, does Drake seem like he's defending Kendrick in this article? Or does it seem like he's salty because he's not in the mix? At this point, the feud dies down for about eight months, and Drake even had some very kind words for Kendrick at his OVO fest when he brought out J. Cole. However, it looks like Kendrick did not get the message as just two months later, he responds to Drake's Motormouth line on a J-Rock track titled, Pay For It. Clearly a response to Drake's subliminal on the language, again, Kendrick inserts himself as the king, And he doesn't seem to think that Drake can go to distance with him. And it will be just two weeks later where Kendrick gets asked about this alleged... this you know a lot of rumors are with the drake thing like you know did you really bring the drake thing back with uh with the jay rock single or what's that about well what what what i hear the drake feud oh look at him going damn man you're disgusting that's people digging in that's people digging in way too far once again we're all reaching and it's it's not about drake and just a few days later kendrick would get asked about his now year-old control verse And this time, he said that all the people that mattered understood it, and for the people who didn't, they don't matter. The people that respect it, you know, was, you know, people that knew the deal. Yeah. Was the important people that respect it and knew what it was. And, you know, people that don't respect it, obviously, they're just people that don't get it and, you know, really didn't matter. And again, Kendrick claims that the chances of seeing him and Drake go head-to-head is slim to none because they're two different artists. It's just a whole nother dynamic. I can't see myself going bar for bar with Drake, you know, with two different type of artists. You dig what I'm saying? You hate Drake. I've argued that. And I honestly feel like this is just Kendrick downplaying Drake as not being on his level. I don't think he respects Drake. I don't think he really ever respected Drake. And there's some underlying meaning behind this when he keeps saying it. Would Drake be somebody you would like to have some fun with? Nah, I couldn't. We come from two different worlds, two different backgrounds. I really don't see that playing out, you know, as entertaining. Maybe to, you know, the people listening, you know, not for myself. Keep in mind, Kendrick was classified as the savior of hip-hop. He was embraced by everyone just for the art, whereas someone like Drake really had to go the distance to prove himself, and even then, he could never win over the fans that admired a certain level of lyricism. Many consider Drake to be a pop star, and I feel like Kendrick is saying this without really saying it. However, next Drake drops his surprise mixtape, if you're reading this is too late, and on that project, he had some more shots for Kendrick. So, Drake had claimed previously that he saw Kendrick just five days after the control verse. and it was all love. I know that that verse had no malice behind it because I saw him five days later at the VMAs and it was all love. And at this time Drake was the talk of the town because this surprise project made a big splash so just a few weeks later Kendrick decided to shake things up and finally dropped his long-awaited album by surprise as well. And when I wake up I recognize you're looking at me for the pay cut, but I'ma stop it. Naturally, fans and the media pitted the two albums against each other. Kendrick, bruh, how do you let Drake drop a mixtape that goes harder than your album? A freaking mixtape. Not gonna compare Drake and Kendrick anymore, cause they're not even playing the same sport right now. Kendrick is in his own league. And comparing these projects makes zero sense. It's apples to oranges. Drake's project was great for club DJs, gym playlists, cruising in the car, whereas Kendrick's album touched on real world issues, was chanted during protests, and is looked at today as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. However, Drake wasn't done as he let another one go on the game's track 100. Again, Kendrick had just released Depend the Butterfly, his most conscious album to date, and Drake is basically saying that he could do that style if he wanted, but he's on a different mission with his music. Also important to note, the video for this track was filmed in Compton, so Drake is saying all this while in Kendrick City. Now, the game was asked about this, and he didn't seem to think it was a shot at Kendrick, but he also didn't count it out. Drake was taking subliminals at Kendrick on that song, and Kendrick caught it and wanted to return something. I think that would be great for hip-hop. However, one of the worst things to be exposed for as a rapper was about to happen to Drake. On July 22, 2015, Meek Mill took to Twitter to expose Drake for having ghostwriters. 10 bands, 50 bands, 100 bands, f*** man. I can remember having a conversation with my little brother on the phone, and we were both saying, like, there's no way. There's no way that Drake has ghostwriters, because he's too good of a writer himself. It just doesn't make sense. But boy were we wrong. Okay, 10 bands, 50 bands, 100 bands, f*** it man. Did you hear the reference tracks? Line for line, word for word. This is bad. No, it's a terrible time to be a Drake fan. Shortly after Meek's tweets, the reference tracks would leak to support the Ghostwriter allegations. And now we get back to Kendrick, who just a few months earlier made reference to rappers with Ghostwriters on his single King Kunta. Better rep it with a ghostwriter. What the fuck happened? Oh no! I swore I wouldn't tell! So basically, Kendrick found out about this ghostwriting shit months before we did, and months before it even got exposed. And Kendrick is basically saying, like, I know what you've been up to, buddy. I'm not gonna say anything, but I know. With all that said, as everyone knows, Drake responded to Meek Mill with a now legendary diss record, Back to Back. And being a day one Drake fan, for me personally, I was never more proud of Drake in his whole entire career than when he dropped Back to Back. The new record, Back to Back, tough tune. Tough, tough tune. But once again, Kendrick responds to Drake just one month later on Dr. Dre's Compton album. In this one Kendrick references Drake's recent track, Enemies. Kendrick is once again talking about how Drake keeps going the subliminal route, which at the end of the day is really no different from what he's doing, but he didn't stop there as he did it again on another song from the same album. The words they nominated six to carry him could potentially be a Drake reference given the fact that Toronto is referred to as the Six and if this is the case Kendrick is basically saying that everyone seems to think that Drake is his greatest opponent but that he's a great white and that this is his aquarium aka he's the king of hip-hop and you ever look back on any And feel like you'd like to change any of the things that you've written? It'd be me saying I want to go deeper. I should have went deeper. You know, I shouldn't have held back. I shouldn't have held back. And at this point, Kendrick finally gets his well-deserved moment at the Grammys, winning five awards, but more importantly, he finally clinched the Best Rap Album category with To Pimp a Butterfly. Oh, glory to God, that's for sure. Drake also racked up a bunch of accolades in 2015. If you're reading this, it's too late. Broke Spotify's record for 17.3 million streams in its first week. Hotline Bling had dominated the charts. And his collaborative album with Future also did crazy numbers. And I mean, even at this point, anything Drake touches is gonna do numbers. Next, we get some inside