Kendrick Lamar and Drake: The Battle of the Soy Boy Bros!
While I haven’t gone as far as penning my thoughts on Kendrick Lamar or Drake, as both figures are important, in some certain way. 50 Cent even called him a “critical darling” as Kendrick garners critical acclaim, and “will always win the awards.” Drake will always make club hits and since he was outed for not “writing his lyrics” sparked controversy from many hip hop figures. As Royce Da 5’9 said, “You can’t be an MC and not write your own lyrics.”
For many hip hop fans, Kendrick Lamar has much to offer. Born in Compton, Los Angeles, not sharing the harsher side of gang music, but an A24 version of Hip Hop, definitely more deep, but his desire is very niche. He blends his style that’s reminiscent of Eminem, Lil Wayne, and Common, where Kendrick can make soulful music, but also works like “Humble” or “Loyalty” which serves as club hits but also digestible message music that makes Common’s songs sound outdated and corny. Some would argue that Kendrick Lamar resembles Nas, but this is mostly from media outlets proclaiming this comparison. Not the opinion shared by yours truly. So, personally, Nas and Kendrick Lamar are two completely different artists. And so is Drake.
Drake, real name Aubrey Graham, is the opposite version. Drake resembles a Canadian Bacon version of Jay-Z, which allows him to make comfortable songs for women to listen to. It’s not like Drake didn’t anger the hip hop community. Drake was given a beat by Sean Puffy Combs, or P. Diddy, but was told to write a verse, not rap on it. Not only did Drake rap on the beat which became “Real Quick” and Diddy was so furious that he slapped Drake in a passing at a club, LIV Miami, on December 8th, 2014.[1] But Drake isn’t lyrically impressive, but he has taken shots at rappers, subliminally. With his repertoire of songs including “Hotline Bling”, “One Dance”, “Jumpman”, are some of the few songs, including Jumpman, sharing the album with Future. Which is where Drake sounds the best, sonically and creatively.
The feud between both Drake and Kendrick Lamar started in 2013, as Drake has accused Kendrick Lamar of abusing his spouse, which led to Kendrick releasing the diss “Not Like Us” where Kendrick accuses Drake of running a pedophile ring in his Toronto mansion.
To some more hardened Hip Hop aficionados and purveyors of the sport, disses could make or break the artist concerning how strong or weak the diss was, and could break the artist failing to respond, trying to ignore the song, and taking too long to respond. What makes the best diss song is not only how an MC responds, but handles the public backlash.
For many hip hop fans, sometimes public opinion can sway an MC’s diss song. Trolling online isn’t the same, and the opinion is that “Oh Drake is losing” and I’m of the opinion that different artists take time to create an authentic diss song. If Drake can’t match Kendrick, he can’t honestly win in a battle rap environment.
Kendrick, in his own right, beats Drake at a thousand miles concerning rapping style and rat nostril snorting energy. With Kendrick Lamar creating rumors about pedophile rings, which to any leftist or Democrat, never cared about children or protecting them from pedophiles, is insincere. Because if a republican artist made “Not Like Us” the left would call him a “conspiracy theorist” or “Alex Jones deplorable” artist. “What you want to work for the Daily Wire, now?” sort of response from Anon Twitter accounts.
So, Kendrick’s diss is all for clicks and without truth. Entertaining song, catchy, witty, funny, yes, but truth no. Drake, as of January 12th, 2025, has not made a response that caught world wide attention. Even if there was a song, Drake will never lose one single fan. Drake did, in one way, said, on a social media post, “As you can see I’m still here, you need facts to take me out. Fairy tales don’t work.” Understandably, this worked far more than a diss song. It addressed the situation, and made Kendrick’s pedophile taunting remarks sound childish and archaic.
In truth, both Kendrick Lamar and Drake, aren’t very good, considering the long history of Hip Hop artists and diss songs made since Kool Herc’s inception of the sound in the Bronx.
But as both Drake and Kendrick Lamar do not reflect a hard core battle for the ages, the real question is, who could honestly win in a sonically composed fight against Kendrick Lamar. It would be Tom Mcdonald. That would be more of a fair fight, and both would create well rounded music for fans and the industry.
[1] https://www.miaminewtimes.com/music/diddy-punches-drake-at-liv-miami-6445458#:~:text=in%20Miami%2C%20Florida-,Diddy%20Punches%20Drake%20at%20LIV%20Miami,softest%20name%20in%20the%20game.