Rap battles have a long-standing tradition within hip-hop culture, serving as a means for artists to assert dominance, settle disputes, or simply entertain audiences. Recent speculations suggests that Lamar may be in a feud with fellow rappers Drake and J. Cole and the diss tracks are proof. So, why is Kendrick Lamar seemingly beefing with Drake and J. Cole?

Why is Kendrick Lamar beefing with Drake and J. Cole?

From 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G, to 50 Cent and Ja Rule and a lot more, the hip-hop scene has featured a lot of rap battles and beefs between rappers.

However, J.Cole recently publicly exempted himself from the feud between the big 3 when he took to the stage at his Dreamville Festival in Raleigh and issued an apology to Kendrick, Leaving Drake and Kendrick to war it out between themselves.

KENDRICK DRAWS FIRST BLOOD

It all started when Kendrick Lamar jumped on a verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s collaborative album.

On that track, “Like That”, Kendrick rapped, “Motherf*ck the big three, nigga, it’s just big me, Nigga, bum, what? I’m really like that…..”

While he refrained from directly naming anyone, hip-hop fans discerned the intended targets and references within that verse.

DRAKE FIRES HIS FIRST SHOT

Drake recently initiated his opening move as a song unexpectedly surfaced on the internet through uncertain channels.

Naturally, this ignited speculation about the possibility of the track being generated by artificial intelligence.

Yet, the prevailing opinion among internet users regarding Drake’s track was that it was genuine. This was before Drake sent the final version, featuring a significantly improved beat, to DJ Akademiks for debut on his livestream.

The song, titled, “push ups” has unleashed Drake’s anger and frustration over the past couple weeks since Kendrick openly dissed both him and J.Cole on the collaborative album by Future and Metro Boomin.

Here are some notable lyrics from the 4-minute track;

I could never be nobody number-one fan

Your first number one, I had to put it in your hand

You pussies can’t get booked outside America…

I’m out in Tokyo because I’m big in Japan

I’m the hit maker y’all depend on.

I’m at the top of the mountain, so you tight now

Just to have this talk with yo’ ass, I had to hike down

Metro, shut your ho ass up and make some drums, nigga..

This ain’t even everything I know, don’t wake a demon up

You had a song for four years, drop that sh*t and shut your mouth..

IMAGE CREDITS: