The year's big rap feud had been fairly tame up until this point, generating lots of headlines but not a lot of memorable music or particularly vicious insults, and the funniest diss came in the form of a 10 Things I Hate About You meme. But that's now changed over the weekend, which has significantly raised the temperature on the rivalry between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
Following Kendrick's "euphoria" on Tuesday (April 30) and "6:16 in LA" on Friday (May 3), Drake responded Saturday (May 4) with "Family Matters." Drake's track makes the feud increasingly specific and personal: he raps that one of his rival's children was actually fathered by Lamar's creative partner Dave Free. He also claims that Lamar had covered up a domestic abuse case, finishing the seven-and-a-half-minute track with the lines, "They hired a crisis management team to clean up the fact that you beat on your queen / The picture you painted ain't what it seem, you're dead."
Just an hour later, Kendrick hit back with "meet the grahams," directly addressing Drake's son with lines like, "Dear Adonis, I'm sorry that man is your father." An entire verse is addressed to Drake's parents, as well as an entire verse devoted to claiming that Drake has a daughter he doesn't acknowledge. He accuses Drake of supporting "sex offenders" and being a "pervert," rapping, "We gotta raise our daughters knowing there's predators like him lurking."
Before giving Drake time to respond, Kendrick followed it up with another diss song, "Not Like Us," yesterday. This track continues accusations that Drake and his affiliates are sexual predators, including lines like, "Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles," and, "Trying to strike a chord and it's probably A-minor."
Hear the three latest songs below.