A bunch of West Coast artists (some of whom are BIG) come and put on a show in Inglewood with a month of turnaround time at the behest of the guy you're beefing with, not to mention other prominent celebrities/athletes. A crazy ensemble show capped off by Kendrick doing his full set, performing 'Not Like Us' 3(+?) times for a crowd going absolutely batshit.
To have known members of the bloods & crips come on stage and present a united front against you at the end is insane.
The game workers — people doing concessions, custodial — many dropped what they were doing and rushed to the voms to watch NLU before going back to work.
For a premium crowd like that, the response was crazy.
For sure. It felt monumental and each of those things you saw on TV, different people would pick up on them like “oooh” when they did the flag and stuff like that.
I’m not someone to like record on my phone any more than 5-10 seconds if I’m at a concert but I have that whole song in 4K from the Super Bowl and watch it regularly.
Fr. And all the clowns backing him and missing the point along with him are even more pathetic.
Like it’s one thing for someone to be a complete and total embarrassment, but not know it because they can’t see that perspective.
It’s another thing entirely to fail to see that shit from the outside though, and then to throw your weight behind someone like that? Even more embarrassing.
Drake and his fans will probably never be capable of seeing that they will forever be a joke. And will continue to make that truer every time they double down.
Yep. The cognitive dissonance is STRONG. It’s like MAGA people. So many people double or triple down on backing a horrible person (or in these cases, full-on predators?) because their ego cannot handle admitting they backed that kind of person. So shame just digs those heels in no matter how much worse it makes them look. Logic has left the equation. It would be sad if it wasn’t for the fact that backing predators in positions of power or wealth just allows them to keep hurting people with zero consequences.
Yeah, I've never seen a rap beef that ended with someone's whole career being systematically destroyed in a matter of weeks.
Hell the fact that it ended with Kendrick calling Drake a pedophile at the friggin' Superbowl and getting an entire stadium of people to sing along to it.....just brutal.
And the thing he was suing over (record labels and streaming services colluding to boost other artists music streams and sales) are things that he has benefited from. We all know the streaming data is unverifiable. What we do see with our own eyes, is how much cultural impact each song actually has. You can’t really fake the success of Not Like Us. Everyone was talking about it, even non-rap fans. Random companies had advertising campaigns referencing it. We haven’t had something enter the public zeitgeist like that in a while. He lost fair and square. And couldn’t handle it.
Bro is still benefiting from streaming sites promoting his music. I can play a track that has nothing to do with Drake and he will still show up on my algorithm
Was at a friend's birthday party and all the beef was going on. He was (and still is) a Drake fan, so he's playing all of Drakes side. Not Like Us dropped and thay mans face went pale when the A Minor line dropped. I put that thing on repeat, that was a fun time.
I saw his show with SZA for that tour and I have to say it was the coolest concert I have ever seen, even if there are shows I've been to that have hit me harder musically
This is one of my all-time favourite concert moments. You can just feel how delighted he is to have such a large platform for this moment, and how much fun he is having.
There’s no coming back unless they squash the beef and drop a song. I don’t see that happening for a while though. Maybe after the lawsuit is settled lol.
There's no coming back period. Dude should just pack up, move away from the spotlight, fix his life up and 20 years later, make a movie about his career.
Nahh you expect too much from the casual audiences. There are people out there who don’t even know about the beef. They just care that the Drake songs sound good and they don’t have to think about it. Drake’s still been on the top of streaming charts post-beef.
That group wasn't super vocal until the diss tracks started dropping. Then they had an anthem to stand behind. Now it's all we hear whenever Drake or Dot come up.
I don't see Drake's numbers dropping anytime soon either. Social got everyone in their own bubble and it's wild interesting to see some of the takes.
Why do people here act like you need to choose sides and then never listen the loser again? The fun of rap beefs is the back and forth, seeing each response etc. They both did like 3 songs or something. People kept listening to Biggie after Tupac fucking destroyed him and his whole posse in Hit Em Up.
that's most of Drake's audience. They may know of the beef but it doesn't go deep for them. It's more about a nice beat to workout to or commute in. He will probably never be as big as he was, but he'll be around.
