Drake & Kendrick Lamar’s Rocky Relationship Explained

Everyone wanted this: a lyrical death match between the biggest rappers in the game today, Drake and Kendrick Lamar. At first, things seemed rosy between the young behemoths when they collaborated on each other’s records during the early stages of their careers. As time passed, friendly fire became a volcanic eruption, sparked by Lamar’s earth-shattering feature March 22 on Future and Metro Boomin’s We Don’t Trust You album. 

Lamar didn’t mince words, hurling daggers at Drake and Cole such as “Yeah, get up with me, f–k sneak dissing/’First Person Shooter,’ I hope they came with three switches,” before spewing more venom towards the duo. “Think I won’t drop the location? I still got PTSD/ Motherf–k the Big Three, n—a, it’s just big me.”

Though Drizzy hadn’t at the time put pen to paper just yet, he said some words to Lamar during his Sunrise, Fla., concert March 24.

“A lot of people ask me how I’m feeling. I’m a let you know I’m feeling. Listen, the same way I’m feeling is the same way I want you to walk out this building tonight,” he said. “I got my f–king head up high, my back straight, I’m 10 f–king toes down in Florida and anywhere else I go. And I know that no matter what, it’s not a n—a on this earth that could ever f–k with me in my life!”

Billboard examines the ups and downs of what was once a fruitful and competitive relationship between Kendrick and Drake.