Drake Vs. Everybody: A Timeline Of The Massive Feud
Drake‘s subliminal shots are all starting to make sense.
What began as a cold war with Kendrick Lamar has ultimately morphed into an industry-wide handicap match: Drake Vs Everybody.
Drizzy and K. Dot’s relationship began on friendlier terms. Most fans could point at Aubrey Graham’s assist on 2011’s Take Care, featuring the Compton emcee on the classic “Buried Alive Interlude,” as the beginning of their turbulent relationship. The two would appear on A$AP Rocky’s “F**kin’ Problems” in 2012 before linking up Dot’s “Poetic Justice” for his classic LP, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. Unfortunately, these works would mark the final collaboration between Drake and Lamar. From there, play time was over.
Big Sean’s “Control” was released in August 2013, with Lamar staking his claim to the Blog Era rap throne. His memorable verse found him calling out all of his peers, including Drake, challenging them to come and take the crown from him. Names mentioned in the prolific verse include J. Cole, Meek Mill, Big K.R.I.T., Wale, Pusha T, A$AP Rocky, Tyler the Creator, Mac Miller, Big Sean, and Jay Electronica—who were both on the song with him.
Drake famously addressed “Control” in a Billboard interview around that time. The Canadian crooner said he didn’t take Lamar’s machismo too seriously. Instead, he downplayed the moment. But he reassured fans they’d revisit this topic if something were brewing between them— intense foreshadowing for events to come.
“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 [Lamar]’s not murdering me, at all, in any platform. So when that day presents itself, I guess we can revisit the topic.”
Kendrick Lamar didn’t back down, and instead, turned up the heat.
Lamar sent more shots at the “sensitive rapper” in the TDE BET Hip-Hop Awards Cypher in 2013. And if that wasn’t enough, Dot used witty wordplay, calling out Drake’s simmering 2013 album, Nothing Was The Same. “Nothing’s been the same since they dropped ‘Control’/ And tucked a sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes/ Ha ha joke’s on you, high-five… I’m bulletproof/ Your shots never penetrate/ Pin the tail on the donkey, boy you been a fake.”
Drake refrained from sending shots and spoke on the matter in yet another cover story—this time with VIBE. Drizzy claimed he “stood his ground” during the “Control” pandemonium. He once again insisted that there was “no real issue.”
“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. What am I supposed to say? Nah, we’ll be buddy-buddy? Mind you, I never once said he’s a bad guy [or] I don’t like him. I think he’s a f**king genius in his own right, but I also stood my ground as I should. And with that came another step, which then I have to realize I’m being baited and I’m not gonna fall. [Michael] Jordan doesn’t have to play pickup to prove that he could play ball, no offense. But I’m not gonna give you the chance to shake me necessarily, ’cause I feel great. There’s no real issue.”
A year later, Kendrick visited The Breakfast Club. The crew asked Dot about potentially going “toe-to-toe” with Drake in a battle. Kendrick also downplayed the situation. He argued there wouldn’t be a point to it because they’re “two different artists.”
From there, the two would trade shots sporadically on loosies, singles, and more. Songs featuring shots between the two artists include Drake’s “The Language,” “Used To,” and “Gyalchester,” “Diplomatic Immunity,” “Sandra’s Rose,” Future‘s “Sh*t Remix” and “Mask Off Remix” Jay Rock’s “Pay For It,” The Game’s “100,” Kendrick Lamar’s “King Kunta,” “The Heart Part IV,” “Father Time,” and “Element,” Dr. Dre’s “Darkside/Gone,” and Baby Keem’s “Family Ties,” to name a few.
But as the 2010s ended, so did the Cold War between the two men—seemingly. Yet, as the 2020s began, the feud picked up, with even more entertainers throwing their hats in the ring. While Kenny V Aubrey remains the marquee event, Drake’s feuds with other rappers have worked to bolster the decade-long battle. Here’s a timeline of the second phase in Drake and Lamar’s feud, aka Drake Vs. Everybody, and what’s happened.