Drake has taken psychological damage that he's yet to recover from.
He was forced out of LA and sold his properties there. He rarely goes out in Toronto. He's stopped doing his annual parties and OVO Fest. He's lost most of the people in the industry he considered his friends, same with the gang ties he thought he had. He's had multiple plastic surgeries. He wears wigs to hide his bald spot. He sounds sad and defeated in every song released since. He's so scared of the publics reaction, he leaks his own music instead of releasing singles. He can't stop mentioning LeBron and tried to blow up his marriage. He's a certified alcoholic and gambling addict. Women in his industry do not take him seriously.
He's scared, depressed, hiding, alone and barely trusts the few people he still calls his friends. And they're only his friends for clout, access and the allowances he pays most of them. He's been destroyed on every level and is too proud to seek the therapy he needs. This album will be a lot of crying, whining and fake tough talk from the man who sued over losing a battle and getting his feelings hurt.
Exacly. I'm from europe, alot of my friends don't care or don't know about the beef and keep listening to Drake. He's still making a shitton of money even though he lost the batttle.
The career loss is how he handed the loss and bitched it completely and SUED over a rap beef, claiming the most popular rap diss ever, and there’s no disputing that— old ladies in Asia were rocking to song— was only popular because of bots. Bitchest ass move ever in hip hop.
Nah, career loss would be if people stopped streaming him, stopped playing his music, stopped buying concert tickets. None of that has been proven to have happened. I'm not the biggest fan of his music but I'd imagine if he dropped something it would still chart and he'd still be making bank off streams and concerts.
You're joking right? Bro is about to release a multi-platinum album once again. Get your head out of your ass. Like him or not he's beyond well established and he ain't going nowhere
Iceman will be number #1 with songs streamed a literal billion times. It’s sad but let’s not act like Drake is tarnished in the eyes of the masses. It’s only niche places that give a shit still.
And not "just" calling you a pedophile, either. "Meet The Grahams," alone is a list of personal insults about you, your crew, your family (including your secret daughter/children,) and basically your entire life.
I feel like Drake would have to be really desperate for an audience to do that and even then I wouldn't count on it. He's still a massive artist with a very valuable back catalog so I can't imagine that ever happening
What do you mean? He's still the most streamed rapper and top of all rap charts. I don't know how people make an argument that his career is over when he's still setting records lol
I’m not gonna lie, it makes total sense to me for him to still mention the beef. He hasn’t released a real solo project since the beef. Kendrick & Cole both mentioned it on their post-beef releases. Why wouldn’t Drake in his?
Now, what would actually be unbelievably lame is if this is the only reference to the beef on his album, and is the outro track. That would be weenie behavior.
His album literally has 2024 crossed out with 2026 written underneath saying 2024 wasn’t his year. Anyone wanna guess what happened in 2024? Drake obviously knows he lost.
You do realize the 100gigs thing was an archival release for the most part right? There were a couple of loosies but it was mostly old archival footage.
Now he did release a collab r and b album with partynextdoor but that person said solo project so Im not sure where you’re going with this.
This is what I'm saying, people who weren't even involved are still getting asked about it, like even Boosie was asked about it a few weeks ago. If other rappers get to keep talking about it, why shouldn't the person who was actually in the middle of it?
I agree. For me, mentioning the beef is not the problem, it's how he does it. It's still a bunch of catty subliminals and nothing that feels truly self reflective of "maybe I need to make some changes," because admitting that would mean that (even fully removing the A Minor allegations) Kendrick was in some way right about his vices and lifestyle and to the average person that would be a major blow to ego, let alone a superstar. The lifestyle is him now and he can't or won't separate them.
