Kendrick Lamar actually popped up and confirmed out.
On Sunday, Feb 9, the rapper delivered a Super Bowl halftime performance like no different. This marked the primary time a rap star headlined the halftime present solo. Lamar had beforehand carried out on the Tremendous Bowl in 2022 as a part of a star-studded lineup with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and Eminem.
Nevertheless it wasn’t simply the headline efficiency with particular visitor SZA that had followers buzzing; it was the execution—particularly when KDOT carried out his Grammy-winning observe “Not Like Us,” his notorious diss track aimed at Drake.
To dive deeper into their history, study extra concerning the music, and extra, hold studying.
Kendrick Lamar & Drake’s Feud (The Brief-ish Model)
Right here’s the timeline:
- October 31, 2023: Drake Drops “First Individual Shooter”
- Within the music that includes J. Cole, Drake and Cole rap about their celebrity statuses. Whereas they have a good time being on the prime of the sport, Cole offers Kendrick a shoutout, referring to the trio as “the Large 3.” Nonetheless, Kendrick didn’t appear to understand the point out.
- March 26, 2024: Kendrick Lamar Responds With “Like That” Verse
- Kendrick determined to go on the assault, addressing the scenario and particularly calling out the “Large 3” line from “First Individual Shooter“ with: “Motherf*** the massive three, n***a, it’s simply massive me.”
- April 13, 2024: Drake’s Music “Push Ups” Leaks
- Drake fired again by mysteriously leaking “Push Ups,” revisiting the “Large 3” line and taking photographs at Kendrick’s top. Extra notably, he additionally insulted the rapper’s cope with his former label, Prime Dawg Leisure.
- April 19, 2024: Drake Drops “Taylor Made Freestyle”
- Whereas awaiting Lamar’s response to “Push Ups,” Drake additionally launched the now-deleted observe “Taylor Made Freestyle,”the place he used AI-generated voices of Lamar’s idols Tupac and Snoop Dogg to take photographs at him. This transfer led to a stop and desist from Tupac’s property.
- April 30, 2024: Kendrick Hits Again at Drake With “euphoria”
- With “euphoria,” Kendrick takes quite a few photographs at Drake over the six-minute observe, focusing on his credibility, repute, and even his talents as a father. At one level, he raps, “I obtained a son to lift, however I can see you don’t know nothin’ ’bout that.”
- Could 3, 2024: Kendrick Again-to-Backs Drake With “6:16 in LA”
- Simply as Drake adopted up his 2015 diss observe “Again to Again” with “Charged Up” towards Meek Mill, Kendrick wasted no time with a response of his personal. Lower than three days after dropping “euphoria,” he launched “6:16 in LA,” geared toward Drake. Within the observe, Kendrick suggests that somebody from Drake’s workforce could also be leaking info to him.
- Could 3, 2024: Drake Fires Again With “Household Issues”
- On the identical day Kendrick dropped “6:16 in LA,” Drake launched “Household Issues” together with its music video. The practically eight-minute observe included controversial strains, suggesting that Kendrick’s baby was really fathered by his supervisor, Dave Free. Drake additionally took purpose at Lamar’s relationship along with his fiancée, Whitney Alford.
- Could 3, 2024: Kendrick Lamar Instantly Responds With “Meet the Grahams”
- Simply 20 minutes after Drake dropped “Household Issues,” Kendrick responded with the observe “Meet the Grahams.” The music is structured as a collection of letters to Drake’s son, Adonis, his dad and mom, an alleged secret daughter, and eventually to Drake himself. Some of the talked-about claims within the music was Kendrick’s allegation that Drake has an 11-year-old daughter.
- Could 4, 2024: Kendrick Jabs Drake Once more With “Not Like Us”
- The subsequent day, Kendrick took one other shot at Drake with the music “Not Like Us,” the place he doubled down on the allegations of sexual abuse towards Drake and people related to OVO that he made in “Meet the Grahams.”
- Could 5, 2024: Drake Responds With “The Coronary heart Half 6”
- Drake launched his five-minute rebuttal, “The Coronary heart Pt. 6,” enjoying off Lamar’s groundbreaking “Coronary heart” franchise. Within the observe, he addresses the daughter rumor, claiming that his workforce fed false info to Kendrick, and denies each the sexual abuse allegations and the accusations of being concerned with underage ladies.
Is “Not Like Us” About Drake?
The observe “Not Like Us” is undeniably geared toward Drake.
It got here as a part of Kendrick’s ongoing back-and-forth with Drake (as outlined above), and finally, it turned the music that marked Kendrick popping out on prime.
Along with the direct references to Drake, similar to calling him out by identify twice, the music is full of inventive strains and delicate jabs, that are much more obvious within the accompanying music video. The visuals solely amplified the message Kendrick was sending, making it probably the most talked-about tracks of their rivalry.
In Kendrick’s halftime present efficiency, the rapper shunned utilizing the phrase “pedophile,” however he nonetheless managed to get lots of people singing together with the road: “Tryna ring a bell and it’s most likely A minorrrrrr.” Notably, tennis celebrity Serena Williams, who was as soon as romantically linked to Drake, was seen dancing throughout the observe.
From Compton to NOLA. @SerenaWilliams @KendrickLamar #AppleMusicHalftime pic.twitter.com/mnzuP7fJ1N
— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2025
Is Drake Suing Kendrick Lamar?
No, Drake shouldn’t be suing Kendrick. Nonetheless, the “Not Like Us” observe turned the middle of a defamation lawsuit filed by Drake against Universal Music Group, the dad or mum label to which each he and Lamar are signed.
In accordance with Billboard, the Canadian rapper determined to sue the music label, accusing UMG of conducting an unlawful “scheme” to advertise Kendrick’s music, making certain that it obtained further consideration. Drake alleges this was performed regardless of the observe serving as a diss geared toward him and referencing his identify immediately.
