Why are Drake and Kendrick Lamar beefing? A thorough deep dive into 10 years of acrimony (2024)

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I think as the rap beef went on, it got steadily clearer that "real women" was a reference to minors. He may have some misogyny issues, but it's clear what he thinks of Drake.

For me the “real women” Kendrick is talking about was alluding to Drake not going for women at all but kids, and also I took it as a “any woman that fw u is not a girls girl” because he also said if you are listening to Drake you are selling out your sisters, so to me it was talking about the women (like Nikki Minaj) who enable abusers like him and support them publicly over the women he attacks

The "real women" bar is a bar about minors imo, he's saying they are underage girls who think they are mature

The hate thing from euphoria is from an old clip with DMX on the breakfast club 😂😂😂

the "pacify them" bar is actually diabolical because it, too, hints at Drake's creep behavior towards young women

As someone who pays 0% deliberate attention to any celebrity culture and can barely remember band/artist names, i swear i still heard the rumors of Drake being a creep and texting young girls 5+ years ago. Like one of those murmered open secret things where there's no definitive proof of actual crimes, but people were HARD side-eyeing some of his behaviors. So when all this came out i was less shocked by the content, but how HARD kendrick went on saying it

"Take care" is majority weeknd's work lol and it's not considered a rap or hip-hop classic due to it not being a traditional hip hop project. It's more a pop or R&B classic.

2:02:38 this was also my kneejerk reaction like, "Kendrick, since when did you know this? why are you only saying this now? why havent you gone to anyone with this information?"
and then i remember that the police is not a just, fair, efficient or kind institution, especially to Black people. i remember that s*x crimes are almost never investigated. that s*x offenders are almost never punished unless the evidence is so totally obvious, damning and overwhelming.
why would a dude from Compton ever rat out to the authorities? if all he has is anecdotal evidence, who would believe him? Drake is a cash cow with huge monetary backing and connections. how is Kendrick supposed to feel totally safe anout himself, his friends and fanily, being safe if he actually tried to do anything else but whistleblow, kind of, on a diss song, in the biggest platform he has, when all eyes were on him, in an effort to win a rap beef and claim GOAT status sure, but maybe also to forever alter the way people look at and see Drake?

Joel Osteen the pastor guy wasn't accident. Its alleged that he doesn't writes his sermon ie drake and his ghost writers

I keep my mouth shut about Drake's whole culture vulture thing typically as someone who is. Not Black, but honestly, that's what he decided to do with queer aesthetics and whatnot while also still being hom*ophobic. He uses things like nail polish, the bows and duck lips to essentially paint himself in a "safer" light, using some forms of typically feminine aesthetics to soften his own aesthetic and keep him in that nice, sensitive guy lane while also becoming increasingly misogynistic and hom*ophobic in his actual music and actions. He literally just borrows from queer culture to make himself appear as less of a threat, as well as making himself marketable to a wider audience, while also still hating us. I'm not gonna pretend Kendrick is some perfect queer ally or whatever because he's still a straight man in his 30s (the sheer number of times he dropped the f slur in Auntie Diaries has always seemed excessive and made it feel less potent) but at the very least we can watch him growing and trying to unlearn some of these bigoted beliefs that are so baked into society while we simultaneously watch Drake actively regressing and simply appropriating queer aesthetics and visuals while simultaneously acting in ways that are extremely hom*ophobic, such as the whole situation with ILoveMakonnen. Also, just a side note, but while i enjoy plenty of J. Cole's music... He isn't even the best rapper in Dreamville, dude was smart to bow out of this one lmao

I was a huge fan of Drake until I found out what a creep he is a few years ago, I adore Megan Thee Stallion, and as a hip hop fan I obviously recognize how great Kendrick is, so suffice to say I've been hyperfixated on this whole situation since it started. I'm so ready for this lol
Also not enough people have been giving Megan credit for her influence on this beef, thank you!!!