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Drake & J. Cole Release “First Person Shooter”
Image Credit: YouTube Screenshot. The second half of the story picks up, unknowingly at the time, with J. Cole and Drake. Cole and Drizzy dropped off the “First Person Shooter” single in October 2023, with a video in November 2023. The track was an immediate fan favorite, breaking streaming records upon release. However, the track’s lyrical content painted a different picture for Kendrick Lamar.
Cole used his verse to name himself, Drizzy, and Dot, as “The Big 3.” But, he insisted that he was “Muhammad Ali,” spitting competitive bars that some felt were shots at Lamar.
“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,” Cole rapped.
“Everybody steppers, well, f**k it, then everybody breakfast and I’m ’bout to clear up my plate,” he continues, seemingly referencing Lamar’s latest LP, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. “When I show up, it’s motion picture blockbuster/The G.O.A.T. with the golden pen, the top toucher/The spot rusher, sprayed his whole sh*t up, the crop duster.”
Cole’s “buddy-buddy” vibes with Drake also played into the optics, as it appeared he was siding with the Canadian rapper in the Cold War. Drake picks up where the 2010s left off. He takes shots at Lamar and compares himself to Michael Jackson. Lamar took the song as Cole clicking up with the opps and moved accordingly. This song would serve as the beginning of a new kind of battle—with more intensity.
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Metro Boomin & Drake Trade Shots
Image Credit: Kern/Getty Images In January 2023, Metro Boomin spoke about his decision to leave Drake off of “Trance.” He opened up about the song’s creation and admitted that Drizzy’s verse didn’t add anything unique to the track.
“Really, it was a song I had did with [Travis Scott] and [Young Thug], originally for my album,” Metro recalled. “I was in the studio with Drake one time because we were gonna do some stuff for my album. He just wanted to hear some songs from my album, and then he heard that one. He really wanted to get on it, but I was letting him know that it was really just done for real. I was just set on how it was. I was like, ‘Bro, I ain’t trying to sell you no dream. I’m locked in where it was.’ He had hit me and was just like, ‘Let me see if there’s anything you could add to it.’ He was like, ‘If you don’t like it, then whatever.’”
“He did some stuff, a couple parts was cool but like I just felt like just even with like Slime verse and Trav verse and the outro, it wasn’t just no room,” he added. “It wasn’t nothing personal I just ended up using the original and I guess the other one just leaked or something.”
December 2023 found Metro discussing Drake again. After Drake and 21 Savage’s Her Loss won Album of the Year at the Billboard Awards, Metro Boomin had some choice words for their project. He took to X/Twitter to vent his frustrations and responded to a fan talking about the award show’s results.
The fan page mentioned that Boomin’s album Heroes & Villians racked up more streams, with 10 million a day, to Her Loss’ 4 million. Metro responded and threw shade at Drake and Savage‘s LP. “Yet Her Loss keeps winning rap album of the year over H&V,” he typed in the now-deleted message. “Proof that award shows are just politics and not for me. Idc about awards honestly, the true award and REWARD is knowing that the music I spend so much time on brings joy to people’s everyday lives.”
Drake responded on his Instagram Story, quoting Jay-Z’s “Heart of the City.” “Damn, little mans, I’m just tryna do me/ If the record’s two mil’, I’m just tryna move three,” the screenshot read.
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Drake Sends French Montana A Cease & Desist
Image Credit: Miller/Getty Images Rick Ross‘ diss (we know, we will explain later) alleges that Drake sent French Montana “a cease & desist.” It has been widely speculated that the subject of the c&d was Drizzy’s verse on “Splash Brothers.”
Montana began working on Mac & Cheese 5 in 2022, when he was working on Donda 2 with Kanye West. With the help of J Prince, Ye, and Drake had seemingly put aside their differences hot on the heels of their Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert. However, tensions were still running high.
Drake allegedly dissed Ye on Her Loss and had some diss records in the tuck aimed at Ye that Prince deemed was taking it “too far.” One of those disses was allegedly his verse on “Splash Brothers.” Much like his verse on “Sicko Mode,” Drizzy alludes to creeping around Hidden Hills, the location of Ye’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian. While fans have speculated that his “Sicko Mode” verse flirts with the idea that he did “something” to and with Kardashian, “Splash Brothers” gets more direct.
