Inside Kendrick Lamar and Drake's feud

Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake

There is major beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake who have dropped multiple diss tracks against each other with some disturbing allegations. FOX 5 NY’s Lisa Evers takes a closer look at what the feud is about and how it all got started.

It's hip-hop's version of an epic feud, as intense as the ‘First of the Century’ between heavyweight champions Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

But in the war of words between music industry titans Kendrick Lamar and Drake, the jabs are below the belt, and there is no limit to the number of rounds. Plus, all the sparring is being played out on social media with lightning speed.

In one corner, you have Pulitzer prize and 17-time Grammy-winning hip-hop Artist Kendrick Lamar, who's often been thought of as an intellectual rapper able to make massive and meaningful hits about the Black experience. In the opposite corner, is Billboard Hot 100 number one record holder of all time, Drake, who has made hits across multiple music genres, more than any other artist ever, not to mention 13 number-one albums.

"When you're looking for a heavyweight feud, these are the two opponents that you want standing at two different corners opposing each other, ready to go," Carl Lamarre, Deputy Director of Hip-Hop and R&B for Billboard said.

Music videos of the biggest hits by each artist rack up tens and even hundreds of millions of YouTube views worldwide. They collaborated more than a decade ago but grew apart as each tried to be crowned as the unofficial king of hip-hop.

"This is not back in the day. This is not BIggie and Pac, this is not Jay Z and Nas, this isn't even 50n Cent and Ja Rule, who kind of came as the digital era began to expand, This is almost real time," Chuck Creekmur, CEO and Co-founder of All Hiphop said.

In March 2024, the long-simmering tensions came to a boil with blows thrown and landed in both directions. Nearly a dozen diss tracks popped up with very personal insults about body image, the women in their lives, fatherhood, and even allegations of abuse and addiction. Battling is a staple of hip-hop, but not like this. Some believe it has gone too far.

"That has been my biggest fear. I think. Listen, a lyrical tussle is always great but when the gloves start coming off and you're seeing people talk about kids, talk about family members some scathing allegations, I think this is where you have to hit the pause button," Carl Lamarre, Deputy Director of hip-hop and R&B, for Billboard said.

Over the weekend, the battle went back and forth with each posting new diss tracks. In Drake's latest, "The Heart Part 6 ", he says he feels disgusted by Kendrick Lamar's claims and denies the allegations. Drake says if they were true, he would have been arrested by now.