Drake & Kendrick Lamar beef timeline: 'Not Like Us' lyrics meaning, 'suing' rumours & Grammys
4 February 2025, 14:26 | Updated: 4 February 2025, 15:10
When did Drake and Kendrick Lamar's beef begin and what are the main events? From 'Not Like Us' to the suing rumours, here's all the information.
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Drake and Kendrick Lamar have been beefing since last year, and what once was a relatively small disagreement has turned into one of the biggest rap feuds of all time.
The rappers used to have a decent relationship, after Lamar appeared as a feature on “Buried Alive Interlude,” a track from Drake's second studio album, “Take Care" and even opened on Drizzy's tour.
- Drake's dad breaks silence on Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us' Grammy wins
- Drake 'concerned' Kendrick Lamar will perform 'Not Like Us' at Super Bowl halftime show amid lawsuit
- Kendrick Lamar 'Not Like Us': Lyrics, Disses & Music Video Explained
However, things have quickly escalated in the form of Grammy-Award winning diss track 'Not Like Us'. Here's the beef timeline between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef timeline:
October 2023 - Drake & J. Cole mention Lamar on 'First Person Shooter'
J.Cole collaborated with Drake on the rap song, and mentioned his name as who would be one of the biggest rappers.
“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.
March 2024: Kendrick Lamar hits back at Drake and J. Cole on Metro Boomin and Future’s ‘Like That'
Things took a turn and Lamar didn't appear to be very happy with being mentioned on Cole's verse and claimed Drake was not part of the big three in rap.
“F–k sneak dissin’, first-person shooter / I hope they came with three switches,” he rapped, adding, “Motherf–k the big three / N—a, it’s just big me.”
The “GNX” rapper then threw shade at Drake’s “For All the Dogs” project, rapping: “For all your dogs gettin’ buried / That’s a K with all these nines, he gon’ see ‘Pet Sematary.’”
April 2024: Drake released first diss track 'Push Ups' & ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’
Drizzy released his diss track called 'Push Ups', taking aim at Kendrick Lamar and several others, including Rick Ross, the Weeknd, Metro Boomin and Future.
The rapper poked fun and Kendrick's short stature by using a size 7 shoe sticker on the cover artwork.
On ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’, Drake raps using AI voices of Tupac and Snoop Dogg and talks down on Lamar.
April 2024: Kendrick Lamar releases 'Euphoria' diss track
In a nod to his executive producer role on Euphoria, Lamar slams Drake of being a culture vulture and allegedly hiring ghostwriters.
Am I battlin’ ghost or AI? N—a feelin’ like Joel Hale Osteen / Funny, he was in a film called ‘AI’ / And my sixth sense tellin’ me to off him,” Lamar rapped.
May 2024: Drake releases final Kendrick diss - 'Family Matters'
Drake dropped his song “Family Matters,” in which he accused Lamar of beating his fiancée, sleeping with other women and being a fake activist.
“When you put your hands on your girl, is it self-defence ’cause she bigger than you?” he rapped.
“There’s nowhere to hide, there’s nowhere to hide, you know what I mean / 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.”
Kendrick Lamar hits back with 'Meet The Grahams'
The same night Drake dropped 'Family Matters', Lamar released this diss track.
In the third verse of the song, Lamar talked to a “baby girl” who does not have an active father in her life.“He don’t commit to much but his music, yeah, that’s for sure / He a narcissist, misogynist, livin’ inside his songs / Try destroy families rather than takin’ care of his own,” he rapped.
“But I would like to say it’s not your fault that he’s hidin’ another child … I’ll tell you who your father is, just play this song when it rains / Yes, he’s a hitmaker, songwriter, superstar, right / And a f–kin’ deadbeat that should never say ‘more life.’"
May 2024: Kendrick Lamar drops 'Not Like Us'
Lamar dropped Not Like Us in May 2024, and has become the most popular song from the period.
In the song, he accused Drake of being a 'pedophile' - “Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young / You better not ever go to cell block one / To any bitch that talk to him and they in love / Just make sure you hide your little sister from him."
“Certified Lover Boy, certified pedophiles.” and used Drake's Toronto mansion as the album artwork.
July 2024: Kendrick Lamar drops 'Not Like Us' music video
Kendrick dropped a very telling music video to the diss track, which involved his fiance and son.
Lamar also hit an owl piñata during the music video, a nod to OVO.
Kendrick Lamar - Not Like Us
November 2024 - Kendrick Lamar released 'GNX'
Kendrick alluded on his new album that he never wants to make peace with Drake.
“I never peaced it up, that s–t don’t sit well with me / Before I take a truce, I’ll take ’em to hell with me,” he said.
Drake and UMG / Spotify Kendrick Lamar Lawsuit:
The Canadian rapper launched legal action against UMG and Spotify, alleging they have conspired to 'artificially inflate' interest in Kendrick's song 'Not Like Us', whilst suppressing his music.
Drake then filed a second lawsuit a day after filing legal action in New York, levelling similar claims in Texas over radio conglomerate iHeartRadio.
The filings also shares new details about Drake's quips towards UMG, where he has spent his whole career. In it, he says UMG knew that Kendrick’s song “falsely” accused him of being a “certified pedophile” and “predator” but chose to release it anyway.
January 2025: Drake drops legal filing
Drake met with reps on January 14th and Spotify, which had filed an opposition, had no objection to the withdrawal and discontinuance, while UMG, which hadn’t filed an opposition, reserved its position.
In New York court documents obtained by various publications, Drake has now withdrawn the filing request, with the document reading: “Petitioner hereby voluntarily discontinues this special proceeding as to all respondents without costs to any party.”
UMG shared a statement at the time in November 2024 when Drake filed the petition and said: “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue."
February 2025: Kendrick Lamar wins multiple Grammys for Not Like Us:
Lamar won five Grammy awards for his song Not Like Us, whilst Drake did not attend the awards.