“On MMG, I’d f**k a rapper’s wife/She ain’t even my type, but I’d make the sacrifice/Have her splitting thighs like she work at Gladys Knights/I was never nothing nice/Ni**as know the real secrets left in Hidden Hills,” Drake raps. In January 2024, the song was announced that it would be getting an official release in March. But Drake stopped the whole operation with a cease & desist, per Ross.
A version of the song still came out, but it features Lil Wayne instead of Drizzy. The move didn’t sit well with Ross, and he has since chosen to ride for French. It’s currently unclear how Montana feels about the situation.
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Kendrick Lamar Disses J. Cole, Drake On “Like That”
Image Credit: Jones/Getty Images for Spotify K. Dot returned fire on Cole and Drizzy for their remarks on “First Person Shooter” in March.
Appearing on Metro Boomin and Future‘s “Like That,” Dot took the offensive and barred the men up. He addressed their bars, asserting that they were “coughing out of their necks” and that he hoped their “sentiments were symbolic.” Lamar then weighed in on the “Big 3” conversation, dismissing the idea entirely. Oh, and Dot is cool with Drake calling himself Michael Jackson—as long as Drizzy knows he’s Prince (“Ni**a, Prince outlived Mike Jack”).
“Ni**as clickin’ up, but cannot be legit, no 40 Water, tell ’em/ Ah, yeah, huh, yeah, get up with me/ F**k sneak dissin’, first-person shooter, I hope they came with three switches/ I crash out, like, ‘F**k rap, diss Melle Mel if I had to/ Got 2TEEZ with me, I’m snatchin’ chains and burnin’ tattoos, it’s up,” Kendrick snapped. “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, ni**a, it’s just big me/ Ni**a, bum, what? I’m really like that/ And your best work is a light pack/ Ni**a, Prince outlived Mike Jack’/Ni**a, bum, ‘fore all your dogs gettin’ buried/ That’s a K with all these nines, he gon’ see Pet Sematary/ Ni**a, bum.”
But wait. There’s more. As for the album itself, it’s speculated that Future and Metro Boomin also took shots at Drake all throughout the LP. On the album’s titular track, Future called out Drake. Fans have speculated that the two super collaborators are currently at odds over an unnamed woman. And Future all but confirms this on the song.
“You a ni**a number one fan, dog/Sneak dissin’, I don’t understand, dog/Pillowtalkin’, actin’ like a fed, dog/I don’t need another fake friend, dog/Can’t be ’bout a he, ’cause we sharin’, dog/In you feelings, ni**a, why you playin’, dog?/Give her backshots, while she layin’ down/Keep the Glock cocked, I don’t trust h*es/Top shotter, goin’ for the gusto/Like a real dog, got a mutt h/Get the lo’, you a John Doe/Bubble-eye Benz on a he/Rappin’ so pretend, you a h*e,” the Atlanta native rhymed.
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J. Cole Fires Back At K. Dot On “7-Minute Drill”
Image Credit: Miller/Getty Images As Drake was busy posting “spicy” responses to social media, J. Cole was the first to fire back at K. Dot with his track “7-Minute Drill.” Labeled as a “warning shot,” Cole addressed Dot with remorse. He insisted that he didn’t want to, but if he had to, he would “smoke” his friend.
The North Carolina emcee responded to Lamar almost bar-for-bar. And he makes some controversial claims in doing so. Cole kicks off the verse, telling Kendrick he fell off. Jermaine then combats K. Dot’s notion that his “best work is a light pack,” pressing that it’s the West Coast native who has an inconsistent discography. J. Cole calls the universally acclaimed album, To Pimp A Butterfly, boring and labels Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers as “tragic.”
Dreamville’s leader then asserts that he is no longer third place behind Aubrey and Dot. He also calls out Lamar’s need of controversy to drum up interest in his work.
“I came up in the ‘Ville, so I’m good when it’s tension/He still doin’ shows, but fell off like the Simpsons/Your first sh*t was classic, your last sh*t was tragic/Your second sh*t put ni**as to sleep, but they gassed it/Your third sh*t was massive and that was your prime/I was trailin’ right behind and I just now hit mine,” he raps in verse one. “Now I’m front of the line with a comfortable lead/How ironic, soon as I got it, now he want somethin’ with me/Well, he caught me at the perfect time, jump up and see/Boy, I got here off of bars, not no controversy.”