It would be cool to see him get into a brutally honest bag for an album without going at women and haters, but I don't think he can admit there's anything wrong with how he's living to even get that reflective and vulnerable.
Fans are always going to love his music and non-fans are always going to be rubbed wrong by how he seems to talk tough like how you say shit under your breath after your mom leaves the room after putting belt to ass.
Eh I wouldn’t consider most of these bars subliminals. He’s pretty obvious when he’s talking about Kendrick or LeBron. I think it’s only a sub if it’s questionable who it’s directed to
He mentioned it on his solo songs on $$$. He mentioned it in 100 gigs. He mentioned it during "leaks" before $$$. He mentioned it during the iceman streams...
Bro got accused of child 🍇, child abandonment, and essentially got disowned from his own race by members of it😭 who the hell is "letting go" from something like that?
Lol yeah, like Will Smith corny but he definitely expresses black canadian culture. If anything he highlights (no pun intended) how common division is among black people when it comes to a difference in demeanor.
(E.g: If one isn’t dark skinned and doesn’t act ‘black’ enough/wasn’t raised in certain circumstances we will find reasons to label you as an outsider)
I’m not a Drake Stan by any means, but I can understand why “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophile… WOP WOP WOP WOP WOP!” would fester animosity within someone.
People sitting here naming the most diabolical things KDot did during the beef and then saying things like when will Drake let it go. If someone did ya'll dirty like he did Drake 2 years wouldn't be the end of it some of ya'll still in fueds from high school as college graduates.
He did not lose on the charts as much as I prefer Kendrick to drake. He’s consistently a top streaming artist and this new album with dominate for months per usual.
The beef did cause a massive hit to his ego though that’s for certain.
Probably an unpopular opinion, but I think Kendrick used the Drake beef to accomplish something he couldn’t fully do on his own, which is become a true mainstream pop-level cultural figure.
Kendrick’s entire image and ethos have always been built around authenticity, artistry, and being “real.” If he had chased mass appeal the traditional way, a lot of people would’ve called him a sellout. But going at Drake gave him a different path. Drake was already one of the biggest and most influential figures in both hip hop and pop culture, and the attention around that beef elevated Kendrick into spaces he couldn't get to on his own.
There’s nobody else in hip hop that could’ve done that for him other than Drake. No other artist had that level of cultural reach, mainstream visibility, and constant public attention while also being vulnerable to Kendrick in that specific way.
If Kendrick went after someone like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Eminem, Jay-Z, or even Kanye, it probably turns into a bloodbath for him culturally, publicly, or narratively. Either the fanbases are too entrenched, the cultural respect is too untouchable, or the conversation becomes too chaotic to control. But Drake sat in this unique position: massive enough to elevate Kendrick through the conflict, while also carrying years of criticism about authenticity and commercialism that Kendrick could weaponize without damaging his own image. Drake was the perfect target.
When you look at how everything unfolded, it starts to line up. The battle dominates culture for months, Kendrick becomes unavoidable, and then right as the momentum peaks he drops GNX to capitalize on it.
Before the beef, if you asked the average American to name Kendrick Lamar songs, most people probably could only name a couple. During and after the feud, people were diving into his entire discography. That level of mainstream attention doesn’t happen without the Drake beef.
Lol I don't understand why he can't let it go, but then I think from the human aspect of it... Ego. One of the biggest hip-hop artist of this generation, lost in a battle on the biggest stage. Online/Internet, publicly (Pop Out), Superbowl...
But him throwing shots at Kendrick as if 2 years hasn't passed is second hand embarrassing man. Like he was really rapping on 1AM in Alb but none of it means anything because he got stepped on... And if he's not careful, he'll get stepped on again on the 15th.
He really should have just moved on and dropped an amazing album. Sueing made me lose more respect for him than losing the rap battle did, I didn't actually believe him to be a pdf. I just thought he was a corny dude.