information that this situation between Drake and Kendrick could have got really ugly. Former NFL player turned commentator Marcellus Wiley wouldn't say any names but said that years earlier he interviewed one of the two rappers and it completely went off on the other. The Drake Kendrick beef when it was really starting to brew. Yeah yeah yeah. I was on Sports Nation at the time and we taped the interview with one of the people. And that one person went in on the other person. We were ready to let this go. But then that one person's team made sure that didn't get out. Marcellus was quoted in a DJ Vlad interview as saying that the person went so hard in this interview that it could have brought the beef to the heights of 50 Cent and Ja Rule. And you got to keep in mind, Marcellus is trying to sell a book. And he claimed that in this book, he would expose everything that was said and who said it. And I bought the book. I spent the $13.99. I didn't read it. I searched it. And here's what he had to say. We even got Drake on tape talking major shit about Kendrick during an interview. Of course, after watching the interview, Drake's publicist wouldn't let us air that tape, but we still got it. Take my word for it. So that's it. That is the big expose. Like, I too was cheated, hoodwinked, bamboozled, and led astray by Marcellus Wiley. Now, we need to take any self-promotion tactics with a grain of salt, but the date surrounding this thing is very interesting. Hendrick drops the control verse on August 12, 2013. In a Hot 97 interview on September 24th, Drake was very bitter, and the very next day, September 25th, Drake appears on ESPN. And you guys can tell me what you think, but to me, I believe this story. I believe that Drake did this, 100%. I personally enjoy making, like, great music and bodies of work over, like... being the talk of Twitter for like five days, you know. However, in 2016, one man dominated the charts, and that was Drake, smashing record after record, pumping out hit after hit. View sold one million in its first week and went on to become quadruple platinum that year. He had several number one records, such as Work With Rihanna, For Free With DJ Khaled, and One Dance With Wizkid. One dance actually became Spotify's most streamed song ever and Spotify also announced that Drake was the most streamed artist of 2016. Basically in 2016, Drake just dominated. And speaking of For Free by DJ Khaled, Drake actually mentioned Kendrick on that song. Again, this appears to be more of a friendly nod to Kendrick where Drake is referencing his song which is also called for free. This dick ain't free. However, 2017 was about to start, and Kendrick was about to take some of the most direct shots at Drake to date. Tip-toeing around my name, nigga, you lame, and what don't you tell me? What's most interesting about this track in particular is the timing of when Kendrick put it out. Drake had just dropped his project More Life, which was... mostly a happy-go-lucky summer vibe that contained no shots at Kendrick whatsoever, and just a few days later, Kendrick drops this surprise aggressive 116 bar track that is full of shots at Drake. It's no secret that Drake has claimed to be somewhere on this top 5 list, but more recently on More Life, He claimed that he was number one on that list. You know I said top five, but I'm top two, and I'm not two, and I got one, thought you had one, but it's not one, nigga, nah. So let me get this straight. Kendrick hears this track, gets the pen out, jumps in the booth, and sends a clear message just a few days after Drake drops that he's the best rapper alive. Ho JZ, Hall of Fame, sit your punk ass down. Drake's been known to draw comparisons between himself and Hov. so it only makes sense that this shot was directed at Drake. Lastly Kendrick ends off the track to surprise fans and warn Drake that he's got a new album coming in a few weeks. Kendrick was really strategic in releasing this track as it took most of the attention off Drake's project. And to add insult to injury, his fans flocked to Drake's Instagram account and spammed the number 4 in Roman numerals. And Kendrick, true to his word, he drops the album, and he has some more shots for Drake. Kendrick references Drake's track for free, and although Drake is from Toronto, he's lived in Calabasas since 2012. With that said, Kendrick is more than likely talking about how Drake was in Compton while shooting the video for 100. Kendrick is from Compton, probably didn't like it. Most of y'all throw rocks and try to hide your hand. Just say his name and I promise that you'll see Candyman. At this point, Kendrick is begging Drake to just call him out. He makes a reference to a popular 90s movie, Candyman, where the premise of that movie is, if you say Candyman's name five times, he'll come kill you. Kendrick is basically saying if you say my name your career is dead and i think kendrick has something on drake something scathing something that drake doesn't want to see exposed we've already seen drake a couple times now try to dead this thing there's more coming but yeah kendrick keeps going and kendrick seemingly mocks drake's style of music on his song god you feel some type of waving there's nobody gonna tell me that he's not mocking Drake here because Kendrick doesn't usually sound like this. This is Drake. Next, we hear Kendrick on future smash hit Mask Off, and this one is a very direct response to one of Drake's shots. Very clearly a response to Drake's claims on 100, when he claimed that he could take all of Kendrick's fans if he were to pursue the conscious hip-hop lane. And I stayed on some conscious shit. But Kendrick had proven time and time again that he could have commercial success and be conscious at the same time. At this point, he had three cohesive projects under his belt, all of which were extremely successful. I'm African American, I'm African, I'm black as the moon, heritage of a small village, part of my residence. Kendrick had also proved that he could easily navigate the pop music lane, having massively successful features. with artists like Taylor Swift. And again, when you listen to that track, he's not compromising his sound. He's still rapping. It's all bars. Now, I'm sure none of you forgot about Drake's Ghostwriter claims, and Kendrick didn't forget either. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Kendrick gave his two cents on the situation. It depends what arena you're putting yourself in. I called myself the best rapper. I cannot call myself the best rapper if I have a ghostwriter. If you're saying you're a different type of artist and you don't really care about the art form of being the best rapper, then so be it. Make great music, but the title, it won't be there. And no matter how you slice it, the dude is not wrong. To be the best rapper, you need to write your bars. I would be lying if I said that when I found out that Drake had ghostwriters that I didn't look at his music differently. I still listen to his music, but even now... When he says something dope, I got this little voice in the back of my head that says, Yeah, it's dope, but did he write it? However, Drake attempts to keep it friendly again by tipping his hat to Kendrick when Damn Out sold more life by over 100,000 copies. Amazing to see our music moving. A fan had also commented, Get Drake, Kendrick, and J. Cole on the same record, and Drake liked the comment. Now, I hope at this point you guys can see the theme of Drake trying to squash it. And Kendrick seemingly responds to Drake's praise on his track All The Stars with SZA. Kendrick is not trying to hear it. Just save the bullshit. I don't even like you, bro. Like, which is true. However, on the exact same day, Drake drops a track with some of his most obvious shots to date, Diplomatic