Kendrick Lamar’s savage attack on Drake as he brings their 13-year feud to a global stage with his controversial diss track at the Super Bowl

Kendrick Lamar divided Super Bowl fans on Sunday after bringing his 13-year feud with Drake to a global stage, performing his viral diss track in a set dubbed the ‘worst halftime show ever’.

The rapper, 37, was the Grammys golden boy earlier this month, taking home seven of the 10 awards he’d been nominated for and making history after his viral Drake diss track Not Like Us became the first ever ‘beef song’ to win a coveted award. 

Yet he failed to garner the same applause when he performed at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on the biggest night in sport, which saw the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the Kansas City Chiefs.

Nonetheless, it offered him a chance to take a swipe at his rap rival – teasing Not Like Us throughout his set before performing a redacted version of the controversial track. 

In addition to performing the song – which he is currently being sued for because it includes lyrics labelling Drake, 38, a ‘certified pedophile’ – Kendrick brought out Serena Williams, who is also in a feud with the Canadian rapper. 

Kendrick opted not to say pedophile so as not to trigger another lawsuit, telling the crowd, ‘I want to perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue.’ 

He did, however, go on to deliver two other controversial lines, including ‘Say Drake, I hear you like them young’ and ‘trying to strike a chord and it’s probably a minor,’ as the crowd sang along. 

He also wore a big silver chain pendant with a small letter ‘a’, in another reference to ‘A minor’ in the lyrics. 

The scathing diss track about Drake — who is currently out of the country on tour in Australia — won Lamar a Grammy for Record of the Year and Song of the Year last weekend. 

Kendrick had a surprise introduction from actor Samuel L. Jackson, 76, who was dressed up as Uncle Sam, and performed a medley of his hits, before he was joined by R&B singer SZA, 35.

The Pulitzer Prize winner also brought out tennis legend Serena, 43, who did a crip walk dance while the diss track played. 

Serena and Drake are rumoured to have dated in 2015, with the rapper mentioning the athlete in many songs – while also supporting her at multiple tennis tournaments.

However the alleged romance quickly fizzled out, with Serena going on to marry Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in 2017 and welcome two children together.

Yet Serena was clearly still on Drake’s mind as he attacked her husband in the 2022 song, Middle Of The Ocean, rapping: ‘Sidebar, Serena, your husband a groupie / He claim we don’t got a problem but / No boo, it is like you coming for sushi.’

Alex responded with a tweet saying: ‘The reason I stay winning is because I’m relentless about being the absolute best at whatever I do – including being the best groupie for my wife [and] daughter.’

Kendrick returned fire on her behalf in Not Like Us, rapping, ‘From Alondra down to Central / N**** better not speak on Serena.’

In the midst of their beef, Serena delivered a jab of her own at the 2024 ESPYS, which she hosted: ‘If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that none of us – not a single one of us, not even me – should ever pick a fight with Kendrick Lamar.’

She added: ‘He will make your hometown not like you. The next time Drake sits courtside at a Raptors game, they’re gonna Forrest Gump him, “seat’s taken.”‘

Kendrick and Drake’s feud seemed to come to a head last year when they exchanged a total of eight diss tracks between March 26 and May 4. 

The most famous of which was released last May, with Not Like Us seeing Kendrick sensationally accuse Drake of being a ‘certified pedophile’ and pursuing minors. 

Drake denied the allegations in his rebuttal track The Heart Part 6, saying his was ‘not a name you gon’ see on no sex offender list’. 

He also took legal action, filing a federal defamation lawsuit last month over Kendrick’s diss track.

It marked the latest ugly twist in the pair’s tale over their 13-year feud. 

While there is clearly no love lost between the duo, the Canadian and the Compton native started out amicably, collaborating on Drake’s 2011 album Take Care, Kendrick’s 2012 track Poetic Justice, and ASAP Rocky’s 2013 track F***in’ Problems.

They even happily toured together in 2012 during Drake’s $42.6 million, 65-date Club Paradise Tour.

Things began to change in 2013, with the release of Big Sean’s song Control because it featured a guest verse by Kendrick that made it clear he thought he was better than his contemporaries. 