1:11:17 I disagree, respectfully.
Drake has, for a long time, ran through and tried to collect American black women and claim them as conquests. Then when they move on to another guy, he’s spiteful and will continue to call them out in his songs and drag their men for dating his “leftovers”.
I can name a few net famous women and celebrity women with whom He’s been rumored to have dated and then he talks crap about them when they don’t stay single forever after being with him, he’s bitter.
I don’t think he likes women either. I’ve been saying this for over ten years. I think he’s jealous of black women. I think they get the attention and sometimes respect from black men that he craves.

I don't get her point about possessiveness of women in some of these instances. If someone who's supposed to be your friend, or even a close work partner has an affair with someone you're dating (especially if they're someone you might actually have some feelings for) of course you'll be angry, because it's a violation of trust and a sign that they have no respect for you as a person to go behind your back and betray you. Now if it's just some person you're having sex with, that's different, rappers are known for all being with the same women.

51:39 Drake was trying to say that Kendrick's record label forced him, a pro black *_hip hop_* artist, to work with pop artists in order to make money for the label. But where this falls flat for Drake is, Kendrick is known to be a multifaceted musician, and you shouldn't try to put him in a box

"I don't stan men" *instantly subscribes*

Leaving a comment for the algo because you deserve the engagement for all of your labour! 🍿📝

This isn't like a critique but like I feel like people go out of their way to misinterpret the sexy red lines about him not liking women, it's less about misogyny and more about the fact that Drake is one of those kinds of men who likes to have sex with women he likes to possess women he likes the statue that comes with being with the women that he values, but he doesn't actually LIKE fully realized women who would hold him accountable for his behavior etc etc aka he sees those women as actual competition, it's why he's so flagrantly about talking about people like Rihanna and Serena at random on his projects

i agree with you on everything in this video but men getting upset when their gf sleeps with someone else is not "misogynistic" their feelings are extremely valid because cheating is a character flaw and wrong no matter what gender does it it has nothing to do with ownership of women thats a wild take also drake lied about the dave free sh*t because kendrick kids look just like him

Great video! I agree with most of what you were saying throughout the video but I have to comment on something in the “meet the grahams” part. The current Diddy situation kind of answers why it’s so difficult to expose the weirdos. Imagine going to report a crime. And they just throw away any evidence you may have because “Diddy” has that police station on payroll. Now you made a powerful enemy in vain. And you don’t only fear for your life but your family’s life. As a man I fear more for my family’s safety than my own.

3:04:35 I think that’s kinda messed up because if Whitney comes out and says that yes he put his hands on me, everyone will 100% believe her. But if she says no he never put his hands on me, people will Mother I Sober her.
Family Matters, they accused my fiancé
"Did he beat you Whitney?"
Never lied, but no one believed me when I said "He didn't"

The Taylor swift thing is about Taylor being the biggest star currently, and no one tends to put out music around the time when she drops, especially her label mates, which Kendrick is. Drake dropped, "Taylor made" the same day Taylor dropped her album to troll Ken stating he couldn't drop due to her, so he has to wait the following week.

2:51:55 I definitely have to bring this up, if someone else hasn't already: This is the exact same mistake that Drake made in his beef with Pusha T! I was initially upset with Pusha T for outing Drake's child during the beef, because keep private things private; But back then, I wasn't paying that much attention because I don't keep up with these mofos like that, so I didn't know that Drake had previously named dropped Pusha T's wife beforehand. So yeah, he made the same mistake twice, and lost two consecutive rap battles as a result of this. And now he's got a Scarlet letter on his back... And that letter is P.
And the worst part about all of this is: Kendrick *_warned_* Drake not to go there! And what did he do???

Also, the "real woman" line can also just refer to those women not having many morals, same as saying someone's not a real man for clout chasing, sycophantic behavior, having little to no morals as to what you'd do for those things, not having a sense of loyalty, integrity, dishonesty and these things are often associated with the hanger-ons in the hip hop space whether male or female, in general, all around trash people. Remember, he's calling Drake's manhood into question as well, not just because of his supposed effeminate behavior, but also taking sort cuts through life as explained in the first verse of Meet the Grahams when he's telling Adonis to be a better man than his father. .

