Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef began in 2023, but it escalated in 2024 with disses from both ends. However, Lamar seems to be winning the battle with five Grammy Awards and Super Bowl LIX half-time performance in 2025.
The feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar caught the thick air only after March 22, 2024. It has climbed new heights after Lamar’s Super Bowl performance.
The music giants began their journey with friendship, but tension began rising around August 2013.
Initially, the two rappers started with collabs and Kendrick appeared on Drake’s 2011 track “Buried Alive Interlude.”
Drake was present on A$AP Rocky’s “F**kin’ Problems” with Lamar. He also featured in his “Poetic Justice” in 2012.
Though none of them talked about each other visibly in media, the battle started in music and never stopped.
In 2013, Kendrick appeared in Big Sean’s song “Control,” where he called out rappers. There, he talked of surpassing many rappers, including Drake, in music in the days to come.
Drake released his third studio album, and reports suggest the album’s fifth single was an answer to Lamar’s Control.
“The Language” first verse was a response to the escalating situation between the rappers.
From 2015 to 2022, the initial collaborators began releasing sneak disses. They never would have thought the beef would lengthen this longer, but it did.
Things were apparent and regular until re-escalation in 2023 and 2024. Drake and Kendrick began releasing disses more visibly, and every dot of it was linked to J. Cole’s “Big Three.”
Their feud gave content to the media and some great raps to the audience.
Family Matters by Drake and Not Like Us by Lamar could be the best of what the artists have released, dissing each other.
Despite everything, the significant escalation came in 2025, at the half-time of the Super Bowl LIX.
Kendrick modified his verses in “Not Like Us” and dissed Drake on the biggest stage possible.
Insider Story Of Drake Vs. Kendrick Lamar Beef: Is Drake Suing Kendrick Lamar Over Super Bowl Misery?
Actually, no, Drake isn’t directly suing Kendrick Lamar. Instead, his legal team has slammed against UMG, representing both of them.
Drake and Lamar are signed to Universal Music Group, but lately, Drake seems to be trying to get out of it.
He is going for UMG instead of suing Lamar directly for the modified ‘ped*phile’ tagged diss of Not Like Us at the Super Bowl.
However, this isn’t the first time he has sued Universal Music Group. In November 2024, Drake petitioned against UMG, claiming to promote a defamatory song.
The lawsuit claims defamation and alleges that UMG prioritized profits over his safety.
It looks valid, as UMG openly promoted the track with false accusations against Drake. Still, people believe Kendrick has caught the right chord to trigger Drake.
The same song he alleged to be illicit and defamatory won five Grammy Awards.
Every time Lamar wins, he doesn’t fail to climb higher on Drake, sometimes with a diss, sometimes with actions.
im crying bro this evil ass dude kendrick lamar smiling at the camera when he namedrops drake 😠pic.twitter.com/i0Mx60b0Fs
— clem (@clemisblonded) February 10, 2025
The primary and recent development came during the halftime of the Super Bowl LIX. Kendrick Lamar performed “Euphoria” and “Not Like Us” during the show.
He even teased Drake stating, “I want to perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue.“
Further, he smirked into the camera while rapping and said, “Say Drake, I hear you like ’em young.“
Though he censored the word ‘ped*phle,” fans in the stadium were loud with “tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor.”
The song already accused Drake of inappropriate relationships and involvement in trafficking.
Lamar won five Grammy Awards to add fuel to the fire and wore the same necklace that symbolized a lyric.
Talking about the lawsuit and blame game, the news of Kendrick Lamar being banned can’t be ignored a bit.
However, this news is indeed a rumor, and since Lamar omitted more explicit lyrics in the Super Bowl, he is safe.
Instead, someone else present during the performance has been banned for life from all NFL stadiums and events.
During the halftime show, a dancer from his team broke from the sequence and displayed a blended Sudanese-Palestinian flag.
The flag embedded the words “Gaza” and “Sudan.” The dancer highlighted the issues ongoing in both nations.
During the Super Bowl halftime show, a protester stormed the field waving a Palestinian and Sudanese flag, demanding the world’s attention on genocide and oppression. He was later tackled by security. pic.twitter.com/CYRdoTbOfC
— Mondoweiss (@Mondoweiss) February 10, 2025
NFL camera persons did a great job avoiding it on camera and escorted him out of the place.
Reports suggest that the dancer-turned-protester faces a lifetime ban of presence at NFL games.
According to NFL’s Vice President of Communications, Brian McCarthy, no one from Lamar’s team and production has advanced knowledge about it.
So, the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef prevails, with Lamar seeming to be winning, as per multiple critics.
Additional Information
- The feud got escalated with the release of “Like That” by Kendrick Lamar in 2024.
- Kendric Lamar and Drake were initially mates and even now are signed to UMG.
- 50 Cent, Birdman supports Drake, while Kanye West, The Weeknd, and Jay Rock openly supports Lamar.