Immunity. Drake does not like the Kendrick comparisons, and he brings it back to when he helped Kendrick with his career early on. What makes this clearly about Kendrick is the No You and I line, which were both tracks from Kendrick's Da Pimp a Butterfly. The two would then go head-to-head at the 2018 Billboard Awards. Many questioned who would be crowned as rapper of the year, and once again, Kendrick came out drastically ahead. Not your future, not your comfort, not your reverie, not your glory, not your heaven, not your angel. And yet again, Drake attempts to be friendly by sharing some old Twitter DMs between himself and Kendrick. Yo, my man, what's the word? Finishing my project, section 80. When you back in Cali? I know that shit will be incredible. We gotta do something for real. I'll be back for BET awards this month. And this could be one of two things, really. Like, Drake could be saying, Look, man, we used to be cool. Like, remember? Can we get back to that? Or he could be just throwing this back in Kendrick's face again that he's the one that gave him a start and, like, I put you on, remember? Regardless of the reasoning, Drake still had another subliminal for Kendrick on Sandra's Rose. Bury me and I'll be born again. I walk in godly form amongst the mortal men. Again, Drake makes reference to another track from To Pimp a Butterfly with the words mortal men. In this one, Drake continues to insert himself as being a caliber above Kendrick. But I don't know. I'm no mortal man. And Drake ends off the year with even more compliments for Kendrick in a Rap Radar interview. I have a lot of respect for, you know, the other two guys that I'm constantly, you know. up against, which is like Cole and Kendrick. Three-headed monster. Yeah, yeah. So I have a lot of respect for those guys because they also continue to, you know, stay true to what we started with and find. new ways to do it however things go quiet in 2020 keep in mind kendrick wasn't releasing any music and fans started to question if the feud was over i don't think that the Drake-Kendrick tension is dead. I think that last decade, they fought as long as they could fight, and the decade ended without us having a decisive winner. And I don't think either of them have gotten off of that. And people call Joe crazy all the time, but Joe Budden is right about a lot of shit. He is. And while Kendrick has gone ghost, nowhere to be found, Drake completely dominated the music business. I'm talking about Oprah's bank account, Tootsie Slide, non-stop in my feelings god's plan nice for what pop star life is good chicago freestyle laugh now cry later this is just undeniable like there's there's no other artist on earth who is doing this except for drake however in 2021 the boogeyman himself kendrick lamar rises from the dead and has some shots for drake on family ties with baby keen you Again, he's firing back at Drake's now overstated top five claims. And Kendrick would continue on to address Drake's claims about being the GOAT. I am the Omega, BG Lane, Rollie Gang, S.I.E. Don't you address me unless it's with four letters. At the end of the track, Baby Keem seemingly reveals that Drake has been DMing his girl. Number two DMing my... However, just a month later, Drake would reply to Kendrick again on his song, No Friends in the Industry. Drake knows at this point when it comes to selling records, when it comes to breaking records, nobody is standing next to him in hip-hop. He simply dominates on a commercial scale. With all that said, Drake was now celebrating 10 years of Take Care. and he decided to share an old photo of him and Kendrick. And I get it, like you know, he helped with the project, nice gesture, but why keep doing this? Why keep being friendly to someone who doesn't respect you? However, at this point, four years have passed since Kendrick had dropped an album, and while he was on a milk box missing, Drake was still very much active releasing Certified Lover Boy. That album went on to break Spotify's record for the most streams in a single day, And in that same year, he also had some notable bangers like Wants and Needs with Lil Baby. But finally, after five fucking years, we get the Kendrick album. And sadly, a lot of people did not like this album. I'm not one of them. I absolutely loved it. I'm also a big therapy guy because I'm bipolar. I don't really have any choice but not. be a therapy guy but this project definitely connected with me at least. And it was on this album where Kendrick admitted on a song that he didn't understand why Drake and Kanye squashed their beef. When Kanye got back with Drake I was slightly confused Guess I'm not with you as I think Guess I'm healing to do And in my opinion this is just Kendrick's way of telling Drake that he has zero intentions of ever patching things up with him. And there's people that we meet all the time that we just don't like. Like sometimes it's for no reason at all. And Kendrick's got a reason. Next, Drake gets extra petty by releasing a dance album, Honestly Nevermind, on Kendrick's birthday. Drake knows damn well that Kendrick is the last person that would ever release a project like this one. And what better way of saying, look at how versatile I am. Then by dropping a project like this on his birthday. Now I don't think this little stunt bothered Kendrick at all, but it was still pretty strategic from Drake. But Drake was not done yet. On a track with Lil Uzi, he took some really obvious shots at Kendrick. So just a few months earlier, Kendrick had very similar wording on his N95 track. Take off the fake deep, take off the fake woke, take off the I'm broke, I care. Drake is insinuating that Kendrick is more or less running a grift when it comes to what he's saying in his music. He's basically claiming that Kendrick doesn't really stand by or believe what he's preaching, and he also reminds Kendrick that he's the one who put him on. What made this reference even more obvious is the line, now you gotta take a backseat, which is clearly a reference to Kendrick's backseat freestyle. My mind is living on cloud nine. And just like me, it looks like Drake really enjoyed Kendrick's new project as he showed up in the audience at Kendrick's show in Toronto. Again, Drake knows what he's doing. He knows the blogs are going to pick this up. The question is, was he there to show love or was he there to play chess? I mean, at this point, based on the history of Drake's friendliness, I'm just going to chalk it up to him just trying to be cool with him again. And for Kendrick, what... better way of taking five years away than by dropping an album and cleaning house again at the BET Awards. Going into the awards Drake was way ahead of everybody with 14 nominations, but it didn't matter because Kendrick mopped the floor with them, winning Best Hip Hop Video, Best Live Performer, Lyricist of the Year, Video Director of the Year, Album of the Year, and Artist of the Year. However, Drake wasn't very impressed with Kendrick's five-year delay, and he let everyone know about it while on tour. I don't know about these guys that go away three, four, five years and want to chill out and all that shit. That's not me. And I want to ask you guys this. How many times has Kendrick said something nice about Drake in the last decade? Zero. Fucking zero. It's all been Drake. We've got seven or eight examples here in this video of Drake complimenting Kendrick, saying that he wants to do music with him, reminiscing on old times, just being friendly with him, and Kendrick has said fucking nothing. That gotta tell you something. The guy did a good job. He did? He did a good job with that. It came across my feet. Edit. Good to see it edited correctly. Here, what's the dirt? Bitch, I'm about to blow up. Uh-huh. Say what? Bitch, I'm about to blow up.