The battle was on, but remember his remorseful approach? Well…
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J. Cole Apologizes To Kendrick Lamar
Image Credit: Ehrmann/Getty Image Days after releasing “7-Minute Drill” on his surprise project, Might Delete Later, Cole said he’s deleting his diss. How ironic. Cole took the stage for the Dreamville Festival finale in April, where he addressed his track. He apologized to Dot and recalled how “Like That” sent him into a “relapse.” He began listening to the outside world and was thirsty for “blood,” which led him to create his response. Cole called Lamar one of the greatest to ever do it and stated that he would be removing the song from streaming services.
“I damn near had a relapse… Y’all heard that bazooka that was dropped on the game, right?” he said. “For the first time, I was tested. I got the world and I got my n**gas saying, ‘What you gon’ do Cole?’”
“I was conflicted because, I know my heart and I know how I feel about my peers, these two ni**as that I’m blessed to even stand beside in this game and let alone chase their greatness. I felt conflicted because I know I don’t really feel no way. But the world want to see blood,” he said. “I moved in a way that, spiritually, I feel bad.”
Cole gracefully bowed out of the battle to mixed reviews. With that, the focus was back on Drake and Kendrick Lamar—once again.
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Drake Disses Kendrick Lamar And More In “Push-Ups”
Image Credit: Mandato/Getty Images Following the release of Future and Metro’s We Still Don’t Trust You — featuring new verses dissing Drake from The Weeknd, and A$AP Rocky — the moment fans had been waiting for finally arrived.
Drake seemingly responded to Kendrick Lamar’s “Like That” verse on Saturday (April 13) with “Push-Ups.” The track leaked onto the internet and finds Drizzy very much pissed off. He addresses Dot bar-for-bar on his diss, calling out the rapper’s threats of “snatchin’ chains and burnin’ tattoos” (“You won’t ever take no chain off of us”).
Most of his barbs at Dot then focus on his height, making fun of the rapper’s shortness (“How the f**k you big steppin’ with a size 7 men’s on?”) Drizzy then calls out his contract with TDE, claiming that his former boss, Punch, is extorting his rival.
Drizzy also cleverly makes fun of the viral video of Kendrick Lamar doing push-ups while blending it with the idea that Punch extorted him for 50% of his earnings, rapping the refrain “Drop and give me 50.” “Extortion baby, whole career you been shook up/ ’Cause Top told you drop and give me 50 like some push-ups.” He also makes fun of Dot for his pop records, claiming that he had to do those songs with Taylor Swift and Maroon 5 as a part of the “extortion.”
“Pull your contract ‘cause we gotta see the split, aye/ The way you doing splits, bi**h, your pants might rip/ You better do that muthaf**kin show inside the bitty/ Maroon 5 need a verse, you better make it witty/ Then we need a verse for the Swifties/ Top says drop, you better drop and give him 50.” But the most pointed response to Kendrick Lamar may be in his assessment of Lamar calling himself. “Big difference between Mike then and the Mike now/What’s a Prince to a King, he a son ni**a?”
The song also addresses other opps, including Metro Boomin, Future, The Weeknd, and Rick Ross.
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Rick Ross Responds To Drake’s “Push-Ups”
Image Credit: Griffin/Getty Images for BET Rick Ross has since responded to Drake in a diss track of his own. Ross claimed that Drake sent French Montana a cease & desist and asserted that he was riding with French.
Ross also claimed that Aubrey had some plastic surgery due to self-hate and got a nose job. He also alleged that the Canadian rapper was guilty of getting fake abs, referring to him as “BBL Drizzy.” Ricky also called Drake a “white boy” wanting to be down “with the neguhs.”
Drake responded to Ross’ trolling by posting an alleged conversation between himself and his mom, reassuring her that he didn’t have surgery and that Ross was being “racist.”
And now, we wait for K. Dot.
To be continued.
