The recent feud between popular rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar has led to several diss tracks that have sparked massive popularity and discussion.
The beef between the two hip-hop giants has taken shape in recent months, beginning with Kendrick’s feature on Future and Metro Boomin’s song ‘Like That’, which included shots at Drake and J. Cole by denouncing their status as ‘The Big Three’ and putting Kendrick on a level above them. Drake responded with two diss tracks, ‘Push Ups’ and ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’, which mocked Kendrick’s small stature and his disappointment that Kendrick hadn’t responded to him. These were followed by Kendrick’s releases of ‘Euphoria’ and ‘6:16 in LA’. The rappers continued trading blows with Drake releasing ‘Family Matters’, only for Kendrick to respond with ‘Meet the Grahams’ and ‘Not Like Us’. The most recent diss track to date was Drake’s ‘The Heart Pt. 6’, which responded to the allegations made by Kendrick in his recent tracks.
“You gotta learn to fact check things and be less impatient,” Drake said to Kendrick in ‘The Heart Pt. 6’.
These songs have reached massive popularity in a short amount of time. ‘Not Like Us’ is currently the most popular song on Spotify and broke the single-day streaming record for a hip-hop song. In total, five of the current top ten songs on Spotify are diss tracks by these rappers. The diss tracks have taken the already popular rappers to new heights, intriguing music fans everywhere, including many at Liberty.
“I’ve listened to all of the diss tracks and it’s been fun to see everyone talking about them online,” junior Ethan Novak said.
The beef has divided fans on which side they’re on and who they think is ‘winning’ the diss track battle. Both rappers tried to dismantle the other’s character with allegations about a variety of things that stunned fans. Most of the allegations haven’t been proven, but they’ve still sparked plenty of discussions. People have debated who threw more shots at each other and how good their songs were, and students at Liberty have formed their own opinions.
“It’s been close for me, but I think Drake won after his final diss track,” senior Jacob Kingsley said.
Both sides have paid attention to the lyrics of the diss tracks in order to pick their side. Those favoring Drake believe that he baited Kendrick into believing that Drake had a secret daughter, and that the allegations against him are true. However, others believe that Kendrick released better songs and that he attacked Drake in a way that seemingly ended the beef.
“Kendrick easily won. The beef is pretty much over and most people are on his side,” Novak said.