After two weeks of research, it's safe to say that one MC has lost every ounce of respect for the other. You guys really liked my last video where I broke down all the subliminal disses from Drake's new album, so I decided to stick with a similar style. And in my last video, I asked you guys to hit the like button, which is something I don't usually do, but the video did really well, and I don't know if that's why, but just do me a favor and hit that like button again, thanks. So, when it comes to Kendrick and Drake, they weren't always on bad terms. Back in 2011, Drake had already blown up, and Kendrick had yet to release a major debut album.

Now, Kendrick was definitely buzzing. But he was far from the star that Drake was. Even back in 2009, Kendrick mentioned Drake on a track, where he pretty much admits that he thinks he's better. Man, my girl split the buck at the KFC.

She listening to Drake, and all I can say is, damn, these niggas that much better than me, baby. So Kendrick identified really early on that the mainstream hip-hop wasn't really his thing. However, on June 16, 2011, Kendrick performed in Toronto for the very first time.

And when Drake found out he was in the city, he decided to hit him up so that they could meet. And Kendrick would speak about meeting Drake in a XXL magazine and said, That's a real good dude. He got a real genuine soul.

We clicked immediately. And it was during that meeting that Kendrick provided Drake with a copy of his unreleased album, Section 80. Kendrick said that Drake was the first person outside of his team to hear Section 80, and that Drake was blown away by the project. I even found a 2011 tweet where Drake posted Kendrick's lyrics from ADHD.

Drake liked Kendrick's music so much that he asked him to be on his upcoming sophomore album, Take Care. Throughout the track, Kendrick talks about meeting Drake for the first time, and how he was surprised that Drake wasn't fake like most of the music business. Kendrick outlines how Drake showed him a taste of what being rich and famous actually looked like.

On the track, Kendrick really battles with the idea of becoming famous, as he's worried that it will change him for the worse. This next level that I'm going to, will I get caught up in the lifestyle and will that make me or break me? And that was what the whole record was about when I did the interlude.

And I mean, even back then, we could see the difference in these two artists where Drake is talking about the Maybachs and his lavish life. And Kendrick is worried about his mental health and his, you know, his relationships, his friendships. It's interesting because just two or three years later, the dude did get depressed from just being in the industry. I didn't know you were suffering from depression. the way you said you was on that yeah did the industry cause that not not the industry just the change and drake only continues to show kendrick more love by taking him and asap rocky on his club paradise tour this is my brother asap rocky this is my brother kendrick lamar on his club paradise tour matter of fact my nigga drake tde high power win this and drake has always claimed to have fought with management to take these guys on tour because his label had other plans.

Drake would mention this again in 2016 on his track 4PM in Calabasas. However, Kendrick's superstardom quickly catches up with Drake, As a year later, he dropped one of the best hip-hop albums of all time, Good Kid, Mad City. I used to be jealous of him to follow.

He was the one to follow. And Black Boy Fly is a bonus track. But to me, that's one of the most beautiful songs on that album. Absolutely amazing storytelling. And it was on that album where Drake returns the favor and gives Kendrick a feature on Poetic Justice.

I really hope you play this, cause oh girl, you test my patience. And on the day that the album dropped, Drake even posted a tweet saying, Congratulations to Kendrick, incredible body of work. honored to be a part of it.

However, even at this point, Kendrick and Drake couldn't be more different in terms of how they approach music and life in general. Really, money really don't make me, I'm learning that now. You know, that's not really my, um, my peace of mind, having money. I love Elektra Chung's shoulders. You love the shoulders?

I just love her shoulders. She's actually blushing as well. She's- No doubt about it, they're just two different guys.

Next, we get a bit of an- inside look on how Kendrick actually sees Drake as a person when the legend himself DMX claims that he would love to beat Drake up. And just a few days later Kendrick was asked about his thoughts on DMX's rant and he thought it was hilarious saying that his entire tour buzz you Nearly died of laughter. I wonder why these niggas in the front of the bus just cracking up, like hitting walls and shit.

Just crying. I'm like, what the fuck are you niggas talking about? They mute.

They stop laughing, right? I just hear X going off on a laptop. I'm like, what the fuck is going on? He's like, yeah, he's going in right now. Now remember.

Drake is pretty sensitive, so if he did see that, he probably felt a way about it. So the two would work together for the very last time on one of 2013's biggest hits, ASAP Rocky's Problems. But that was it.

After that, you never see these two on a track together again. In 2013, things started to get a lot more competitive between the two, because at this point, Kendrick was not just an up-and-comer, he had become that guy. Get a lot of accolades from your peers and the hip-hop icons. Thank you.

I love Kendrick Lamar. Number one on that list. Kendrick Lamar, what's up? The hip-hop savior, it seems like. And let's not forget, Drake is still Drake.

He had a phenomenal year also. Shout out to Hamilton. Shout out to Toronto one time.

Like the best rap album goes, and they said take care of it. Oh my God. Let's go. Given the success of both artists, the media and fans started to debate who was better, and Kendrick started off the year with a bang when he was awarded MTV's Hottest MC in Hip Hop.

And we went through about 15 of them, narrowed it down to 10, the 10 became 5, the 5 became 2, and you Kendrick Lamar are the hottest MC in the game according to the MTV brand. And most of Kendrick's Hip Hop friends seemed to be happy for him. I heard you're not happy about that.

Nah, I wasn't until I found out who's number one. They made my man number one, K-Dot, Kendrick, so I'm straight with that. However, Drake was one person that certainly did not send any sort of congratulations to Kendrick.

What about your rap peers? Did they call? I know it's kind of competitive, so did they say congratulations?

My rap peers? Um, they called. Okay. Yeah, that's about it.

And I mean, at this point, Drake's at least gotta be thinking, like... This guy's starting to become a problem. He's getting a little bit close now.

And Kendrick's winning streak was just beginning as two months later, he cleaned up at the 2013 BET Awards, winning the Best Male Hip Hop Artist over Drake. I came up in that same county building, food stamps, welfare, Section 8. And this time, I did find a tweet from Drake where he congratulates Kendrick on the win. Congrats to Kendrick as well. Nothing was the same. With all that said, things were about to change.

August 12th, 2013 was a special moment for hip-hop. To this day, it still stands out as one of the most exciting things to happen in the last decade. On Big Sean's control, Kendrick let everyone in hip-hop know just how competitive he was when it came to that number one spot. I'm usually homeboys with the same... And let's just give it off for Big Sean, because to me, he had one of his career best verses, but it just got overshadowed because of Kendrick's verse.

But when it came to Kendrick's verse, nobody that he mentioned had a problem with it. K-Dot and them niggas, that's fam, yo. I think hip-hop need this shit, man, you know. You know, I knew what it was for hip-hop culture.

I knew how important it was. He said my name. He said a couple people's name, and he said he's the best rapper.

I say I'm the best rapper every song I'm on. Yeah, but he wasn't coming at him in a disrespectful way. He's coming at him in a competitive way. So for me, it's one of those things where I appreciate it.

I didn't take it necessarily as a digsit. Hip-hop is competitive, but I am a competitor. Wait, sorry.

Nobody had a problem except for Drake. I just like, I don't know. It just wasn't real to me. It's like I saw him after that and it was just like love.