2:46:49 You are not the first person to say this. And this is ultimately why Kenny's accusations against Drake are far more believable than The latter's against the former. Couple that with the fact that there is tangible evidence of Drake being a weirdo that dates back almost two decades.

6:50 - 7:20 I'm glad I wasn't the only one ABSOLUTELY BAFFLED by the sudden appearance of all these Tory Lanez fans.

JCole was not counting Section 80. by "put people to sleep" he means TPAB which is a WILD take

THREE HOURS?! YES PLEASE

I enjoyed your video, but I don't think that KDot was being hom*ophobic when he said that Drake was "popping ass" with women. As you previously mentioned, Drake seems to enjoy dissing women or using women to get at other rappers. So I think Kendrick was saying that Drake doesn't like, Aka defend/protect women, but see them as competition.

i dont think kendrick is a hotep lmaoo i think it's a huge misconception about him

I don’t think at any point of drakes career he shouldve been compared to the likes of biggie or Tupac as the best rapper 😂 he’s the biggest ARTIST but not rapper

Not being stereotypically masculine doesn’t mean you’re gay. And something I noticed about Drake watching his interviews is he kinda changes his personality, voice, accent, and general behavior based in who is interviewing him. I remember watching his interview with Angie Martinez about the control verse and the language he used made me think he was speaking the way women tend to. He sounded very vulnerable and betrayed
And then he talked about the same topic with elliot wilson and he sounded like a dude from nyc - arrogant and nonchalant 😂
Anyway that was what I think Kendrick was getting at. He absorbs the people around him - even the woman he hates

Please know what you are talking about. ×3
Please know what you are talking about. ×3
Please know what you are talking about. ×3
😭🙏
There have been far too many content creators attempting to make money by covering this beef without being aware of it before "Like That," and somehow, they are the ones who are garnering the most attention.
I've been here and aware of this since I was searching sh*tty forums for a leaked version of "Take Care" to put on my older cousin's iPod when she came to town, and my father took me to my first concert, the "Club Paradise Tour."
I recall vividly the day "Control" dropped, the general public's reaction, and how every named artist outside of Drake understood the assignment. (R.I.P. Mac Miller 🙏).
I remember Drake's lame ass interview with Elliot Wilson disparaging the verse as a "moment," and I remember staying up late to watch the BET Cypher and wait for the uncensored version to come out on TH-cam.
These were seminal moments for me, as they were my first experiences as a youngin' with genuine animosity between two artists who couldn't be more different but also had a startlingly similar artistic and professional trajectory's.
In 2011, Drake released Take Care, proving to the world that he was here to stay and would like be the next major pop rap artist.
The next year, KDot released good kid, m.A.A.d city, proving he may very well be the next hip hop legend.
KDot delivered on those promises with TPAB in 2015, cementing his status as such, while Drake released Views the following year, catapulting his pop-star status to new heights.
Edit: So far, she’s ridiculously thorough. This is the one.

This was THOROUGH. Amazing work from you and the desk correspondent 👏🏻

Just subbed even though I have heard every single video on this subject, but your perspective is more aligned with mine even though I am outside the culture, because you are sensitive to other groups and your own and I appreciate it so much; also, other than one female talking only about Drake and his predilections,
all the other videos were made by men and all shared almost the exact same perspectives.
I really respect your positions, and your absolutely refreshing p.o.v.
Thank you for spending the time doing this for a subject I find myself endlessly fascinated with

Seated!! So glad you're talking about this ♡

Kendrick only has 2 kids btw! Not sure if that means Whitney is the 3rd angel or if he's talking about someone else, hmm

oh I was looking for a video like this! I need to understand this beef, thank you for your service

Did she really start the video off by saying she doesn’t stand men, believe in or agree with men? I couldn’t even begin watching your video just by how vile that sounds.

Listened to/watched this video while I was doing my Saturday chores. You brought insight to the situation I haven't heard anyone else share. Subscribed!

