The Cold War before the Great War
How Kendrick and Drake spent a decade of exchanging subtle jabs before finally taking the gloves off
Drake. Kendrick. The two titans of hip hop for the better part of decade have been at all-out war with each other. Their beef has transcended music itself. The back-and-forth has been covered by nearly every media outlet that exists — I literally saw a reporter on NBC News reporting on it as if this is World War III.
Everyone has their opinion on who is winning and who is lying, but no one can deny the fact that the best song to come from this whole beef was BBL Drizzy from Metro Boomin (he really made them drums).
While it may seem K-Dot and Drizzy just started exchanging disses after Kendrick dropped his nuclear verse on Like That, Drake explained it best on Push Ups — his first diss track aimed at Kendrick;
And that fuckin’ song y’all got did not start the beef with us
This shit been brewin’ in a pot, now I’m heatin’ up
He’s right. The beef has been brewing, for over a decade in fact. So what sparked the fuse that led to this fire today? Let’s rewind the clock to 2013.
2013: Kendrick Lamar’s leaked verse on “Control”
Kendrick was slated to feature on Big Sean’s song Control, however his verse leaked before the song could officially release. And did it make noise. Kendrick spared no bullet and decided to take aim at every rapper in the industry, letting them know how fiery his competitive spirit is and how he considers himself the absolute best.
I’m usually homeboys with the same n****s I’m rhymin’ with, But this is hip-hop, and them n****s should know what time it is
And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Wale, Pusha T, Meek Millz, A$AP Rocky, Drake, Big Sean, Jay Electron’, Tyler, Mac Miller, I got love for you all, but I’m tryna murder you n****s
Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you n****s. They don’t wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you n****s.
Dot called out every top rapper — and Meek Mill too for some reason. Big Sean ended up removing the verse from the song due to how controversial it was and how it riled up the hip-hop community. Fans, critics, media, artists, everyone had their opinion on the verse and how it seemed Kendrick was essentially — ironically enough — trying to go 1 v 20. However, for the purpose of this piece, we will only look at what Drake said in response:
“I didn’t really have anything to say about it,”... “It just sounded like an ambitious thought to me. That’s all it was. I know good and well that Kendrick’s not murdering me, at all, in any platform. So when that day presents itself, I guess we can revisit the topic.” — Drake in an interview with Elliot Wilson (2013)
Drake stood his ground and managed to remain respectful, but funny enough, he did forewarn that we would revisit the topic of who-is-murdering-who when the day presented itself.
But at this point in time, it seemed any possible tension between them was strictly competitive and rooted from both of their desires to be considered the best at what they do. There was zero inkling of Kendrick or Drake holding a personal vendetta against the other.
Drake sneak-disses on The Language
Later that year, Drake dropped Nothing Was the Same — my personal favorite album of his — and on the project, Drake jabbed back at Kendrick.
I don’t know why they been lyin’ but your shit is not that inspirin’…Someone just talking that bullshit, Man, someone just gave you the run-around
Fans interpreted this to be a sneak-diss aimed at Kendrick, with Drake expressing his confusion about why media, fellow artists, and fans revere Kendrick’s music. Personally, I thought this was a very dumb take given Kendrick had dropped Good Kidd, Maad City the year prior — arguably one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all-time. Regardless, Drake said it anyways. K-Dot responded back in less than a month.
Kendrick’s BET Cypher
Kendrick performed a cypher at the BET awards in 2013. In his verse, he addressed the impact of his leaked Control verse and Drake’s sneak-diss.
Yeah, and nothing been the same since they dropped “Control”, And tucked a sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes. Haha, joke’s on you. High-five, I’m bulletproof, your shots’ll never penetrate. — Kendrick Lamar, BET Cypher
Compared to Drake, Kendrick was much more direct at addressing any tension. Name dropping Drake’s album title in his verse made it clear who he was talking about. Calling Drake sensitive and assuring him that any lyrical attempts made by him will have no impact, Kendrick once again made it clear that he viewed himself as the king of hip-hop.
