10 Times Kendrick Lamar Took Shots at Drake, from Cover Art to the Super Bowl

Mar. 15, 2025

Kendrick Lamar.Photo:NFL/FOX

NFL/FOX

He may be the internet’s favorite cutie patootie, butKendrick Lamaris not here to play.The Compton native has been in a heated beef with Drake since last year, and he hasn’t stopped applying pressure. Their feud dates all the way back to 2013, when the two first began sparring, exchanging jabs on songs such as “Control,” and “100.“Things hit a crescendo when the two superstars went head-to-head last spring, lobbing accusations at one another and creating a spectacle in the process. The spat resulted in songs such as “Like That,” “Push Ups,” “Taylor Made Freestyle,” “Meet the Grahams,” and of course, “Not Like Us,” which has since become a runaway hit.Not only has the song been a favorite with fans — L.A. natives particularly love it for its true-to-the-city sound — but it was also the recipient offive Grammys at the Feb. 2 ceremonyand the highlight of the rapper’sSuper Bowl Halftime Show performance.Through it all, it seems K-Dot has been intentional about launching a blow at his Toronto-bred nemesis each time he’s stepped out. And while there is so much to unpack when it comes to the Kendrick vs. Drake feud, we’ve tried to condense the list here.Below, check out the 10 times Kendrick Lamar has taken subtle — or direct — shots at Drake since the release of “Not Like Us.”

He may be the internet’s favorite cutie patootie, butKendrick Lamaris not here to play.

The Compton native has been in a heated beef with Drake since last year, and he hasn’t stopped applying pressure. Their feud dates all the way back to 2013, when the two first began sparring, exchanging jabs on songs such as “Control,” and “100.”

Things hit a crescendo when the two superstars went head-to-head last spring, lobbing accusations at one another and creating a spectacle in the process. The spat resulted in songs such as “Like That,” “Push Ups,” “Taylor Made Freestyle,” “Meet the Grahams,” and of course, “Not Like Us,” which has since become a runaway hit.

Not only has the song been a favorite with fans — L.A. natives particularly love it for its true-to-the-city sound — but it was also the recipient offive Grammys at the Feb. 2 ceremonyand the highlight of the rapper’sSuper Bowl Halftime Show performance.

Through it all, it seems K-Dot has been intentional about launching a blow at his Toronto-bred nemesis each time he’s stepped out. And while there is so much to unpack when it comes to the Kendrick vs. Drake feud, we’ve tried to condense the list here.

Below, check out the 10 times Kendrick Lamar has taken subtle — or direct — shots at Drake since the release of “Not Like Us.”

01of 10Wearing the ‘A Minor’ ChainKendrick Lamar.John Angelillo/UPI/ShutterstockFor his 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show appearance, Kendrick Lamar wore a custom Martine Rose jacket that read “Gloria” across the front, Celine Homme flare jeans and a backward hat featuring a diamond Rahaminov brooch worth $68,000.And while there was much to besaid about the ‘fit, fans quickly turned their attention to the glitzy, lowercase “a” swinging from the rapper’s neck. The bling isbelieved to bea nod to his “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor” bar from the record.

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Wearing the ‘A Minor’ Chain

Kendrick Lamar.John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock

John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock

For his 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show appearance, Kendrick Lamar wore a custom Martine Rose jacket that read “Gloria” across the front, Celine Homme flare jeans and a backward hat featuring a diamond Rahaminov brooch worth $68,000.

And while there was much to besaid about the ‘fit, fans quickly turned their attention to the glitzy, lowercase “a” swinging from the rapper’s neck. The bling isbelieved to bea nod to his “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor” bar from the record.

02of 10When He Addressed the LawsuitKendrick Lamar.Cindy Ord/GettyIn Jan. 2025, Drakefiled a lawsuitagainst his own record label in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging that Universal Music Group “approved, published, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track that falsely accuses Drake of being a pedophile and calls for violent retribution against him."(UMG responded, “Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist—let alone Drake—is illogical … We have not and do not engage in defamation — against any individual.  At the same time, we will vigorously defend this litigation to protect our people and our reputation, as well as any artist who might directly or indirectly become a frivolous litigation target for having done nothing more than write a song.")The lawsuit had fans speculating whether or not Lamar would be able to perform the hit during the Halftime show.To get the people going during his performance, the “Like That” rapper acknowledged the legal action, saying, “I wanna perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue.” “What song?” his background singers chimed. “That song,” he said as the catchy intro to “Not Like Us” began to play.He then cut the clip short, saying, “Maybe I’ll think about it,” before going on to perform other hits.

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When He Addressed the Lawsuit

Kendrick Lamar.Cindy Ord/Getty

Cindy Ord/Getty

In Jan. 2025, Drakefiled a lawsuitagainst his own record label in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging that Universal Music Group “approved, published, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track that falsely accuses Drake of being a pedophile and calls for violent retribution against him.”