Gotta give it to you, that opening hook got me 😂 this autoplayed, and i was getting up to find a new video but the first 5 seconds made me freeze lol

Great and very informative video. Great job

I didn't think i was gonna watch a 3 hour video but you got me with the beginning stinger

great video queen ty for this deep dive

I enjoyed it. It really sounds like my kitchen where my 26 and 21 yr old daughters have discussions with me and the mom. And like those discussions I don't fully agree with all perspectives but I understand why you feel a certain way. I truly enjoyed this and will look for more of your content

Not Like Us: My understanding is that North Side is very suburban vs. Atlanta proper where you have tougher neighbourhoods. So, it's saying that he's saying that Drake would be a fit for Northside. The 2Chains line is a reference to one of his tracks that has lie in the name. I'm not a fan, so I don't remember, but it is a direct reference.
There is no way Drake leaked because of his responses and their sequence. Someone who has manipulated the situation would have moved differently and not been caught out so often. For me, Drake starting off with his white Mom saying Maybe you shouldn't say ___ so much this time and then proceeding to assault us with it every second word.
The SA jabs were horrific. I also watch SVU despite it being copaganda.

20:45 Coming to that conclusion means that you lack both reading and listening comprehension skills. Which is going to be a theme for Drake going forward in this beef.
Glad we recognized this started way back.

i cannot thank you enough for this 🛐

I really loved the video and really I could listen to you talking about this beef for more hours straight

Great commentary, thanks for sharing.

I'm so glad I found your channel through this video

omg this is by far my favorite analysis of the whole situation. i’m not very masculine and found myself pulled in multiple directions - your video has helped me find some peace with all that

Wow, first of your videos that I have watched and instantly subscribed honestly

Hearing about your father crying when he watched documentaries about slavery reminded me of my mom. My parents are Nigerian but I was born in the US, surrounded by Black Americans culture, essentially immersed in it. My mom CRIED when we watched Eyes on the Prize, this long documentary regarding Black American history in the US. It is INSANE to use a term like "rapping like you are trying to get the slaves free" as a pejorative. And I get where and why he was making the joke, BUT in this battle when someone is coming at you because of culture, it is crazy to say that line. CRAZY.

I think he was saying he don’t have a classic cus all his major bops were cheap samples or referenced tracks drake is joke

I clicked for the fro and stayed for the commentary. Subbed for 4:46

Great stuff!

1:11:04
I think you might be thinking too far into this.
I’m pretty sure that Kendrick is saying exactly what he is saying in this “Drake doesn’t *like* women.”
It’s the reason he harbors resentment towards seemingly any woman who reneges him sexually and hold those grudges forever.
Jorja Smith, Serena Williams, Rihanna and Meg.
He constantly goes after “the women” or worded better, the significant others of contemporaries both immediately after they end their relationships and while they are currently in them as a weird form of one-upmanship.
Edit: 1:32:34 She got it. 😅

midway thru and this is hands down one of the best breakdowns i've ever heard

That first ten seconds roped me into whatever sh*t you’re on. Sub. 😂

Whitney technically DID deny Drake's allegations via a story on IG, but it's gone now

Is it hom*ophobic to to imply someone has tendencies or traits that reflect that they aren’t aligned with the sexual orientation they claim to be? I always felt like the attack was not in whether someone is gay, bi, etc or not, but in them not being who they portray to be. Much like every other topic in battle

“If he wasn’t dissin, then we wouldn’t be discussing him…” YOU SPECIFICALLY BROUGHT HIM INTO THE DISCUSSION! “Is it KDot, Aubrey or me…” Remember!?…Mf!

1:14:39 It's just a beautifully written rap song and also horribly disrespectful
I'm glad we're discussing that. Drake made 5,317,986 short jokes about Kendrick, but Kendrick's line
"But let me tell you some game, 'cause I can see you, my lil' homie"
is the most belittling line in the entire battle.