So it's like, was that real? Or was that just like for the people? You know what I mean? I think it's a sparring kind of sport. Yeah, but at the same time, it's like, you know, then let it be real then, you know, I mean, because those were harsh words, right?

So it's like, don't just you can't just say that and then see me and be like, yeah, man, what's up? Pretending like nothing ever happened. That's not real. And this right here is a. perfectly good example of why people call drake soft and emotional you can't act this way and then sit back and wonder why people are labeling you as such like this is this is why and it's interesting because when drake came into the game he seemed to understand that competition came with the genre it's a great thing though to be competitive with those guys because you're always pushing yourself i mean and look drake was not a rapper that you could just push around he did go toe-to-toe with people before Back in the day, a Toronto rapper by the name of Aristo seriously tried to end Drake's career, and it didn't end well for this guy.

And it's the room of resolution, I'm finishing it in here. If I copy buttons flow, you mimicking his career. It was good riddance, it was lights out, it was a body, and that's what it was, man. And that's why, good riddance.

And what happened? Good riddance, right? Bye.

I remember when this dropped, because it was all over the hip-hop blogs in Canada. And yeah, we did have hip-hop logs in Canada in 2009. They did exist. With all that said, Drake dropped Nothing Was The Same, and we get to hear the first subliminal shot for Kendrick. On the track titled The Language, Drake immediately starts out with a shot. So, when Kendrick's control verse dropped, Drake stated on multiple occasions that he did not find the verse impressive, that he thought it was for shock value, and that it would soon be forgotten.

But it was real cool for like, you know, a couple weeks. But like, if I asked you, for example, like, how does that verse start? One of Drake's more notable claims was that Kendrick had a great first album, but he questioned whether or not he could do it again. And as far as Kendrick goes, like, I can't wait to see what he does because Now it's time to show and prove and consistency has been one album. Consistency is like you need more than one album, you know what I'm saying?

So it's like it's time to show and prove it. Drake claimed that he was all about putting out memorable bodies of work as opposed to creating moments. When it comes to competition, I'm just I'm more worried about consistency.

I'm more worried about bodies of work. However, Drake continues to send some more shots. Look at a nigga that's talking that shit just to get a reaction. Again, Drake refers to Kendrick as someone that wrote the control verse to get attention.

A motor mouth is defined as a person who talks quickly and continuously, often without considering what they're saying. In this case, someone that raps fast. Is clearly about Kendrick. So outside of the DMX comment, there were some other interviews where Kendrick had laughed at Drake's expense. I heard about you touring with Drake.

I was like, that's dope, that's dope. And I was like, well, I hope he doesn't hang with Drake too hard because Drake isn't exactly doing what we thought he would, what many of nerdy backpackers like myself thought he might be doing a few years ago. And honestly, man, at this point, I would not be one bit surprised if Kendrick said something behind Drake's back.

and it got back to him like i i wouldn't be surprised at all at the 2013 bet hip-hop awards hendrick decided to throw some gas on the fire he went into the awards with the most nominations at 14 and drake was a very close second with 13. however kendrick would be the man to come out on top winning lyricist of the year mvp of the year album of the year and feature of the year drake also came out with a handful of awards for best hip-hop video track of the year and people's champ however it would be kendrick again that stole the show yeah and nothing been the same since they dropped control and took the sense of the rapper back in his pajama clothes high high jokes on you high five i'm bulletproof your shots will never penetrate pin a tail on a donkey boy you've been a fake so pretty self-explanatory kendrick uses drake's album title nothing was the same to call him out for being sensitive regarding the control verse. And this whole thing got a lot of people excited, and just the very next day, Sway asked Kendrick if the bars were meant for Drake. Was, uh, people want to know, was that directed towards Drake or anybody in particular? Huh?

But Drake did not seem to think so, and just a few weeks later, he came with some more subliminal shots on a future track titled Shit. And that's the name of the song, Shit. But, uh, I always liked this record.

And to me, this is one of the best subliminal shots of the whole saga. Like, Drake sounds like Jay-Z here. It's a very Hove-like thing to say where he's just completely sunning Kendrick.

So it's been known that Kendrick puts on heavy for the West Coast, claiming that he's the king, but Drake refers to him as his son because Kendrick went on his first big tour with Drake, and of course they had some shows in California. At the time, even Kendrick admitted that he was not used to these large crowds. The transition of me doing... 2000 Vs I've been doing packed in is a little sketchy for me doing this 10,000.

I got to really work some magic. I even found a Kendrick tweet from 2012 when he was on tour with Drake where he says, Finally home LA, club paradise, let's see what happens tonight. And if a nigga say my name, he the hot shit. But if I say that nigga name, he still the hot shit.

F***ed up, lucky I don't feel into the gossip. So this one clearly a reference to Kendrick's control verse. A lot of MCs responded to Kendrick with a verse of their own.

And Drake is basically claiming that given the fact that he's a bigger artist, if he says Kendrick's name, he's just doing him a favor. And this next one's not even a diss. I just want to show you guys my favorite line from the song. And niggas ain't got a grill, still ice grill hatin'.

I know you already know Mike, we'll make it. Just lookin' at the numbers, nigga, I feelin' amazing. I'll call Michael, join up and Mike will make it. I'm the young rap. You know, he just signed a deal with Jordan, Mike Will made the beat.

Shit's fire, come on. However, just a few days later, an issue of Vibe magazine was released, and Drake talks about Kendrick again, stating how he didn't like how the control verse messed with the rollout of his album. Where it became an issue is that I was rolling out an album while that verse was still bubbling, so my album rollout became about this thing. Drake then continues to position himself as someone that is above anything that Kendrick has to say.

He's hungry, so he's going to do what he has to do, like the BET cypher, but again, it's not enough for me to go. I have to realize I'm being baited, and I'm not going to fall. Jordan doesn't have to play pick-up to prove that he can play ball. No offense. Now at this point in the story, we're about to witness one of the biggest upsets in Grammy history.

At the 56th annual Grammy Awards, Kendrick lost the hip-hop album of the year to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and rightfully so people were outraged. All you got to do is look at Pharrell's face because it says it all. He's just trying to get off the stage as quickly as possible like why?

Why did they get me to do this? And Macklemore, feeling the heat, decided to text Kendrick afterwards and say that he felt he should have won and that he got robbed. And it would have been a nice gesture if he didn't take a screenshot of the text and post it on social media for everyone to see. And just a month later, Drake gave his two cents in a Rolling Stone interview.

You won. Why are you posting your text message? Just chill.

Take your W. And if you feel like you didn't deserve it, go get better, make better music. It felt cheap.

