Kendrick Lamar’s electrifying Super Bowl performance on Sunday has been widely perceived as a victory lap following his latest blow in the long-running feud with fellow rapper Drake. The Compton-born artist used his highly anticipated half-time set to showcase his Grammy-winning track Not Like Us—a scathing takedown of Drake, which became one of last year’s biggest hits. However, the song has also led to potential legal ramifications, as the Canadian rapper pursues a libel case against Lamar.
While Lamar dominated one of the world’s biggest stages, Drake was in Australia, treating fans to a performance in Melbourne, even giving out cash to some attendees. But despite the spectacle, all eyes were on his American adversary as the world tuned in to witness Lamar’s latest move in their intense rivalry.
Origins of the feud
The rift between Lamar and Drake stretches back more than a decade, though tensions flared dramatically in the past year. The turning point came in March 2023 when producer Metro Boomin and rapper Future released their collaborative album We Don’t Trust You. Among the tracklist was Like That, which featured an uncredited verse from Kendrick Lamar that sent shockwaves through the industry.
In the song, Lamar dismissed J. Cole’s assertion that he, Drake, and Lamar were “the big three” of rap, instead declaring: “[Forget] the big three – it’s just big me.” The verse set the stage for an escalating war of words between the two rap titans.
Drake swiftly responded with Push Ups (Drop and Give Me 50), mocking Lamar’s height (5ft 4in) and implying that he was merely a pawn of his record label, forced into collaborations with pop artists: “Maroon 5 need a verse, you better make it witty / Then we need a verse for the Swifties.” He also insinuated that Lamar’s relevance in hip-hop was waning, as others surpassed him.
More artists, including Kanye West and Rick Ross, were drawn into the feud. However, Drake remained fixated on Lamar, intensifying his attacks with another diss track, Taylor Made Freestyle, which controversially used AI-generated voices of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg to hurl insults at Lamar.
Lamar strikes back
Lamar responded forcefully with Euphoria, a six-minute track in which he lambasted Drake as a “master manipulator” and a “habitual liar”, even questioning his parenting skills: “I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress.”
Within 72 hours, Lamar released 6:16 in LA, implying that someone within Drake’s inner circle was leaking damaging information: “You must be a terrible person / Everyone inside your team is whispering that you deserve it.”
Drake retaliated in May with Family Matters, taking the feud to unprecedented levels by speculating—without evidence—that Lamar had a history of domestic abuse. The accusation was met with an immediate response from Lamar, who fired back with Meet The Grahams, a chilling track targeting Drake’s closest family members.
Lamar’s lyrics claimed that Drake had fathered a second, secret child and was battling gambling, sex, and drug addictions. Drake dismissed the allegations on Instagram, sarcastically asking whoever had his “hidden daughter” to return her.
But Lamar was not finished. He released Not Like Us, a damning track in which he insinuated that Drake had inappropriate relationships with underage women: “Say, Drake, I hear you like ‘em young / Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor.” Drake vehemently denied the allegations, challenging Lamar to provide proof: “Drake is not a name that you gonn’ see on no sex offender list.”
Legal action and super bowl showdown
By January 2024, Drake took legal action against Universal Music Group (UMG), the label responsible for distributing Not Like Us. He accused UMG of defamation and harassment, claiming the song falsely portrayed him as a criminal and incited vigilante justice.
Universal fired back, rejecting Drake’s claims as “illogical” and accusing him of attempting to silence Lamar through legal means. The label stated that Drake had long engaged in rap battles and now sought to “weaponise the legal process” to suppress his opponent’s artistic expression.
All of this set the stage for Lamar’s Super Bowl moment. Just minutes into his half-time performance, he teased the crowd: “I want to play their favourite song… but you know they love to sue.” As speculation mounted over whether he would perform Not Like Us, Lamar leaned into the controversy.
When he finally launched into the track, he self-censored the most contentious lyrics but made sure to look directly into the camera with a knowing grin as he name-checked Drake. The song’s controversial double entendre—“Tryin’ to strike a chord and it’s probably A minor”—reverberated through the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, ensuring that no legal battle could diminish its impact.
The performance, watched by an estimated 120 million viewers, was further elevated by the surprise appearance of tennis legend Serena Williams. A Compton native like Lamar, Williams executed the infamous Crip Walk as he prowled the stage—a move seen by many as an added jab at Drake, with whom she was once romantically linked.
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The Fallout
British newspaper The Guardian hailed Lamar’s set as “the final blow to his diss track nemesis”, while Variety in the US declared that the rapper had effectively called “game over” on their feud.
Adding to his momentum, Lamar has since announced a joint UK and European stadium tour with singer SZA, who joined him on stage at the Super Bowl. The tour will stop in Glasgow, Birmingham, London, and Cardiff from July 2024. Meanwhile, Drake has yet to announce any UK tour dates for 2025, leaving fans to wonder whether he will attempt a counterattack or concede defeat in this high-profile rap battle.
