Kanye West bills Drake as the “new generation R. Kelly”

11 February, 2025

Drake, Kanye West and R. Kelly

Kanye West has spoken out about the aftermath of the Drake and Kendrick Lamar feud, and said that the former is the “new generation R. Kelly”.

His comments come after Kendrick Lamar took to the stage in New Orleans on Sunday (February 10) and made history by becoming the first solo rapper to headline the coveted Super Bowl Halftime Show.

In his set, he broke out hits including the two Drake diss tracks, ‘Euphoria’ and the Grammy-winning ‘Not Like Us’. He was also joined by SZA, Samuel L. Jackson and Serena Williams.

Following the event – which was expected to draw more than 120million viewers – Kanye West took to X/Twitter to share his praise for K.Dot and describe the set as one of the best “since the Michael Jackson era”.

“I really loved the show,” he said. “It was super simple, the flag was fresh. When they did [‘HUMBLE.’], the way people’s heads were moving. I was shook. This is super fresh.”

West then went on to discuss how the feud made a nod to last year’s beef between the Compton rapper and Drake, as well as address why he thinks some viewers were quick to criticise the set.

“At the end, I saw people saying, ‘This is the worst Halftime Show’ and I’m just like ‘Everybody I talked to in real life said this is the best Halftime Show’. So this is my point right here […] They take one rapper, then take another rapper down.”

“Drake is almost like the new generation R. Kelly,” he continued, alluding to the claims of paedophilia put forward against Drake in ‘Not Like Us’, and drawing a comparison to R. Kelly’s 30-year prison sentence for child sexual abuse. “R. Kelly had the radio smash hit and all that stuff, then the idea that was put out in the Kendrick song is what R. Kelly is actually locked up for.”

“They give Kendrick everything; he wins everything, then he does this amazing Super Bowl performance and right after, they say it’s the worst Super Bowl. They use Black people against each other, and when they’re done with their agenda, they want to kick you out. That’s my perspective on it.”

‘Not Like Us’ arrived in May of last year and came as Lamar’s third Drake diss in 36 hours. It saw him hitting out at the Canadian rapper for his supposed preference for younger women, even to the point where he calls him a paedophile.

“Say Drake, I hear you like ’em young/ You better not ever go to cell block one/ To any bitch that talk to him and layin’ love/ Just make sure you hide your little sister from ’em,” Lamar raps.

Lamar later doubles down, rapping: “Certified lover boy, certified paedophiles… Why he trollin’ like a bitch? Ain’t you tired?/ Tryna strike a cord and it’s probably A-Minor.”

The song is widely considered the most successful of the Drake/Kendrick feud. It became Lamar’s fourth Number One single, saw him smash numerous streaming records, and last week helped him bag five awards at the Grammys 2025.

During the Super Bowl Halftime show over the weekend, Lamar poked fun at the ‘God’s Plan’ rapper recently for suing Universal Music Group after the diss track’s success. “I want to play their favourite song but you know they like to sue,” he quipped, before eventually breaking out the track.

As for Kanye West, the comments around the Halftime show come following a series of bizarre and controversial tweets he posted on X over the weekend, before his account was deactivated.

This included a string of controversial posts that saw him withdraw his apology to the Jewish community for past anti-Semitic comments, declaring himself as “a Nazi” and tweeting “I love Hitler”, and praising billionaire and X-owner Elon Musk. The latter came amid criticism and allegations of Nazism towards Musk earlier this year, when he made two Nazi-like gestures during Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration.

He then claimed “dominion” over his wife Bianca Censori, who at the Grammys red carpet event revealed a fully see-through dress exposing her nude body, voiced his support for Diddy and Chris Brown – urging for the former to be released from prison amid sexual abuse allegations – and then wiped his website and is only selling a white t-shirt with a large swastika on the chest.

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