‘I’m usually homeboys with the same n****s I’m rhyming with / But this is hip-hop and them n****s should know what time it is / And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Wale, Pusha T, Meek Millz, ASAP Rocky, Drake,’ Kendrick rapped, placing himself at the top of the hip-hop food chain. 

‘Big Sean, Jay Electron’, Tyler, Mac Miller / I got love for you all, but I’m tryna murder you n****s / Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you n****s / They don’t wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you n****s.’

Drake addressed the verse on multiple occasions, with the Canadian singer questioning the longevity of Kendrick’s career as well as the impact of his music as a direct response to Control. 

For instance, he told Pitchfork: ‘[Kendrick is] giving people moments. But are you listening to it now, at this point in time?’

‘Okay… It was real cool for a couple weeks [but] if I asked you, for example, how does that verse start?’ 

Drake commented on being name-checked by Kendrick on Control in an interview with Billboard, saying ‘it just sounded like an ambitious thought to me’. 

He continued: ‘I know good and well that Kendrick’s not murdering me, at all, in any platform. So when that day presents itself, I guess we can revisit the topic.’ 

It appears that the feud between them was also in part due to their differing attitudes towards wealth and fame, with Kendrick being fiercely tight-lipped about his private life while Drake is known for showing off his lavish lifestyle on Instagram. 

Kendrick addressed his relationship with Drake in an interview with Complex, after he was named GQ’s Rapper of the Year in 2013, noting that while things were ‘pretty cool’ between him and Drake, ‘I would be okay if we weren’t’. 

In a sign that their friendship had, however, veered off course, Drake later declared ‘I’m the one you should worry about’ in his 2013 hit The Language that was part of his third album Nothing Was the Same. 

He also dismissed Kendrick’s alleged attitude towards wealth, rapping: ‘N***as downplaying the money but that’s what you do when the money down.’ 

During an episode of YouTube show What’s the Dirt, host Matt noted that Drake describing himself as a ‘motormouth’ was ‘clearly about Kendrick’ who is known for his breathless delivery. 

The presenter also highlighted instances when Kendrick had ‘laughed at Drake’s expense’ while suggesting the former had ‘said something behind Drake’s back and it got back to him’ – adding fuel to the simmering fire of their feud that escalated as Kendrick’s star began to rise. 

In 2013, Kendrick went for the jugular when he seemingly mocked Drake during a freestyle performance at the BET Awards as he rapped: ‘Nothing’s been the same since they dropped ‘Control’/And tucked a sensitive rapper back in his pyjama clothes.’ 

The hashtag #KendricksVerse began trending on X (known as Twitter at the time) as fans became convinces the verse had been aimed at Drake because Kendrick had referenced the title of his album Nothing Was the Same.

Drake hit back on Future’s track S**t, where he seemingly pointed out that Kendrick had played his biggest shows around Los Angeles while supporting Drake on tour in 2012.  

‘Took n***as out the hood like I’m from there / So you know it’s all good when I come there / I hear you talk about your city like you run that / And I brought my tour to your city, you my son there, n***a.’

By the end of 2013, Drake and Kendrick had become estranged; they appeared on the same track for the last time alongside ASAP Rocky on his hit F***in’ Problems’. 

The following year, the Grammy Awards sparked controversy after rapper Macklemore won Rap Album of the Year over Kendrick, who was nominated for Good Kid, MAAD City that is now considered one of the greatest hip-hop records ever. 

After the ceremony, Macklemore – real name Benjamin Hammond Haggerty – shared a screenshot of his text messages with Kendrick on Instagram, admitting he felt the latter had been ‘robbed’ of the win. 

Drake, who had also been nominated in the category, later told Rolling Stone that Macklemore’s apology felt ‘cheap’.  

He said: ‘I was like “You won. Why are you posting your text message? Just chill. Take your W, and if you feel you didn’t deserve it, go get better – make better music.”

‘It felt cheap. It didn’t feel genuine. Why do that? Why feel guilt? You think those guys would pay homage to you if they won?’

If Macklemore was going to be handing out apologies, Drake continued, ‘we all need text messages’. 

‘To name just Kendrick? That s*** made me feel funny.’ 

