Drake & Kendrick Lamar’s Rocky Relationship Explained

In 2011, Drake evolved from being the polarizing rookie to a full-fledged superstar, trumping expectations with his debut outing. While he hoisted incredible chart stats following his Thank Me Later campaign, questions lingered about whether he could elevate his game to the next level. Take Care was the resounding answer to critics, as he pivoted back to his popular So Far Gone roots and invited several big-name guests along for the ride, one being the highly-touted neophyte Kendrick Lamar.

Coming off Section 80, Lamar was arguably the next West Coast savior to steer the ship, and Drake took advantage of his momentum by allowing him to shine on his “Buried Alive Interlude.” Lamar’s ego was on ten, detonated by the co-sign of Drizzy, rapping: “So blame it on Mr. OVOXO/ The reason why I’m breathin’ all the vanity I know.”

Drake extended his hand again to the burgeoning Lamar, who garnered rave reviews for his appearance on “Buried Alive” by bringing him alongside A$AP Rocky as the opening acts for his Club Paradise Tour. Drake later rapped about his decision to fight for Rocky and Lamar as his openers on 2016’s “4 PM in Calabasas,” recalling “When they told me take an R&B ni–a on the road/ And I told ’em no and drew for Kendrick and Rocky.”

Following Drake’s Club Paradise Tour, A$AP rounded up some of his rap comrades from Drizzy’s trek, including the 6 God, K. Dot, and 2 Chainz for “F–kin’ Problems.” Following that firestarter, Kendrick and Drake would team up again, but this time on the former’s debut album. Like “Fuckin’ Problems,” “Poetic Justice” would be a commercial success, peaking at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. Unfortunately, that would mark the final collaboration between Drake and Lamar. 

After Lamar solidified himself as a household name courtesy of his major label debut good kid, m.A.A.d city, his swagger and confidence were on ten — so much so that he sacked Drake and his peers on Big Sean’s “Control.” K. Dot’s searing take on his stance on the rap game shook the landscape as he boldly called out J. Cole, Meek Mill, Drake, Big K.R.I.T., Wale, Pusha T, ASAP Rocky, Tyler, the Creator, Mac Miller, Big Sean and Jay Electronica. “I got love for you all, but I’m trying to murder you n—as/ Trying to make sure your core fans never heard of you n—as/ They don’t want to hear not one more noun or verb from you ni–as,” he rapped.

Drake responded to Kendrick’s diss while gracing the cover of Billboard that same month, telling the publication: “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 continued applying pressure on Drake when he and TDE visited the BET Hip-Hop Awards in 2013 and participated in the cipher. Over the menacing “Shook Ones” instrumental, K. Dot engaged in target practice: “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 shoots never penetrates/ Pin the tail on the donkey, boy you been a fake.”

During a cover story with VIBE Magazine, Drake addressed his shots at Kendrick on “The Langauge” and why he felt compelled to stand his ground against The Compton MC.

“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. 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.”

During these years, Kendrick and Drake exchanged a few jabs, most notably K. Dot, when he took aim at Drizzy on “King Kunta” and called him out over his ghostwriting allegations. “I can dig rapping/ But a rapper with a ghost writer? What the f–k happened?” he penned. Drake countered back on The Game’s “100” the same year, rapping: “I would have all of your fans/ If I didn’t go pop and I stayed on some conscious s–t.” 

Kendrick’s onslaught continued on Dr. Dre’s Compton album, where he fired more shots on “Darkside / Gone” and “Deep Water.” The latter was the more chilling of the two: “They liable to bury him, they nominated six to carry him/ They worry him to death, but he’s no vegetarian/ The beef is on his breath, inheriting the drama better than / A great white, n—a, this is life in my aquarium.”

Drake and Cole made history when they scored their first Hot 100. No. 1 song together (and Cole’s first of any kind) with “First Person Shooter.” This would be their first collaboration since 2013’s “Jodeci Freestyle.” The track is triumphant, as they share the spotlight and boast about being stadium-status MCs. Unbeknownst to him, Cole woke up the sleeping bear in Lamar when he was saluting the triumvirate of him, K. Dot, and Drake, saying: “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.”

Kendrick didn’t hold back when given the baton on Future & Metro Boomin’s “Like That.” He fired a full clip of shots at both Cole and Drake, most notably the latter. “F–k sneak dissin’, first-person shooter/ I hope they came with three switches,” Lamar snarls when speaking on the chart-topping collaboration between the “Evil Ways” MCs. He continued demolishing both rappers when he denounced the “Big 3” of him, Cole and Drake, by saying: “Motherf–k” the big three, n—a, it’s just big me.” He punctuated his verse by calling back to Drake’s For All the Dogs album, rapping: “For all your dogs gettin’ buried/ That’s a K with all these nines, he gon’ see Pet Sematary.”

Days after Lamar torched the internet with his scathing verse, Drake used time during his tour stop in Sunrise, Fla. to address the elephant in the room: “A lot of people asking me how I’m feeling,” he began. “I’mma let you know how I’m feeling. Listen, the way I’m feeling is the same way I want you to walk out of here feeling tonight about your f–king self.”

“Because you know how I’m feeling?” Drake asked. “I got my f–king head up high, my back straight, I’m 10 f–king toes down in Florida or anywhere else I go, and I know that no matter what, there’s not a n—a on this earth that could ever f–k with me in my life. And that’s how I want you to walk outta here tonight.”