Drake Drops Album Days After Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show—Here’s What He Said About The Feud – Forbes
Less than a week after rap rival Kendrick Lamar performed his chart-topping Drake diss “Not Like Us” at the Super Bowl, Drake has released his first album since the two began their ongoing feud last year with several lyrics fans think is about their beef, with some lyrics implying Drake may be attempting to put the dispute behind him.Drake released “Some Sexy Songs 4 U” on Friday. (Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage)Drake released a collaborative album with the singer and producer PartyNextDoor on Friday, titled “Some Sexy Songs 4 U,” Drake’s first album since “For All the Dogs”—which contained a song that ignited his feud with Lamar—in 2023.Though Drake makes no mention of Lamar by name on his new record, fans believe the song “Gimme A Hug” contains multiple references to the feud, with Drake appearing to dismiss the beef: “F— a rap beef, I’m tryna get the party lit.”Drake opens “Gimme A Hug” by rapping: “Drake elimination, fake intimidation,” a possible reference to Kanye West declaring last year that he was “energized” for the “elimination of Drake,” with Drake appearing to accuse other rappers of using his name for “promotion.”Also in “Gimme A Hug” Drake rapped that if he died, “it’s these n— that become the sole beneficiary,” and girls would be “on stage twerking with a dictionary”—which some interpreted as a joke that if Lamar were left as rap’s biggest star, clubs would have to play his music, which has a reputation for intellectual lyricism, instead of Drake’s.The lyric may also reference the single cover art for Lamar’s diss track aimed at Drake, “Euphoria,” which is an image of the dictionary definition of the title.Drake again mentions an unnamed feud on the song “Brian Steel,” in which he raps: “Broski just hit me, said, ‘Put all the beef on the side,’ I can’t,” and raps that he’s “vegan now.”Drake’s latest release comes just five days after Lamar headlined the Super Bowl halftime show to an audience of 133 million viewers. During the show, Lamar performed “Not Like Us,” the chart-topping, five-time Grammy-winning diss track aimed at Drake that was widely viewed as the song that won him the feud. Lamar also rapped the lyrics that called Drake out by name and accused him of pedophilia, which Drake has denied: “Say Drake, I hear you like ‘em young,” Lamar rapped while smiling and looking into the camera, a gesture that went viral on social media. Though Lamar did not rap the word “pedophile,” which is included in the song, he did rap one of the song’s most famous lyrics: “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably ‘a minor,’” which the stadium recited along with him.Lamar and Drake traded diss tracks in rapid succession last spring, after which the dust on their feud largely settled aside from the continued chart success of “Not Like Us.” The feud, however, turned into a legal battle once Drake sued Universal Music Group, the label that represents both rappers, in January, alleging the label defamed him by allowing Lamar to release a song in which he accuses Drake of pedophilia. Drake accused UMG of colluding with Spotify and radio platforms to artificially inflate the success of “Not Like Us,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100. Drake also described various alleged threats he faced amid the success of Lamar’s diss tracks, including a break-in at his Toronto home in May (Police confirmed at the time the break-in occurred and that a security guard was shot). Lamar is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. UMG said in response Drake was attempting to “weaponize the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression” and said it has “worked tirelessly for many years to help [Drake]Whether Drake and Lamar will have a chart battle in the coming weeks. Lamar’s catalog surged on streaming platforms following his Super Bowl performance, and Billboard reported he is on track to chart multiple entries in the Hot 100 top 10.Billboard reported Friday Drake’s music sales and streams are down by about 50% for the first five weeks of 2025, compared to the first five weeks of 2024. Lamar, however, is selling much more this year than he did last year: His streams and sales are up about threefold in the first five weeks of this year compared to the first five weeks of 2024. Lamar is also outpacing Drake’s album sales and streaming numbers in 2025 so far by about 7% and 4%, respectively, Billboard reported.Drake-Kendrick Lamar Feud Timeline: ‘Not Like Us’ Headlines Super Bowl Show (Forbes)One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts. Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site’s Terms of Service. We’ve summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:So, how can you be a power user?Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site’s Terms of Service.