After the Grammys, it appeared their feud had died down – until the release of Jay Rock’s 2014 track titled ‘Pay for It’ that also featured Kendrick.

In it, he appeared to re-assert his dominance over fellow rappers, saying: ‘I tell ’em all to hail King Kendrick / resurrectin’ my vengeance / Been dissectin’ your motormouth / ’til I break down the engine. 

Even though Kendrick later dismissed speculation he had ‘reignited’ the feud with Drake during a radio interview, the singer would continue to take subtle digs at Drake and his music – appearing to dismiss it as glorified pop music rather than nuanced, intelligent rap. 

In the summer of 2015, fellow rapper Meek Mail sensationally claimed Drake had used a ghostwriter for his song R.I.C.O. that was part of Meek’s album Dreams Worth More Than Money. 

Kendrick seemingly weaponised these ghostwriting allegations in King Kunta that featured on his Grammy-winning album To Pimp a Butterfly. 

Fans were convinced the lyrics ‘I can dig rappin’, but a rapper with a ghostwriter? / What the f*** happened? / I swore I wouldn’t tell…’ were about Drake, as the beef between him and Lamar showed no signs of abating. 

It was reignited again in October 2023, when Drake and J Cole referred to themselves and Kendrick as ‘the big three’ of rap in their song First Person Shooter.  

‘Love when they argue the hardest MC / Is it K. Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me? / We the big three, like we started a league.’

Kendrick fired back in an uncredited verse on Metro Boomin’ and Future’s track Like That that was released on March 26, 2024, as he claimed: ‘Motherf**k the big three, n***a, it’s just big me.’

The following month, Drake released another Kendrick Lamar diss track Push Ups, taking aim at the rapper’s small feet in the track’s promo art, which featured only a size 7 shoe tag.

Lyrics to the song include: ‘Top say drop, you better drop and give ’em fifty / 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.’

He also hit out with ‘Taylor Made Freestyle,’ where he used the AI-generated voices of Tupac and Snoop Dogg, two of Lamar’s idols, to go after him. However, it resulted in a cease and desist from Tupac’s estate.

It takes aim at Kendrick Lamar, J Cole and The Weeknd, who all previously slammed Drake in guest verses on Future and Metro Boomin’s album We Don’t Trust You.

This was followed by Kendrick releasing euphoria (seemingly a reference to Drake’s producer credit on the hit HBO show) as the six-minute takedown touches on his rap rival’s racial identity, ghostwriting accusations, and relationship with son Adonis.  

Accusing Drake of being an absent father, he rapped: ‘That’s ho s***. I got a son to raise. But I can see you don’t know nothing ‘bout that.’ 

The lyrics were widely considered to be a callback to US rapper Pusha T’s infamous Drake diss track The Story of Adidon, which revealed Drake had fathered a son with French adult star Sophie Brussaux. 

Drake confirmed he had a son named Adonis with the release of his fifth album Scorpion. 

Before he had a chance to respond to euphoria, Kendrick doubled down with 6:16 in LA – seemingly a parody of the Canadian musician’s famous timestamp songs such as 4 PM in Calabasas (2013) and 8 AM in Charlotte (2023). 

In the lyrics, Kendrick disses Drake by going after his OVO crew and his music.

He raps: ‘Have you ever thought that OVO was workin’ for me? / Fake bully, I hate bullies, you must be a terrible person / Everyone in your team is whispering that you deserve it.’

He even plays on one of Drake’s viral hits Toosie Slide from 2020, rapping: ‘Can’t Toosie Slide out of this one / It’s just gon’ resurface.’

Drake then played his hand in another diss track titled Family Matters, as the beef dragged into May 2024. 

In response to Kendrick raising the subject of Drake’s parenting, he raps: ‘You mentioned my seed, now deal with his dad/I gotta go bad, I gotta go bad.’

Announcing the song on Instagram, Drake captioned the post, ‘FAMILY MATTERS out on YouTube now. Stop trying to piece together what I know and go pick up the pieces of your broken home.’

Mere minutes after Drake released his song, Kendrick fired back with Meet the Grahams – his third diss in a week.

