Over the summer of 2024 the nation was focused on a rap beef we did not see coming- Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar. In the rap beef both artists went song for song to diss each other. When this first took over social media I did not listen to any of the songs unless they had gone viral on Tik Tok. This is my first time listening to all the songs related to the beef in order.

The song that started it all was “First Person Shooter” by Drake with J. Cole featuring. The song was very tame in my opinion but the clear verse that got Lamar’s attention was “We the big three”. When J Cole said this line he was referencing himself, Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Lamar clearly showed his dissatisfaction in the song “Like That” alongside Future and Metro Boomin’. He directly addresses the song by Drake and Cole and says that the big three does not exist and that “it’s just big me”. I prefer the beat of “Like That” and as a first-time listener didn’t expect a response to be given to Lamar’s. However, the songs just kept coming.

The next songs were “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made Freestyle”, both by Drake. The significance of Drake’s songs in response to Lamar lies within the fact that they were released back-to-back. He did not allow Lamar the time to respond and even criticizes him for not replying yet. In “Push Ups” he even disses Metro Boomin’. The song itself has a catchy beat that I did not expect to hear. “Taylor Made Freestyle” took me by surprise though is that he takes the time to shout out Taylor Swift as an artist. It made the name make sense.

In response to Drake’s double diss Kendrick decided to release his own. Those songs were “Euphoria” and “6:16 in Los Angeles”.  “Euphoria” is essentially a warning to Drake that Kendrick was willing to keep the beef on friendly terms unless he wanted to go that route. The irony is that Kendrick follows this with the lyrics “I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress” and called Drake “crodie”. Again it can be seen as lighthearted fun but then “6:16 in Los Angeles” continues to go after Drake’s character by calling him a liar. This to me is on the lighthearted side still but the cover image acts as a warning as well. I remember when the song first grew to popularity in the spring that it was the image used as the cover being the topic of discussion because it confirmed that Kendrick indeed knew more than he let on.

The next three songs I would note them as the beginning of the end. Those are “Family Matters”, -Drake- “Meet the Grahams”and “Not Like Us” – both by Kendrick. I believe these to be the beginning of the end because of the power behind the messages in the songs as well as how viral Kendrick’s last response was. In “Family Matters” Drake responds with a seven minute long song but the other two songs caught mine and the world’s attention. Going into listening to these songs “Meet the Grahams” and “Not Like Us” were the only ones that I had heard before. Both gave its listeners shocking information and memorable beats.

Now why does any of this matter? It matters because my feelings about the rap beef has changed upon hearing the lyrics. I am not as invested as I was before- which is surprising because I did not listen to majority of the songs back then. I think that the virality of the beef definitely influenced my investment months ago but now the beef is an afterthought in my mind unless its in reference to “Not Like Us” In this case I would say that the rap beef did not get better with time but it does mark a significant time in rap history.

Written by Ta'Liyah Wiley