Kendrick Lamar and Drake Beef: What’s Happening Now?

Kendrick Lamar’s show-stopping performance at the Super Bowl on Sunday was seen by many as a victory lap after his knockout blow in his long-running feud with fellow rapper Drake. The Compton rapper’s entire halftime set seemed to build toward a performance of Not Like Us, his Grammy-winning takedown of Drake that was one of last year’s biggest hits. However, it’s now the subject of a potential libel case filed by the Canadian artist.

Meanwhile, Drake was performing in Australia, throwing cash to fans at his Melbourne show, as the world tuned in to watch his rival. The origins of their feud go back over a decade, but here’s a recap of how things have evolved over the past heated 12 months.

The Big Three

In March last year, producer Metro Boomin and rapper Future released We Don’t Trust You, which included a track called Like That. The song featured an explosive uncredited verse from Kendrick Lamar, where he took a jab at rapper J. Cole’s claim that Kendrick, Drake, and Cole were “the big three.” Lamar rapped: “Forget the big three, it’s just big me.”

Three Becomes Two

Soon after, Drake appeared to address Kendrick’s verse at a Florida concert, declaring, “No one on this earth could ever f*** with me.” Two weeks later, J. Cole responded to Kendrick’s line with a track called 7 Minute Drill, but later admitted it was a huge misstep. On stage at the Dreamville Festival, Cole apologized for the track, praised Lamar’s discography, and asked for forgiveness.

Boiling Point

Drake then dropped Push Ups (Drop and Give Me 50), taking aim at Kendrick’s height and calling him a puppet of his record label, forced to collaborate with pop artists like Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift. Kendrick fired back with Euphoria—a six-minute diss track that called Drake “predictable,” a “master manipulator,” and a “habitual liar.” Lamar also raised doubts about Drake’s parenting.

Within days, Lamar released another track, 6:16 in LA, claiming that someone inside Drake’s camp was leaking damaging information about him. In May, Drake escalated things with Family Matters, where he speculated that Kendrick might be involved in domestic abuse, a claim Lamar has never faced.

Families in the Mix

Lamar responded with Meet The Grahams, targeting Drake’s family members, and made allegations about Drake’s secret second child, his addiction to gambling, and other personal failures. Drake responded on Instagram, questioning Lamar’s claims and calling them “shambles.” But Kendrick wasn’t done yet and dropped a fourth diss track, Not Like Us, accusing Drake of having relationships with underage women.

Legal Drama and Grammy Wins

After Not Like Us became a summer club hit, with over 21 million streams in its first three days, things took a darker turn. A security guard outside Drake’s house was shot, although there’s no proof it was related to the feud. However, the vandalism of Drake’s OVO store in London seemed more directly connected.

In January of this year, Drake filed a defamation and harassment lawsuit against Universal Music Group over the release of Not Like Us, claiming that the song falsely accused him of being a pedophile. Universal denied the claims and accused Drake of trying to silence Lamar’s creative expression by taking the feud to court.

Super Bowl Performance

At the Super Bowl halftime show, Kendrick teased Not Like Us before finally performing it. While he censored some of the most controversial lyrics, Lamar still called out Drake’s name directly and left the infamous line “Tryin’ to strike a chord and it’s probably A minor” intact. The performance was watched by over 120 million viewers, including celebrities like Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, and Sir Paul McCartney.

Adding to the spectacle, tennis star Serena Williams, who was once romantically linked to Drake, made a surprise appearance, performing the Crip Walk—an iconic Los Angeles dance move—as Kendrick dominated the stage. Some have even said Lamar delivered the final blow to his diss track rival.

Moving Forward

On Monday, Kendrick Lamar announced a joint UK and Europe stadium tour with SZA, starting in July this year, while Drake has no UK dates currently scheduled for 2025. The battle between the two rappers appears to have reached its climax, with Lamar now firmly in the spotlight, having declared “game over” in the battle.