Drake Disses Kendrick Lamar & Makes It Personal

Over a day after the Hip-Hop world anticipated Drake’s response to Kendrick Lamar, Future, Metro Boomin, and others, the OVO superstar has seemingly delivered. Although Drake has yet to claim ownership of a verbal attack that leaked online Saturday (April 13), sources close to the entertainer claims its authenticity as “Drop And Give Me 50” makes its rounds.

The song divides attention at an onslaught of Drake collaborators-turned-enemies. Last month, Kendrick Lamar guest appeared on Future & Metro Boomin’s “LIKE THAT.” All three artists have worked with Drizzy in the past. “I could never be nobody #1 fan / Your #1 one, I had to put it in your hand,” he says, presumably referring to Future’s chart-topping 2015 mixtape with Drake, What A Time To Be Alive.

You p___ies can’t get booked outside America for nan’ / I’m out in Tokyo because I’m big in Japan / I’m the hit maker y’all depend on / Backstage, in my city, it was friend zone / You won’t ever take no chain off of us / How the f__k you big steppin’ with a size 7 men’s on?” This line refers to Kendrick Lamar’s small frame in light of his Big Steppers album title. “This the bark with the bite, n___a, what’s up? / I know my picture on the wall when y’all cook up / Extortion baby, whole career you been shook up / ‘Cause Top told you, ‘drop and give me 50′ like some push-ups, huh / Your last one bricked, you really not on s__t / They make excuses for you ’cause they hate to see me lit / Pull your contract ’cause we gotta see the split / The way you doin’ splits, b___h, your pants might rip / You better do that motherf__kin’ show inside the bitty / Maroon 5 need a verse, you better make it witty / Then we need a verse for the Swifties / Top say drop, you better drop and give ’em 50.”

Kendrick Lamar Re-Gains Control By Dissing Drake & J. Cole

There are multiple mixes of the lyrics currently circulating online, including one with DJ Whoo Kid drops:

These lyrics make light of Kendrick Lamar’s 2021 exit from Top Dawg and his TDE label. The 50 may apply to rumored 50% going to K-Dot’s former label. Drake also pokes fun at the Compton, California MC working with Pop artists, mentioning Taylor Swift and Maroon 5. The diss continues: “Pipsqueak, pipe down / You ain’t in no ‘Big Three,’ SZA got you wiped down / Travis got you wiped down, Savage got you wiped down / Like your label, boy, you in the ‘Scope right now / And you gon’ feel the Aftermath of what I write down / I’m at the top of the mountain, so you tight now / Just to have this talk with yo’ ass, I had to hike down.” These bars suggest that while Drake owns OVO, Kendrick is still working for Interscope Records and Aftermath Entertainment. After Lamar claimed there was “no Big 3” following Drake and J. Cole’s 2023 “First Person Shooter” song referring to himself, Drizzy, and Kendrick. By Drake’s latest account, a Big 3 would include 21 Savage of Travis Scott ahead of Kendrick Lamar.

J. Cole Has Released A Record Dissing Kendrick Lamar

Drake then condemns Kendrick’s Prince and Michael Jackson comparison (in which Lamar was Prince, who outlived Jackson—presumed to be Drake). “Big difference between Mike then and Mike now / What the f__k is this, a twenty-V-one, n___a? / What’s a Prince to a King? He a son, n___a / Get more love in the city that you from, n___a / Metro, shut your h_e ass up and make some drums, n___a / Yeah, I’m the 6ix god, I’m the front-runner.

Notably, Drake weaves in Rick Ross with the bars: “N___as really got me out here talkin’ like I’m 50, ayy / N___as really got me out here rappin’ what I’m livin’ / I might take your latest girl and cuff her like I’m Ricky / Can’t believe he jumpin’ in, this n___a turnin’ 50 / Every song that made it on the chart, he got from Drizzy.” This development follows longtime Drake collaborator Rick Ross recently appearing in a video where he is driving around to the Future, Metro, and Kendrick song.

Where Does Rick Ross Stand in the Meek Mill/Drake Beef? For Now, He’s Claiming Family Ties (Video)

A few bars later, he raps, “I ain’t even rappin’ after this, I’m way too busy /This for all the top dogs, drop and give me fifty, drop-drop /And that f___in’ song y’all got is not startin’ beef with us / This s__t been brewin’ in a pot, now I’m heatin’ up / I don’t care what Cole think, that Dot s__t was weak as f__k.” This line suggests the verse was penned after J. Cole publicly apologized for—and eventually retracted his diss released just over a week ago, and removed it from his Might Delete Later project after one week in circulation.

Drake remains focused on Kendrick’s relationship with his former mentor and employer. “Champagne trippin’, he is not f__kin’ easin’ up / N___a calling Top to see if Top wanna peace it up / ‘Top, wanna peace it up? Top, wanna peace it up?’ / Nah, p___y, now you on your own when you speakin’ up / You done rolled deep to this, it’s not f___in’ deep enough.

Drake Has Thrown Darts At Kendrick & JAY-Z, But Chooses Not To Face Them At The Grammys

Numbers-wise, I’m out of here, you not f___in’ creepin’ up / Money-wise, I’m out of here, you not f__kin’ sneakin’ up / Cornball, your show money merch-money fee to us / I’ma let you n___as work it out, because I seen enough / This ain’t even everything I know, don’t wake a demon up / This ain’t even everything I know, don’t wake the demon up /Drop and give me 50, all you f__k n___as teamin’ up.

Drake calls out the betrayal too, and ends assuming that Kendrick has been wanting to diss him for years. “What? Teamin’ up with all of y’all, fallin’ like some dominoes / Bro’s turnin’ h_es, dog, like I ain’t got enough of those / I can’t wait to see how far you n___as get to reachin’ now / This the closest thing you n___as gettin’ to a feature now / Backpedal gang ’cause a few of y’all been reachin’ out / Y’all drew the line, what the f__k we gotta speak about? / Get your f__kin’ head tapped, you n___as get to peekin’ out / You had a song for four years, drop that s__t and shut your mouth.”

Drake Responds to Obama’s Claim That Kendrick Lamar Would Beat Him In A Battle (Audio)

One of the leaked versions of this song used the Junior M.A.F.I.A. “Get Money” sample (later re-purposed by Tupac and Tha Outlawz), which was also an element of the Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls beef in the mid-1990s.

Earlier this week, podcasters Rory & Mal made reference to Drake’s impending diss and used the “drop and give me 50” reference. DJ Akademiks streamed the song earlier Saturday. Journalists from Complex and The New York Times have also suggested that the specificity of the diss ensures its authenticity.

Drake Thinks Macklemore’s Post-Grammy Text To Kendrick Lamar Was “Wack As F__k”

While Drake has yet to post confirmation of the song being his, Kendrick, Future, Ross, and Metro have also yet to react.