Great video! I'm late, but I wanted to leave a comment for the algorithm ❤️

Regarding the real women -- I don't think anything is wrong with celebrating stretch marks. We don't get enough of that. Drake is into Instagramy augmented women. The feature he was on with Sexyy Red recently had him talking about how many women's BBLs he had paid for -- these are possibly life threatening surgery to fit some sort of aesthetic sexualized ideal. You don't need to be a Hotep to not love that.

43:50 I really think that he was saying his first one: GKMC was classic and then his second one: TPAB was boring and they gassed it because the main criticism I’ve seen is it’s got no banger, and it’s a boring album (which obv is not very true) and yet it’s regarded as one of the best hip hop albums and his Third: DAMN. Was his prime due to how well it performed. I think he’s just looking past section 80.

As a Scorpio man…we do NOT claim Drake

It's believed Drake uses the artists he signs to his OVO label as his personal ghostwriters. His label is jokingly called "The Sweatshop" as a way of alluding that Drake has his artists working on his music instead of focusing on their own.
This is likely the main reason The Weeknd refused to sign to OVO, especially since The Weeknd has stated that half of the songs from his first album were given to Drake for "Take Care."

48:55 For the line "Your arms are too short to box with the god"
is probably a reference to one of the opening lines of the poem "The Prodigal Son" by James Weldon Johnson
Young man-
Young man-
Your arm’s too short to box with God.
It's been referenced a few times by various rappers. Off the top of my head, I remember it being remixed by Talib Kweli on his song, "Thieves in the Night" off his collab album with Mos Def,Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star
"Your firearms are too short to box with God"
I had to look it up for other references, but Jay Electronica also uses it on his song, "My World (Nas Salute)"
"Your arms too short to box with the sender of the prophets"
Nas used it directly in his song, "You Da Man"
"Your arms too short to box with God"
J Cole is a big Nas fan, so it's probably where he got the idea from.
If I'm going to comment on a 3 hour and 23 minute video, I got to have at least one comment that respects the dedication that went into this. (My dedication amounted to a google search and like 2 page clicks, but it's the thought that counts! And I feel like that's more dedication than most comments anyway.)

What's that? A three-hour analysis of a subject I only found out about last night? Regarding a genre of music I don't really listen too? Yeah, cool; count me in.

The first time a recommended video actually got me seated! The Read, the astrology references, not taking men seriously all got a subscribe from me not even an hour in! Thank you for your work on this video; I got really tired of seeing so many white men talk about this.

The opening is wild! 😂

1:06:32 - 1:06:41 Bring back hate.Non specific, non dangerous hate. Let's just hate things again. Let's just be mad at things again.
Please make this speech at the UN. It's something all humans needs to hear. The joy in your face when you say it is contagious.

shoutout to you for knowing that Megan is the precursor of this beef. also this video made me apreciate 6:16 in LA a lot more thank you

2:17:29 She laughs like a Disney villain and it gives me so much glee.

Great video! Its awesome to hear your perspective, im so tired of passively misogynistic men making videos on this beef just brushing off the misogyny and hom*ophobia or just being weird asf in general. Your critiques felt fresh and interesting in comparison. Albiet yeah theres probably stuff you missed, i cant remember anything specific right now but i have vague memory of there being a couple contextual things about the beef missing, for the most part i felt you did a great job explaining and researching.

Ok, about 33 minutes in, i see why this autoplayed for me 😂 my autistic ass (real, not insulting) has been hyperfixated on this beef, *and* this is a crazy long deep dive?! Add in the humor and demeanor, this is the closest thing to a bespoke video I've EVER SEEN. I'll be adding thoughts through the next 17 listens, I'm sure 😂
I'll try to keep it to my own replies at least

The lyte pack verse also gives reference to daylyt a rapper who has written for Drake before

1:22:37 I also saw things no Reddit before I heard it in a Drake song.
I was desperate for beef discussion, so I went on the Drake reddit and I saw someone post the rumor that Whitney had a kid with Dave Free. Having Akademiks come out post beef and say that was a lie makes me think that that was someone from OVO's team trying to astroturf a rumor.