On his quick-witted rebuttal, Kendrick suggests Drake has a secret daughter.

‘You lied about your son, you lied about your daughter, huh, you lied about them other kids that’s out there hoping that you come,’ go the lyrics.

Elsewhere on Kendrick’s recording, he pointdc to Drake’s alleged battle with gambling and alcohol.

In response, Drake shared a selfie to his Instagram Story and wrote, ‘Nahhh hold on can someone find my hidden daughter pls and send her to me…these guys are in shambles,’ with a crying-laughing emoji.

Then came Not Like Us – Kendrick’s Grammy-winning song that was released on May 4 and even forced some of the most loyal Drake fans into his corner. 

The track was released on YouTube with what appeared to be a graphic of Drake’s mansion with sex offender symbols, as he accused the musician of being a ‘certified pedophile’ over his alleged interactions with younger women. 

‘Say Drake, I hear you like ’em young,’ the 36-year-old rapped, encouraging others to ‘hide your little sister from him’. 

He then goes on to say ‘They tell me Chubbs (Drake’s security guard) the only one that get your hand-me-downs’. 

‘And Party at the party playin’ wit’ his nose now,’ targeting Canadian artist PartyNextDoor.

Referring to their ongoing feud, he continues with, ‘Why you trollin’ like a b****, ain’t you tired? You’re tryin’ to strike a chord and it’s probably A minor.’

Drake defended himself against the allegation in the The Heart Part 6, rapping: ‘I never been with no one underage but now I understand why this the angle that you really mess with. 

‘Just for clarity, I feel disgusted, I’m too respected / If I was f***ing young girls, I promise I’d have been arrested / I’m way too famous for this s*** you just suggested.’

‘Drake is not a name that you gon’ see on no sex offender list,’ he continued. 

‘This Epstein angle was the s*** I expected / TikTok videos you collected and dissected / Instead of being on some diss-direct s*** / You rather f***ing grab your pen and misdirect s***.’

But, in the battle for rap glory, The Heart Part 6 felt like a whimper after Kendrick roared in Not Like Us. 

The song has racked up a staggering 194 million views since Kendrick dropped it eight months ago. 

Within days of its release, it climbed to the top of the Billboard’s Hot 100 list – marking Lamar’s first solo entry since the release of ‘Humble’ in 2017. 

Videos showing Kendrick debuting his Drake diss tracks at the Pop Out concert at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, went viral on social media, as they showed Kendrick performing Not Like Us five times at the Los Angeles concert. 

Off the back of Not Like Us, Kendrick was named as the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Performer – thought not everyone was happy about the decision since Lil Wayne was the clear favourite to headline the show which is scheduled to be held in New Orleans this year.

The feud between Drake and Kendrick has now entered its 13th year, after the One Dance singer filed a federal defamation lawsuit over Not Like Us. 

Drake is suing Universal Music Group for spreading the ‘false and malicious narrative’ that he is a pedophile, TMZ reported on January 15. 

Drake said in court documents that UMG knew Lamar’s diss track would include lyrics and images in a music video that referred to him as a pedophile.

He accused UMG of allowing the ‘inflammatory and shocking allegations’ because the song was a ‘gold mine’ for the company.

The rapper claimed UMG did everything to promote Not Like Us because they knew it would devalue Drake’s music and give them leverage in future contract negotiations.

According to the lawsuit, UMG paid a third party to use bots to increase the song’s streams by at least 30million.

The company also allegedly engaged in a ‘pay for play’ scheme with at least one radio promoter and assigned the track as a ‘chart-topper’ based on fraudulent data. 

UMG has issued a statement repudiating Drake’s allegations, stating: ‘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.’

But, in their war of words, Kendrick noted ‘there’s nothing more powerful than rap music’ in his Song of the Year acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards last night. 

Holding up his award, he continued: ‘This is what it’s about because, at the end of the day, there’s nothing more powerful than rap music. 

I don’t care what it is. We are the culture, it’s going to always stay here and live forever. 

And, to the younger artists, I just hope you respect the art form. Respect the art form [and it’s] going to get you where you need to go,’ Kendrick added, seemingly drawing the line between him and Drake even deeper.