Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s beef has been brewing for a while, but things really hit the fan when Lamar took the Super Bowl stage and straight-up called Drake a ‘certified p*dophile’ in front of millions.
This wasn’t just a rap diss — it was a full-on public takedown. But before the Super Bowl even happened, Drake had already put out a legal statement addressing both the diss in Lamar’s song and his lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG).
RELATED STORIES
The drama has been all over social media, making this one of the biggest rap feuds in years.
Drake responded to the diss before the Super Bowl performance
Before Lamar even hit the Super Bowl stage, Drake had already released a statement about the diss. He wasn’t just letting it slide.
Through his lawyers, he said: “UMG is masquerading as a champion of artistic freedom by calling its actions merely ‘entertainment,’ but there is nothing entertaining about p*dophilia or child abuse in the real world.”
Drake is currently suing Universal Music Group
On top of all this, Drake is in the middle of a legal fight with UMG. He’s accusing them of messing with the streaming numbers and even defaming him.
He stated: “We are confident that the evidence we will ultimately present at trial — including information we’ve already learned and continue to receive since filing the lawsuit — will expose UMG’s gross prioritization of its own corporate profits and executive bonuses over its exclusively signed artists’ well-being and the truth.”
The rap beef escalated from past tensions
Drake and Lamar weren’t always at each other’s throats. They used to be tight, even collaborating on a few tracks. But over time, things started to fall apart.
The real drama kicked off when Lamar dropped a verse on Future’s “Like That,” where he basically dismissed the idea that Drake and J. Cole were in the same league as him.
From there, things got uglier — Drake accused Lamar of covering up domestic abuse allegations, and Lamar clapped back with a track where he told Drake’s parents and kid that Drake “should die.”
“Not Like Us” became the defining moment of the feud
Then came “Not Like Us,” and that’s when things really blew up. The track featured the now infamous line: “Certified Loverboy, Certified ‘p*dophile’… trying to strike a chord and it’s probably a Minor.”
The song was a massive hit, and it even scored Lamar five Grammys, including record of the year. And then, of course, he performed it at the Super Bowl.
Kendrick’s Super Bowl performance added fuel to the fire
People weren’t sure if Lamar was actually going to perform the song during the halftime show. But not only did he do it — he made sure the whole world was watching. He stared straight into the camera and rapped: “say Drake I hear you like ‘em young.”
And just to twist the knife a little more, he brought out Serena Williams — someone who’s been linked to Drake in the past and who he’s referenced in his music multiple times.
As one viewer put it, “Kendrick Lamar performing ‘Not Like Us’ and calling Drake a p*do in front of 100M viewers live at the Super Bowl is going down in history.”
Drake’s lawsuit doesn’t name Kendrick Lamar directly
Even though Lamar was the one who dropped the diss, Drake’s lawsuit against UMG doesn’t actually mention him. The lawsuit mainly focuses on how UMG allegedly spread false accusations about him.
UMG denies Drake’s accusations and defends its reputation
UMG didn’t waste any time responding. They completely shut down Drake’s claims, calling them ridiculous.
“Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist — let alone Drake — is illogical,” UMG said in a statement.
They made it clear that they’ve backed Drake for years
“We have invested massively in his music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success.”
They even accused Drake of using the lawsuit to his advantage: “Throughout his career, Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to express his feelings about other artists.”
“He now seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from [Universal] for distributing that artist’s music.”
Whether this ends in court, another diss track, or something even crazier, one thing’s for sure: nobody’s backing down.
Last Updated on February 11, 2025 by Reem Haqqi