2:33:00
I think you missed some context for this whole Spotify policy and TDE threatening to remove their catalogue if it is put in place. It was not about separating the art from the artist. TDE and Lamar went on record and pointed out that while the policy itself claims to be about removing "problematic" artists from playlists (quotation marks because definitions in new rules were intentionally ambiguous and vague), in practice they were targeting specifically R. Kelly and XXXTentasion, so only black artists. Their white counterparts would not be subjects to the same policy. They published a whole list of white artists who fall under same guidelines as R. Kelly and XXX, but would not face the same treatment. This list and a whole bunch of potential legal consequences quickly snuffed out the whole discourse (but allegedly shadow banning these same artists from official playlists was probably introduced behind the scenes).

"if you're new here it's pronounced Neida... please like, comment, subscribe because this sh*t took a long time"
yes ma'am and thank you for pronunciation, genuinely helpful to me. :3

fantastic journalism ❤...And the personality....tell me a story😊

Though many consider Section 80 as Kendricks first official album it was actually gkmc which is the classic Cole was taking about (easily an undisputed classic). That makes it all line up as his 2nd album was tpab which did have mixed reactions initially because of the vast difference sonically but grew on a lot of people. So damn. is the prime because of the Pulitzer and being his most accessible album mainstream wise. Cole def shouldn't be talking discographies with Kendrick but eh he tried i guess... Probably why he lost sleep lol

Fun Fact: Meek Mill was known as Meek Millz when he first gained notoriety (with the nappy braids that locked) but bc Jae Millz had broken through w/ Young Money Meek dropped the Z from his name…giving us Meek Mill

2:35:20 Art vs Patrick is a perfect summation of this beef

I've been waiting for a take from a girly and you delivered tenfold!! (I don't think kendrick is an Israelite but some of his family are)

22:40. Rap Ciphers are typically freestyle flow. If it’s a fair cipher the DJ will constantly switch tracks randomly. This is supposed to keep Rappers honest from trying to come to the Cipher with material already written.
Side Note: The Cipher is a hallmark of Hip-Hop. Being a MC (Microphone Controller) meant you were/are being creative with your wordplay. That’s why Ghost Writing in Hip-Hop is a Cardinal Sin (if you are calling yourself God MC, The GOAT, etc.)
Other genres of music GW is okay. Not in Hip-Hop.

Cole is referencing TPAB, not GKMC. Section 80 wasn’t on Aftermath/Interscope.

Kendrick fiance mother is bi racial while her father is black, her DNA is more black, Drake think people are talking about his race, it's about how he operates in the culture.

One thing not mentioned is the Metro Boomin has had a very weird history about tweeting about minors and young women. Groomer allegations.

John Stockton is the NBA All-time leader in assists (aka PASSING the ball to a teammate for them to score)

Again 6:28 in and she is saying going back to the beginning of this beef and discussing Meg the stallion. The beef between Drake and Kendrick long predates Meg being an artist. It has nothing and I mean nothing to do with her. So it’s just a weird place to start and say at the beginning.

1:08:22 Let's go back to Nice For What
Well, that's the song that got exposed for having the lyric, "High school pics, you was even bad then"
So a little distance from that might be better for Drake.

Prince and MJ never had beef. Fans tried to compare them which is dumb. Two completely different artists.

Kendrick also dissed Drake on “Perfect Pint” in 2017 👀

I loved listening to this and there were questions that others have answered so I’m good. You did the damn thing and I’m so glad that there’s (some) women putting there opinion on this bc I was the one going crazy over this but you know, I’m ’I’m a woman’ so…great job for sure and very thorough ❤

2:47:57 that person who was saying that stuff doesnt know kendrick or anyone from tde and has been an internet troll for at least a decade. He goes viral every couple years for something random

2:14 And Kendrick Lamar in May of 2024 and he said, "I will get us back to God. Singlehandedly. I will bring us back to the light of the Lord."
This is the greatest introduction to this beef and the only introduction that needs to exist.

“Your entire mother is white” is wild 😂😂