Kendrick Lamar has launched a brand new diss observe towards Drake titled Euphoria – the most recent in a long-running feud between the 2 hip-hop heavyweights which was reignited earlier this 12 months and has since ballooned right into a “civil warfare” amongst rap’s higher echelons.
The music, which shares a reputation with the HBO collection on which Drake serves as govt producer, was launched on Lamar’s YouTube channel on Tuesday.
Over six minutes, Lamar calls Drake a “grasp manipulator and routine liar” earlier than attacking his parenting skills, his biracial identification and his Canadian background.
“I obtained a son to lift, however I can see you don’t know nothin’ bout that,” Lamar raps on the observe.
Elsewhere, he raps “what number of extra Black options ‘til you lastly really feel that you just’re Black sufficient?” and accuses Drake – who’s the most-streamed male artist of all time on Spotify – of promoting out by merely making “music that pacify ‘em”.
The pair’s feud dates again as early as 2013, when Lamar – who had simply damaged out on the time – appeared on the Massive Sean observe Management to say his dominance over his fellow rappers. Later that 12 months, he took goal at Drake, referring to him as a “delicate rapper” in a efficiency on the BET awards.
In March this 12 months, the feud ignited once more when Lamar made a visitor look on Future and Metro Boomin’s Billboard-topping hit Like That.
Lamar’s verse responds to a 2023 music known as First Particular person Shooter by Drake and J Cole the place the 2 artists known as themselves, together with Lamar, the “large three” of hip-hop.
“Motherfuck the massive three,” Lamar raps on Like That. “It’s simply large me.”
In April, Drake launched the primary of two diss tracks. Titled Push Ups, the music mocks Lamar’s shorter stature in addition to his mainstream collaborations with Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift.
Later that month, Drake dropped one other diss, Taylor Made Freestyle, which included AI know-how to mimic the voices of Snoop Dogg and the late Tupac Shakur criticising Lamar.
Launched on Instagram, the music shortly drew ire, together with from Shakur’s property, which despatched a stop and desist letter calling the observe “a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of many best hip-hop artists of all time”. Drake complied, eradicating the music from his social media accounts.
Euphoria namechecks the incident. “Am I battlin’ ghost or AI?” Lamar raps – referring to each Taylor Made Freestyle, in addition to accusations of ghostwriting made towards Drake over time.
The squabble has drawn in lots of rap friends over the previous two months, together with the Weeknd and Kanye West, who’ve lately launched their very own tracks referencing the feud. Others reminiscent of Rick Ross and Metro Boomin have responded to Euphoria on social media.