It didn't feel genuine. Why do that? Why feel guilt?

You think those guys would pay homage to you if they won? To name just Kendrick? That shit made me feel funny. No, in that case, you robbed everybody.

We all need text messages. Now you guys tell me, does Drake seem like he's defending Kendrick in this article? Or does it seem like he's salty because he's not in the mix?

At this point, the feud dies down for about eight months, and Drake even had some very kind words for Kendrick at his OVO fest when he brought out J. Cole. However, it looks like Kendrick did not get the message as just two months later, he responds to Drake's Motormouth line on a J-Rock track titled, Pay For It.

Clearly a response to Drake's subliminal on the language, again, Kendrick inserts himself as the king, And he doesn't seem to think that Drake can go to distance with him. And it will be just two weeks later where Kendrick gets asked about this alleged... this you know a lot of rumors are with the drake thing like you know did you really bring the drake thing back with uh with the jay rock single or what's that about well what what what i hear the drake feud oh look at him going damn man you're disgusting that's people digging in that's people digging in way too far once again we're all reaching and it's it's not about drake and just a few days later kendrick would get asked about his now year-old control verse And this time, he said that all the people that mattered understood it, and for the people who didn't, they don't matter. The people that respect it, you know, was, you know, people that knew the deal. Yeah.

Was the important people that respect it and knew what it was. And, you know, people that don't respect it, obviously, they're just people that don't get it and, you know, really didn't matter. And again, Kendrick claims that the chances of seeing him and Drake go head-to-head is slim to none because they're two different artists. It's just a whole nother dynamic. I can't see myself going bar for bar with Drake, you know, with two different type of artists.

You dig what I'm saying? You hate Drake. I've argued that.

And I honestly feel like this is just Kendrick downplaying Drake as not being on his level. I don't think he respects Drake. I don't think he really ever respected Drake.

And there's some underlying meaning behind this when he keeps saying it. Would Drake be somebody you would like to have some fun with? Nah, I couldn't. We come from two different worlds, two different backgrounds.

I really don't see that playing out, you know, as entertaining. Maybe to, you know, the people listening, you know, not for myself. Keep in mind, Kendrick was classified as the savior of hip-hop. He was embraced by everyone just for the art, whereas someone like Drake really had to go the distance to prove himself, and even then, he could never win over the fans that admired a certain level of lyricism. Many consider Drake to be a pop star, and I feel like Kendrick is saying this without really saying it.

However, next Drake drops his surprise mixtape, if you're reading this is too late, and on that project, he had some more shots for Kendrick. So, Drake had claimed previously that he saw Kendrick just five days after the control verse. and it was all love.

I know that that verse had no malice behind it because I saw him five days later at the VMAs and it was all love. And at this time Drake was the talk of the town because this surprise project made a big splash so just a few weeks later Kendrick decided to shake things up and finally dropped his long-awaited album by surprise as well. And when I wake up I recognize you're looking at me for the pay cut, but I'ma stop it.

Naturally, fans and the media pitted the two albums against each other. Kendrick, bruh, how do you let Drake drop a mixtape that goes harder than your album? A freaking mixtape.

Not gonna compare Drake and Kendrick anymore, cause they're not even playing the same sport right now. Kendrick is in his own league. And comparing these projects makes zero sense.

It's apples to oranges. Drake's project was great for club DJs, gym playlists, cruising in the car, whereas Kendrick's album touched on real world issues, was chanted during protests, and is looked at today as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. However, Drake wasn't done as he let another one go on the game's track 100. Again, Kendrick had just released Depend the Butterfly, his most conscious album to date, and Drake is basically saying that he could do that style if he wanted, but he's on a different mission with his music. Also important to note, the video for this track was filmed in Compton, so Drake is saying all this while in Kendrick City. Now, the game was asked about this, and he didn't seem to think it was a shot at Kendrick, but he also didn't count it out.

Drake was taking subliminals at Kendrick on that song, and Kendrick caught it and wanted to return something. I think that would be great for hip-hop. However, one of the worst things to be exposed for as a rapper was about to happen to Drake.

On July 22, 2015, Meek Mill took to Twitter to expose Drake for having ghostwriters. 10 bands, 50 bands, 100 bands, f*** man. I can remember having a conversation with my little brother on the phone, and we were both saying, like, there's no way.

There's no way that Drake has ghostwriters, because he's too good of a writer himself. It just doesn't make sense. But boy were we wrong.

Okay, 10 bands, 50 bands, 100 bands, f*** it man. Did you hear the reference tracks? Line for line, word for word.

This is bad. No, it's a terrible time to be a Drake fan. Shortly after Meek's tweets, the reference tracks would leak to support the Ghostwriter allegations. And now we get back to Kendrick, who just a few months earlier made reference to rappers with Ghostwriters on his single King Kunta.

Better rep it with a ghostwriter. What the fuck happened? Oh no!

I swore I wouldn't tell! So basically, Kendrick found out about this ghostwriting shit months before we did, and months before it even got exposed. And Kendrick is basically saying, like, I know what you've been up to, buddy.

I'm not gonna say anything, but I know. With all that said, as everyone knows, Drake responded to Meek Mill with a now legendary diss record, Back to Back. And being a day one Drake fan, for me personally, I was never more proud of Drake in his whole entire career than when he dropped Back to Back. The new record, Back to Back, tough tune. Tough, tough tune.

But once again, Kendrick responds to Drake just one month later on Dr. Dre's Compton album. In this one Kendrick references Drake's recent track, Enemies. Kendrick is once again talking about how Drake keeps going the subliminal route, which at the end of the day is really no different from what he's doing, but he didn't stop there as he did it again on another song from the same album.

The words they nominated six to carry him could potentially be a Drake reference given the fact that Toronto is referred to as the Six and if this is the case Kendrick is basically saying that everyone seems to think that Drake is his greatest opponent but that he's a great white and that this is his aquarium aka he's the king of hip-hop and you ever look back on any And feel like you'd like to change any of the things that you've written? It'd be me saying I want to go deeper. I should have went deeper. You know, I shouldn't have held back. I shouldn't have held back.

And at this point, Kendrick finally gets his well-deserved moment at the Grammys, winning five awards, but more importantly, he finally clinched the Best Rap Album category with To Pimp a Butterfly. Oh, glory to God, that's for sure. Drake also racked up a bunch of accolades in 2015. If you're reading this, it's too late.

Broke Spotify's record for 17.3 million streams in its first week. Hotline Bling had dominated the charts. And his collaborative album with Future also did crazy numbers.

