What started as a lyrical battle in hip-hop has now escalated into a courtroom clash, with Drake facing an increasingly difficult legal battle over Not Like Us. The Canadian rapper, known for his strategic feuds, now finds himself caught in the consequences of his own tactics.
While tensions had simmered for years, the latest chapter of the Drake-Kendrick Lamar rivalry was sparked by First Person Shooter, a track by J. Cole and Drake. The song initially seemed to pay homage to Lamar, with J. Cole rapping:
“Love when they argue the hardest MC
Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me?
We the big three like we started a league
But right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali”
Before J. Cole’s verse, Drake teases:
“I love a dinner with some fine women
When they start debatin’ about who the G.O.A.T.
I’m like go on ‘head, say it then, who the G.O.A.T.?
Who the G.O.A.T.? Who the G.O.A.T.? Who the G.O.A.T.?
Who you bitches really rootin’ for?
Like a kid that act bad from January to November
N**ga, it’s just you and Cole, big as the what?
Big as the what? Big as the what? Ay, big as the Super Bowl”
At first, this seemed like standard hip-hop bravado, similar to Lamar’s verse in Big Sean’s Control, where he declared himself the king of both coasts. However, Kendrick fired back with Like That, a feature on Future and Metro Boomin’s We Don’t Trust You:
“Got two T’s with me, I’m snatchin’ chains and burnin’ tattoos
It’s up, lost too many soldiers not to play it safe
If he walk around with that stick, it ain’t Andre 3K
Think I won’t drop the location? I still got PTSD
Motherf**k the big three, nigga, it’s just big me”
With this, Lamar dismissed Drake and J. Cole outright. While Drake responded with multiple disses, Lamar remained composed. J. Cole briefly entered the fray with 7 Minute Drill from his Might Delete Later mixtape, only to later retract the song.
Drake’s biggest misstep came when he escalated the feud by targeting Kendrick Lamar’s fiancée, Whitney Alford, suggesting infidelity and questioning the paternity of their children. This mirrored his past tactics against Pusha T, who famously dismantled him with The Story of Adidon. Once again, Drake ignored the golden rule of rap battles: keep family out of it.
The lawsuit now seems likely to collapse, particularly after Drake’s ill-advised use of AI in Taylor Made Freestyle, where he imitated Tupac Shakur urging Lamar to call him a paedophile. When it seemed Kendrick might not respond, Drake pushed further, making derogatory remarks about Lamar’s family, only to receive a swift and decisive response.
This culminated in the release of Not Like Us, a track that not only cemented Lamar’s dominance but also propelled him to mainstream cultural relevance. The song led to a high-profile NFL halftime performance, a Grammy stage moment, and even a jab at the Oscars, where Conan O’Brien quipped that he was “lawyered up” in case Drake filed another lawsuit.
Now, Drake is grappling with the fallout of his own miscalculations. He has become the punchline of the hip-hop and entertainment industry;- an artist who cries foul when he loses his own gameplay. His lawsuit against Not Like Us now appears doomed, especially considering that Taylor Made Freestyle itself could be used as evidence against him.
In Taylor Made Freestyle, Drake, using AI-generated voices of Tupac and Snoop Dogg, urged Kendrick to call him a paedophile:
“Kendrick, we need ya, the West Coast savior
Engraving your name in some hip-hop history
If you deal with this viciously
You seem a little nervous about all the publicity
F**k this Canadian lightskin, Dot
We need a no-debated West Coast victory, man
Call him a b**ch for me
Talk about him likin’ young girls, that’s a gift from me
Heard it on the Budden Podcast, it’s gotta be true”
While cosplaying Snoop Dogg, Drake added:
“Gotta leave this motherf***er broken and bruised before we really lose
You asked for the smoke, now it seem you too busy for the smoke
I won’t lie, the people confused”
At the time, this tactic seemed like an 8 Mile-style move, where Eminem’s B-Rabbit character famously preempted his opponent’s attack by dissing himself. However, by urging Kendrick to take the shot with the paedophile jab, Drake essentially set himself up in gasoline while Death Valley and Not Like Us is the consequential flames. Thus, when K.Dot finally called him a paedophile in Not Like Us, the insult landed with devastating effect.
Now, with no response left after ‘retiring’ all promos for the subsequent response, The Heart Part 6 which was heavily panned by critics as well as hiphop and rap-beef fanatics, Drake’s only refuge is the courtroom. Ironically, he is suing over the very insult he dared Kendrick to use. As this legal chapter unfolds, one thing is clear: the battle in the streets and even in the courtroom was already lost. And the rest, as they say, is history.
