SomeKendrick Lamarfans may not realize that his legendary 2024 beef with Canadian rapper Drake began in 2013 with another surprise guest feature. Although the Compton-born Kendrick was on good terms throughout the initial years of his come-up in the early 2010s, Kendrick verbally fired at Drake and a handful of other notable rappers – even the late andgreat Mac Miller– on a Big Sean verse in 2013. This was considered to be a “friendly competition” by Kendrick despite it being an unprovoked attack on the faces of Hip-Hop. Looking back on it now,Kendrick’s 2024 feud with Drakemakes much more sense.
As demonstrated byKendrick’s 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show, the 22-time Grammy winner continued his victory tour from hisPop Out: Ken & Friendsconcert andGNXalbumdrop all the way to the world’s biggest stage. He was fearless in reciting the most classic lines of his hit song “Not Like Us,” which is widely considered one of the greatest Hip-Hop diss tracks ever made.Kendrick continues to make history in real-time ahead of his 2025 international stadium tour, leaving the rest of the world, including Drake, to sit back and watch. While Drake’s career is certainly not over, his legacy will always be scarred by Kendrick Lamar.
Kendrick Lamar First Called Drake Out On Big Sean’s “Control”
He Doubled Down With A Direct Shot During The 2013 BET Awards
Just a year after Drake appeared on Kendrick’s classic hit “Poetic Justice” off ofGood Kid, m.A.A.d. City, Kendrick exploded on Big Sean’s “Control,” which was intended to be released on his 2013 album Hall of Fame but wasn’t able to due to sample clearance issues. Regardless, Kendrick’s “Control” verse made Hip-Hop heads spin with a rapid-fire statement about his view of himself in the rap game from the top. Kendrick hadn’t even releasedTo Pimp a Butterflyyet when his “Control” verse came out, which today seems like not only a proclamation of his future success but a prophecy.
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Kendrick’s “Control” verse included sharp lyrics and direct name-dropsof nearly a dozen of 2013’s best Hip-Hop artists.
I’m usually homeboys with the same n––s I’m rhymin' wit
But this is hip hop and them n––s should know what time it is
Pusha T, Meek Millz, A$AP Rocky, Drake
Big Sean, Jay Electron', Tyler, Mac Miller
I got love for you all but I’m tryna murder you n––s.
When asked about the “Control” verse, Kendrick simply wrote it off as a friendly competition at the time meant to inspire other rappers to match his greatness. Despite this,Kendrick’s 2013 BET performance dropped a direct bar at Drakethat wasn’t so friendly, “Nothing’s been the same since they dropped ‘Control’ and tucked a sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes.” This marked the true beginning of the Kendrick and Drake feud.
Kendrick Called Out Rappers With Ghostwriters In His 2015 Hit “King Kunta”
Although Kendrick has called Drake out for his sneak disses over the years, the Compton rapper has certainly fired a fair share of indirect shots at Drake during their so-called “Cold War” of the 2010s. Songs such as “Used To” and “6 PM in New York” off of Drake’s 2015 mixtapeIf You’re Reading This It’s Too Latehave been rumored to subtly target Lamar, whileKendrick famously commented on the concept of ghostwritersin Hip-Hop on his hit single “King Kunta,” which seemed like an obvious a criticism of Drake.
A rapper with a ghostwriter? What the f–k happened?
I swore I wouldn’t tell
But most of y’all sharing bars like you got the bottom bunk in a two-man cell.
These subtle disses continued into the early 2020s, although there was never any public beef between Kendrick and Drake appearing on the surface before 2024. On his 2022 albumMr. Morale & The Big Steppers, Kendrick named Drake and Kanye in the lyrics for “Father Time,” appearing to not understand why the two would reconcile their differences after their public beef. While mostly an observation, not a diss, itdemonstrates how Kendrick was confused about why two of the biggest Hip-Hop artists of the centurywould let bygones be bygones. It acts as a precursor to what was to come when Kendrick decided to go full-throttle at Drake.
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Kendrick Needed To Settle The Score After J. Cole & Drake’s “First Person Shooter”
As the premier representative of modern Hip-Hop culture, Kendrick needed to reaffirm the depth chart after J. Cole and Drake’s “First Person Shooter” tried grouping themselves with Kendrick as the three best rappers alive. Kendrick responded a few months later in March 2024 with another surprise feature on Metro Boomin’s “Like That” featuring Future, in which he completely rejected the concept that he shared any throne with Drake andJ. Cole, the latter of whom was also called out on “Control.”
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While J. Cole peacefully bowed out of the budding conflict, Drake shot back with “Push Ups” and the shortsighted “Taylor Made Freestyle,” and the rest is history. Kendrick released his first full Drake diss tracks, “Euphoria” and “6:16 in LA,” which Drake responded to with “Family Matters” only to be eclipsed by the immediate release of Kendrick’s “Meet the Grahams.” By then, the gloves had come off. Despite Drake’s best efforts, “Not Like Us” ended the feud once Drake’s “The Heart Part 6” was heavily ridiculed and disliked. Ultimately, Kendrick saw"First Person Shooter" as an opportunity to solidify himself as the modern GOAT, so he did.
How Kendrick’s “Control” Verse Bought Modern Hip-Hop Back To Its Roots
Kendrick Represents The Competitive Spirit Within Hip-Hop History
Kendrick idolizes the greatest rappers of all time, particularly Tupac Shakur, and has always strived to reach those levels. The rap game was very “share the wealth” and collaborative during the 2000s and early 2010s, with the most notable beef being a friendly album sales competition between Kanye West’sGraduationand 50 Cent’sCurtis.Kendrick brought Hip-Hop back to the ’90s era of Tupac vs. The Notorious B.I.G., aka Biggie Smalls, and inspired the greatest rap feud since their time. Other rappers have also taken aim at Drake, such as Pusha T and Meek Mill, but none have been as effective as Kendrick.
In an age when Hip-Hop has become incredibly commercialized, Kendrick Lamar remarkably brought the genre back to its roots from the culture’s highest pedestal.
Fortunately, the Drake and Kendrick feud left it all out over bars, but the intensity and scale of the beef made it monumental and much more than a “friendly” competition. Many Drake fans feel as though their beef isn’t over, but unless Drake comes back with a monumental 2025 exposing Kendrick for unknown transgressions and tops it off with multiple Grammy wins and a Super Bowl Halftime performance,it’s going to be near-impossible for Drake to tip the scales back in his favor. In an age when hip-hop has become incredibly commercialized,Kendrick Lamarremarkably brought the genre back to its roots from the culture’s highest pedestal.