And I mean, even at this point, anything Drake touches is gonna do numbers. Next, we get some inside information that this situation between Drake and Kendrick could have got really ugly. Former NFL player turned commentator Marcellus Wiley wouldn't say any names but said that years earlier he interviewed one of the two rappers and it completely went off on the other.

The Drake Kendrick beef when it was really starting to brew. Yeah yeah yeah. I was on Sports Nation at the time and we taped the interview with one of the people.

And that one person went in on the other person. We were ready to let this go. But then that one person's team made sure that didn't get out. Marcellus was quoted in a DJ Vlad interview as saying that the person went so hard in this interview that it could have brought the beef to the heights of 50 Cent and Ja Rule. And you got to keep in mind, Marcellus is trying to sell a book.

And he claimed that in this book, he would expose everything that was said and who said it. And I bought the book. I spent the $13.99.

I didn't read it. I searched it. And here's what he had to say. We even got Drake on tape talking major shit about Kendrick during an interview.

Of course, after watching the interview, Drake's publicist wouldn't let us air that tape, but we still got it. Take my word for it. So that's it.

That is the big expose. Like, I too was cheated, hoodwinked, bamboozled, and led astray by Marcellus Wiley. Now, we need to take any self-promotion tactics with a grain of salt, but the date surrounding this thing is very interesting.

Hendrick drops the control verse on August 12, 2013. In a Hot 97 interview on September 24th, Drake was very bitter, and the very next day, September 25th, Drake appears on ESPN. And you guys can tell me what you think, but to me, I believe this story. I believe that Drake did this, 100%.

I personally enjoy making, like, great music and bodies of work over, like... being the talk of Twitter for like five days, you know. However, in 2016, one man dominated the charts, and that was Drake, smashing record after record, pumping out hit after hit.

View sold one million in its first week and went on to become quadruple platinum that year. He had several number one records, such as Work With Rihanna, For Free With DJ Khaled, and One Dance With Wizkid. One dance actually became Spotify's most streamed song ever and Spotify also announced that Drake was the most streamed artist of 2016. Basically in 2016, Drake just dominated. And speaking of For Free by DJ Khaled, Drake actually mentioned Kendrick on that song.

Again, this appears to be more of a friendly nod to Kendrick where Drake is referencing his song which is also called for free. This dick ain't free. However, 2017 was about to start, and Kendrick was about to take some of the most direct shots at Drake to date. Tip-toeing around my name, nigga, you lame, and what don't you tell me?

What's most interesting about this track in particular is the timing of when Kendrick put it out. Drake had just dropped his project More Life, which was... mostly a happy-go-lucky summer vibe that contained no shots at Kendrick whatsoever, and just a few days later, Kendrick drops this surprise aggressive 116 bar track that is full of shots at Drake.

It's no secret that Drake has claimed to be somewhere on this top 5 list, but more recently on More Life, He claimed that he was number one on that list. You know I said top five, but I'm top two, and I'm not two, and I got one, thought you had one, but it's not one, nigga, nah. So let me get this straight.

Kendrick hears this track, gets the pen out, jumps in the booth, and sends a clear message just a few days after Drake drops that he's the best rapper alive. Ho JZ, Hall of Fame, sit your punk ass down. Drake's been known to draw comparisons between himself and Hov. so it only makes sense that this shot was directed at Drake. Lastly Kendrick ends off the track to surprise fans and warn Drake that he's got a new album coming in a few weeks.

Kendrick was really strategic in releasing this track as it took most of the attention off Drake's project. And to add insult to injury, his fans flocked to Drake's Instagram account and spammed the number 4 in Roman numerals. And Kendrick, true to his word, he drops the album, and he has some more shots for Drake. Kendrick references Drake's track for free, and although Drake is from Toronto, he's lived in Calabasas since 2012. With that said, Kendrick is more than likely talking about how Drake was in Compton while shooting the video for 100. Kendrick is from Compton, probably didn't like it. Most of y'all throw rocks and try to hide your hand.

Just say his name and I promise that you'll see Candyman. At this point, Kendrick is begging Drake to just call him out. He makes a reference to a popular 90s movie, Candyman, where the premise of that movie is, if you say Candyman's name five times, he'll come kill you. Kendrick is basically saying if you say my name your career is dead and i think kendrick has something on drake something scathing something that drake doesn't want to see exposed we've already seen drake a couple times now try to dead this thing there's more coming but yeah kendrick keeps going and kendrick seemingly mocks drake's style of music on his song god you feel some type of waving there's nobody gonna tell me that he's not mocking Drake here because Kendrick doesn't usually sound like this.

This is Drake. Next, we hear Kendrick on future smash hit Mask Off, and this one is a very direct response to one of Drake's shots. Very clearly a response to Drake's claims on 100, when he claimed that he could take all of Kendrick's fans if he were to pursue the conscious hip-hop lane.

And I stayed on some conscious shit. But Kendrick had proven time and time again that he could have commercial success and be conscious at the same time. At this point, he had three cohesive projects under his belt, all of which were extremely successful.

I'm African American, I'm African, I'm black as the moon, heritage of a small village, part of my residence. Kendrick had also proved that he could easily navigate the pop music lane, having massively successful features. with artists like Taylor Swift. And again, when you listen to that track, he's not compromising his sound.

He's still rapping. It's all bars. Now, I'm sure none of you forgot about Drake's Ghostwriter claims, and Kendrick didn't forget either. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Kendrick gave his two cents on the situation.

It depends what arena you're putting yourself in. I called myself the best rapper. I cannot call myself the best rapper if I have a ghostwriter. If you're saying you're a different type of artist and you don't really care about the art form of being the best rapper, then so be it. Make great music, but the title, it won't be there.

And no matter how you slice it, the dude is not wrong. To be the best rapper, you need to write your bars. I would be lying if I said that when I found out that Drake had ghostwriters that I didn't look at his music differently.

I still listen to his music, but even now... When he says something dope, I got this little voice in the back of my head that says, Yeah, it's dope, but did he write it? However, Drake attempts to keep it friendly again by tipping his hat to Kendrick when Damn Out sold more life by over 100,000 copies.

Amazing to see our music moving. A fan had also commented, Get Drake, Kendrick, and J. Cole on the same record, and Drake liked the comment. Now, I hope at this point you guys can see the theme of Drake trying to squash it.

And Kendrick seemingly responds to Drake's praise on his track All The Stars with SZA. Kendrick is not trying to hear it. Just save the bullshit.

I don't even like you, bro. Like, which is true. However, on the exact same day, Drake drops a track with some of his most obvious shots to date, Diplomatic Immunity. Drake does not like the Kendrick comparisons, and he brings it back to when he helped Kendrick with his career early on.