(UMG responded, “Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist—let alone Drake—is illogical … We have not and do not engage in defamation — against any individual.  At the same time, we will vigorously defend this litigation to protect our people and our reputation, as well as any artist who might directly or indirectly become a frivolous litigation target for having done nothing more than write a song.")

The lawsuit had fans speculating whether or not Lamar would be able to perform the hit during the Halftime show.

To get the people going during his performance, the “Like That” rapper acknowledged the legal action, saying, “I wanna perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue.” “What song?” his background singers chimed. “That song,” he said as the catchy intro to “Not Like Us” began to play.

He then cut the clip short, saying, “Maybe I’ll think about it,” before going on to perform other hits.

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Kendrick Lamar.NFL/FOX

The moment has already spawned many iterations on the “If I send you this … meme that havesince gone viral.

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Getting Serena Williams to Crip Walk

Serena Williams performing during the Super Bowl Halftime Show.Kevin Mazur/Getty

Kevin Mazur/Getty

The pair briefly dated back in 2011, however, on his 2022 song “Middle of the Ocean” off his albumHer Loss, Drake took a dig at Williams, saying, “Sidebar, Serena Williams your husband a groupie.” He also revealed that his song, “Too Good,” featuring Rihanna,was about Williams.

In “Not Like Us,” Lamar warns the rapper he “better not speak on Serena,” who then appeared crip walking under streetlights in the Super Bowl performance.

05of 10The Grammys Canadian TuxdedoKendrick Lamar.Kevin Winter/GettyFor the 67th Grammy Awards, which took place on Feb. 2, the Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper showed up looking laid-back and unbothered in a Maison Margiela denim jacket, paired with matching jeans and matching blue hat. The look is, of course, otherwise known as a Canadian tuxedo, a subtle shot at Drake’s home country. He was wearing it when the audience loudly sang along to the lyrics of “Not Like Us” — and the viewers at home could hear them chiming in on “minor…”.

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The Grammys Canadian Tuxdedo

Kendrick Lamar.Kevin Winter/Getty

Kevin Winter/Getty

For the 67th Grammy Awards, which took place on Feb. 2, the Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper showed up looking laid-back and unbothered in a Maison Margiela denim jacket, paired with matching jeans and matching blue hat. The look is, of course, otherwise known as a Canadian tuxedo, a subtle shot at Drake’s home country. He was wearing it when the audience loudly sang along to the lyrics of “Not Like Us” — and the viewers at home could hear them chiming in on “minor…”.

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Winning Exactly Five Grammys

Kendrick Lamar.Phil McCarten/CBS via Getty

Phil McCarten/CBS via Getty

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Kendrick Lamar performs onstage during The Pop Out a Ken & Friends.Timothy Norris/Getty Images for pgLang, Amazon Music, & Free Lunch

Timothy Norris/Getty Images for pgLang, Amazon Music, & Free Lunch

All seemed normal at Lamar’s “The Pop Out - Ken and Friends"concert at the Kia Forumin L.A. last year. The sold-out concert housed 16,000 people and was a celebration of L.A. pride, good music and Juneteenth.

Towards the end of his set, Kendrick Lamar brought out Dr. Dre and the pair performed “Still D.R.E.” and “California Love,” before the famed producer whispered, “I see dead people,” the introductory line in “Not Like Us.”

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Recruiting DeMar DeRozan for the Music Video

DeMar DeRozan.Kent Smith/NBAE/Getty; Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty

Kent Smith/NBAE/Getty; Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty

DeRozan, who comes from Compton, played for the Toronto Raptors from 2009 to 2018. He then returned Stateside to play for the San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls before he made his way back to the west coast, where he now plays for the Sacramento Kings, which is why Lamar boasts, “I’m glad DeRoz came home/Ya’ll didn’t deserve him either.”

09of 10The Shade All Throughout the ‘Not Like Us’ Music VideoThe music video itself is full of subtle and overt jabs that are too nuanced to fully dissect in one article: From the beating of OVO owl, which is Drake’s famous logo, to playing hopscotch a favorite game amongst (a) minors, to having his fiancée, Whitney Alford — at whom Drake took shots — crip walk to show they’re a united front.

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The Shade All Throughout the ‘Not Like Us’ Music Video

The music video itself is full of subtle and overt jabs that are too nuanced to fully dissect in one article: From the beating of OVO owl, which is Drake’s famous logo, to playing hopscotch a favorite game amongst (a) minors, to having his fiancée, Whitney Alford — at whom Drake took shots — crip walk to show they’re a united front.

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“Not Like Us” Cover Art

Single art for ‘Not like Us’.Interscope Records

Interscope Records

(As noted inDrake’s lawsuit, Lamar’s track includes lyrics such as “Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young,” and claims that Lamar calls Drake a “certified pedophile” that should be “placed on neighborhood watch.” According to the filming, “Drake has never engaged in any acts that would require he be ‘placed on neighborhood watch.’ Drake has never engaged in sexual relations with a minor. Drake has never been charged with, or convicted of, any criminal acts whatsoever.")

source: people.com