However, even at this point, both Drake and Kendrick had kept their back-and-forth about the music. Nothing seemed personal.
2017: Drake praises Kendrick’s album sales
In a positive turn, Drake commended Kendrick Lamar’s album Damn when it outsold his own project, More Life.
Underneath an tweet detailing the sales of the projects, Drake comments “Amazing to see our music moving.”
While it was a small gesture, it was a surprising one given most people had thought the two artists were at odds with each other.
So after 4 years of relative silence and with Drake’s positive commentary about Kendrick’s album sales, it seemed the tension between the two had been extinguished.
2022; Drake attends the Toronto show of Kendrick’s Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers Tour
After another 5 years of relative silence, Drake’s next move was open to interpretation. During Kendrick Lamar’s Toronto stop for his tour, Drake was spotted in a luxury suite at the performance.
Some fans interpreted this as yet another sign that things were all good between the two titans. However, others considered it to be a petty move by Drake, thinking it was his way of letting Kendrick know that he was in his city.
Regardless, there were still no signs that either party hated the other. Even on the competitive side of things, it had been mostly silent since 2013. On Drake’s end, he offered subtle praise about Damn and attended one of Kendrick’s shows. Kendrick pretty much remained quiet about Drake during this entire period.
2023: Kendrick Lamar rejects feature request from Drake to appear on First Person Shooter
While we officially learned this information in 2024, the action happened in 2023. Kendrick let us know on Euphoria — his first diss track aimed at Drake — that he was “surprised” by the feature request Drake sent. We later found out from notorious Drake stan and mouthpiece, DJ Akademiks, that Drake did indeed ask Kendrick for a verse on First Person Shooter, the hit song off his album, For All The Dogs. The song already featured J. Cole, but Drake wanted to bring the big three together on one song.
*For context, hip hop fans have referred to the trio of Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and J.Cole as the big three for the past decade, as people consider them the top 3 hip-hop artists in the world.
Kendrick rejected the request, and once the song officially released, fans were quick to point out how the lyrics and music video of the song seemed to suggest Drake and J. Cole were placing themselves as the two faces of rap. Some believed they were intentionally doing this to make Kendrick feel excluded — however some disagree since J. Cole explicitly says in the song…
Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me? We the big three like we started a league
(Why is J. Cole always trying to be the good guy?).
Still, many fans felt the two artists were positioning themselves as 1A and 1B, especially after they announced they were going on tour together.
However, this was just speculation and fans hyper-analyzing. It was all still just hyperbole and opinion to this point.
2024: Kendrick declares there is no big three, just “big me” on Like That
11 years after the Control verse, Kendrick finally decided to end the subtlety. No more sneak-dissing. No more pretend. No more Mr. Morale.
Fuck sneak dissin’, first person shooter. I hope they came with three switches
I crash out, like, “Fuck rap, “this Melle Mel if I had to, 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
Motherfuck the big three, n****a, it’s just big me — Kendrick Lamar, Like That
His verse sent shockwaves throughout the industry. Kendrick declared war on Drake and J. Cole, forcefully snatching the crown without any remorse. Yet, again even at this point, there was ZERO indication there was personal hatred between the two.
So that part of the mystery remains — we never really knew when or why it got so personal. It might have just been something that was rooted in competition, but as competition sometimes gets, it naturally became personal. This is plausible to believe given who it is involving.
We are talking about two people who are unequivocally among the world’s best at what they do. They both have a deep passion and dedication for the craft. Rapping is not just a hobby for them. It truly is the essence that fuels their lives.
******
As the beef has noticeably subsided and with many — including me — crowning Kendrick as the winner, this was not something that just came out of nowhere. The fire slowly burned for 11 years, sometimes reverting back to just a spark, but it was always there. Waiting for either Kendrick or Drake to pour some gasoline on it.
And well, Kendrick decided to dump the whole damn gallon.