What makes this clearly about Kendrick is the No You and I line, which were both tracks from Kendrick's Da Pimp a Butterfly. The two would then go head-to-head at the 2018 Billboard Awards. Many questioned who would be crowned as rapper of the year, and once again, Kendrick came out drastically ahead. Not your future, not your comfort, not your reverie, not your glory, not your heaven, not your angel. And yet again, Drake attempts to be friendly by sharing some old Twitter DMs between himself and Kendrick.

Yo, my man, what's the word? Finishing my project, section 80. When you back in Cali? I know that shit will be incredible.

We gotta do something for real. I'll be back for BET awards this month. And this could be one of two things, really. Like, Drake could be saying, Look, man, we used to be cool. Like, remember?

Can we get back to that? Or he could be just throwing this back in Kendrick's face again that he's the one that gave him a start and, like, I put you on, remember? Regardless of the reasoning, Drake still had another subliminal for Kendrick on Sandra's Rose. Bury me and I'll be born again.

I walk in godly form amongst the mortal men. Again, Drake makes reference to another track from To Pimp a Butterfly with the words mortal men. In this one, Drake continues to insert himself as being a caliber above Kendrick.

But I don't know. I'm no mortal man. And Drake ends off the year with even more compliments for Kendrick in a Rap Radar interview.

I have a lot of respect for, you know, the other two guys that I'm constantly, you know. up against, which is like Cole and Kendrick. Three-headed monster.

Yeah, yeah. So I have a lot of respect for those guys because they also continue to, you know, stay true to what we started with and find. new ways to do it however things go quiet in 2020 keep in mind kendrick wasn't releasing any music and fans started to question if the feud was over i don't think that the Drake-Kendrick tension is dead. I think that last decade, they fought as long as they could fight, and the decade ended without us having a decisive winner.

And I don't think either of them have gotten off of that. And people call Joe crazy all the time, but Joe Budden is right about a lot of shit. He is. And while Kendrick has gone ghost, nowhere to be found, Drake completely dominated the music business.

I'm talking about Oprah's bank account, Tootsie Slide, non-stop in my feelings god's plan nice for what pop star life is good chicago freestyle laugh now cry later this is just undeniable like there's there's no other artist on earth who is doing this except for drake however in 2021 the boogeyman himself kendrick lamar rises from the dead and has some shots for drake on family ties with baby keen you Again, he's firing back at Drake's now overstated top five claims. And Kendrick would continue on to address Drake's claims about being the GOAT. I am the Omega, BG Lane, Rollie Gang, S.I.E. Don't you address me unless it's with four letters. At the end of the track, Baby Keem seemingly reveals that Drake has been DMing his girl.

Number two DMing my... However, just a month later, Drake would reply to Kendrick again on his song, No Friends in the Industry. Drake knows at this point when it comes to selling records, when it comes to breaking records, nobody is standing next to him in hip-hop. He simply dominates on a commercial scale.

With all that said, Drake was now celebrating 10 years of Take Care. and he decided to share an old photo of him and Kendrick. And I get it, like you know, he helped with the project, nice gesture, but why keep doing this?

Why keep being friendly to someone who doesn't respect you? However, at this point, four years have passed since Kendrick had dropped an album, and while he was on a milk box missing, Drake was still very much active releasing Certified Lover Boy. That album went on to break Spotify's record for the most streams in a single day, And in that same year, he also had some notable bangers like Wants and Needs with Lil Baby. But finally, after five fucking years, we get the Kendrick album. And sadly, a lot of people did not like this album.

I'm not one of them. I absolutely loved it. I'm also a big therapy guy because I'm bipolar.

I don't really have any choice but not. be a therapy guy but this project definitely connected with me at least. And it was on this album where Kendrick admitted on a song that he didn't understand why Drake and Kanye squashed their beef. When Kanye got back with Drake I was slightly confused Guess I'm not with you as I think Guess I'm healing to do And in my opinion this is just Kendrick's way of telling Drake that he has zero intentions of ever patching things up with him. And there's people that we meet all the time that we just don't like.

Like sometimes it's for no reason at all. And Kendrick's got a reason. Next, Drake gets extra petty by releasing a dance album, Honestly Nevermind, on Kendrick's birthday.

Drake knows damn well that Kendrick is the last person that would ever release a project like this one. And what better way of saying, look at how versatile I am. Then by dropping a project like this on his birthday. Now I don't think this little stunt bothered Kendrick at all, but it was still pretty strategic from Drake.

But Drake was not done yet. On a track with Lil Uzi, he took some really obvious shots at Kendrick. So just a few months earlier, Kendrick had very similar wording on his N95 track. Take off the fake deep, take off the fake woke, take off the I'm broke, I care. Drake is insinuating that Kendrick is more or less running a grift when it comes to what he's saying in his music.

He's basically claiming that Kendrick doesn't really stand by or believe what he's preaching, and he also reminds Kendrick that he's the one who put him on. What made this reference even more obvious is the line, now you gotta take a backseat, which is clearly a reference to Kendrick's backseat freestyle. My mind is living on cloud nine.

And just like me, it looks like Drake really enjoyed Kendrick's new project as he showed up in the audience at Kendrick's show in Toronto. Again, Drake knows what he's doing. He knows the blogs are going to pick this up. The question is, was he there to show love or was he there to play chess? I mean, at this point, based on the history of Drake's friendliness, I'm just going to chalk it up to him just trying to be cool with him again.

And for Kendrick, what... better way of taking five years away than by dropping an album and cleaning house again at the BET Awards. Going into the awards Drake was way ahead of everybody with 14 nominations, but it didn't matter because Kendrick mopped the floor with them, winning Best Hip Hop Video, Best Live Performer, Lyricist of the Year, Video Director of the Year, Album of the Year, and Artist of the Year.

However, Drake wasn't very impressed with Kendrick's five-year delay, and he let everyone know about it while on tour. I don't know about these guys that go away three, four, five years and want to chill out and all that shit. That's not me. And I want to ask you guys this. How many times has Kendrick said something nice about Drake in the last decade?

Zero. Fucking zero. It's all been Drake.

We've got seven or eight examples here in this video of Drake complimenting Kendrick, saying that he wants to do music with him, reminiscing on old times, just being friendly with him, and Kendrick has said fucking nothing. That gotta tell you something. The guy did a good job.

He did? He did a good job with that. It came across my feet.

Edit. Good to see it edited correctly. Here, what's the dirt?

Bitch, I'm about to blow up. Uh-huh. Say what? Bitch, I'm about to blow up.

Transcript for:The Complex Rivalry of Drake and Kendrick

Transcript for:
The Complex Rivalry of Drake and Kendrick