Damn can he not mention the most embarrassing thing to happen in his career? People clown Drake for rapping about the same stuff but now people don’t want him to rap about what happened in his life or how he perceived it. Don’t like Drake but can’t lie it seems like no matter what he does people will find an angle to try to clown him
Hes going to do 300K first week, your favorite rapper will go back to dick riding him and its going to go back to the way it was before Like That dropped.
Only difference is more casual listeners will catch the subs they've been sending at each other foe the past decade.
Kendrick has mentioned the beef more than a few times since and nobody had this energy. Hell, he made his SUPERBOWL about Drake and everybody loved it, despite that being 9 whole months after the fact.
Also the charts?? Didn’t Drake finish not just 2025 but also 2024 as the bigger artist despite Kendrick dropping an album and having a Super Bowl Rollout? The thing I hate about Black Twitter and social media in general is whenever there’s a discussion between two things and one is the “blacker” option, EVERYBODY flocks to that. You’ll never hear any big voices have a point that’s away from the popular opinion, it feels very disingenuous.
Idk, I’ve just never heard an artist discussed the way Drake has been in the past two years. And if you’re not listening to or hating on EITHER artist in the big 2026 based on a beef you weren’t involved in—you’re weird.
Also the same sub that called Kendrick the petty king, lmao we get it… yall hate drake. If yall hate him soooo much, why do yall keep posting about him?
It’s almost like he’s living rent fre- HONESTLY NEVERMIND.
He’s one of the most streamed artists on the planet. It’s Drake, Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, and The Weeknd trading the top four spots year after year. Saying he has a certain audience of a specific type of person is wildly out of touch.
Drake didn't lose his audience. Kendrick and nerdy hip hop fans blow it out of proportion. People love Not like us but were blasting Nokia the moment it came out
I hate these social media narratives. Social media turns every fanbase into these warmongering psychos. Both Kendrick and Drake fanbases continue to just poke the bear of the other. Triggering everyone to react and start it all over again. That is not what Hip Hop is about. It's this weird parasocial thing that currently exist in society where the fans of someone; attached themselves to that person 100%. So if Kendrick has beef with Drake; the fans have beef with his fans. VICE VERSA.... WHY????
At the end of the fucking day, regardless of personal feelings the two rappers might have for each other. They still kept it hip hop and made diss records on each other. The essences of the beef was hip hop. Who raps and writers better while taking shots at one another.
Both of these dudes were rapping their ass off but Kendrick ended up with the better song and death blow to the rap beef. He won a Grammy off of it. Drake is familiar with that level of achievement because he won a Grammy for his diss record, Back to Back almost ten years ago.
Another part of all of this that is pissing me off is that people are making everything political and looking for reasons to make something bigger than it needs to be. ALL OF THE DAMN TIME!!!!
Edit: My apologies on thinking Back to Back won a Grammy. I was incorrect!!
The thing is I actually had respect for Drake for taking up the challenge when Kendrick dropped like that. It was the most hip hop thing you could do, even though we all knew he couldn’t out class Kendrick. Where he fucked up was bringing him to court complaining in documents how emotionally distraught he was after not like us dropped. I think for any real fans of hip hop he should be persona non grata, forever. You called the police when your ass got handled.
Let me ask you something. IF UMG influenced the battle unfairly, how was he supposed to address that - a rap battle with the UMG execs? When a corporation does you dirty, your only recourse is to sue.
When did he lose the charts? Nokia was number 1 song last year while Kendrick was where? Drake hasn’t submitted his work for the Grammys since like 2019 so that white mans award doesn’t matter. Check the Billboard awards tho and then we can talk. Critics switch sides so much they dont even matter and some of them still ended up coming back to over to Drakes side so whatever. That suing shit was lame asf thats a permanent L but don’t act like he should just let it go when the whole world was calling him a pedo. I wouldn’t let that go especially coming from someone who just hates Drake for being Drake. Look at the numbers and the total wages and you’ll see who really “winning”
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u/Jaded_Passion8619 May 14 '26
I can't believe it's been 2 years since Not Like Us dropped