After Kendrick Lamar targeted Drake and J. Cole on Metro Boomin and Future’s “Like That,” Drake appears to have responded—though there has been no official confirmation—with a diss track that appeared on social media on Saturday (April 13).
Early in the day, a four-minute “leaked” song credited to Drake surfaced on social media, prompting some to question its legitimacy and speculate that it was an A.I.-created record. The initial version sounded like an unmixed demo over an interpolation of Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s “Get Money,” but a high-quality version with a new rhythm appeared in the afternoon.
To make matters more complicated, Power 105 claimed that the diss track was authentic and unveiled the official artwork, which depicted Lamar performing push-ups; however, Drake’s team would not immediately confirm the single’s legitimacy when reached by Variety.
After a lengthy day of online conversation, Drake appeared to confirm the track’s veracity by uploading a photo on Instagram of Uma Thurman as the Bride in “Kill Bill,” brandishing a samurai sword while surrounded by assailants. Power 105 and its parent business, iHeartRadio, the country’s largest radio network, have both released the song, confirming its validity.
Popular on Variety.
Drake’s song, presumably named “Push Ups,” has the rapper shooting bullets in all directions. He immediately attacks Lamar with a couple jabs. “How the fuck you big steppin with a size 7 mens on?” he asks. “Your last one bricked, you really not on shit / They make excuses for you ’cause they hate to see me lit / Pull your contract ’cause we gotta see the split / Ain’t no way you doin’ splits, bitch, your pants might rip.”
He then mocks Lamar’s cameo performances on popular pop songs, claiming that his old label, Top Dawg Entertainment, demanded half of his revenues.
“Maroon 5 needs a verse, so make it clever. Then, we need a verse for the Swifties. Top says drop; therefore, you better drop and give him 50/Pipsqueak, pipe down! You ain’t in the big three; SZA, Travis, and Savage have you washed down. Like your label buddy, you Interscope right now.”
He also looks to be taking aim at Cole, who released his Lamar response single “7 Minute Drill” and then pulled it from streaming after regretting its publication.
“Look, I could never be nobody’s number one fan. Your first number one, I had to put it in your hand,” he continues, referring to “First Person Shooter,” his duet with Cole on last year’s “For All the Dogs,” which became Cole’s first single to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Later in the song, Drake brings Cole back up, rapping, “And that fuckin’ song y’all got is not starting beef with us / This shit brewin’ in a pot, now I’m heating up / I don’t care what Cole thinks, that Dot shit was weak as fuck.”
He also targets longtime collaborator The Weeknd, most likely because of his inclusion on Future and Metro Boomin’s recent album, “We Still Don’t Trust You.”
“Claim the six, and boys ain’t even come from it. And when you boys got rich, you had to run from it. Cash blowin’ Abel bread out here trickin Shit we do for bitches, he does for n—s.” Shortly after Drake’s song hit social media, the Weeknd posted a photo to his Instagram story depicting him eating popcorn and laughing. He also lets off a bar at Metro Boomin, with whom he’s had a simmering beef over the past year: “Metro, shut your ho ass up and make.
“I might take your latest girl and cuff her like I’m Ricky,” Drake raps, alluding to Ross’ past as a corrections officer. “I can’t believe he jumpin’ in, this n—a turnin’ fifty / Every song that made it on the chart, he got from Drizzy / Spend that little’ check you got and stay up out of my business / Worry ’bout whatever’s going on with you and…” He ends, leaving some fans to speculate that he’s making reference to Diddy and his ongoing legal troubles.”
Afterwards, Ross quickly went into the studio, dropping a song titled “Champagne Moments,” in which he claims Drake got a nose job and appropriates Lil Wayne’s flow.
Everything really got started on March 25 when Lamar attacked Drake and Cole in an uncredited verse on the song “Like That” by Metro Boomin and Future, which was featured on their joint album “We Don’t Trust You.” In reaction to “First Person Shooter,” Cole, Drake, and Lamar were referred to as “the big three” in Lamar’s line, which said, “Love when they argue the hardest.” Is that K. Dot? Is that Aubrey? or myself? “We three, as if we founded a league.”
In response, Lamar delivered a fierce stanza that clearly defined his boundaries with other rappers. Yes, come on up here and stop sneak-shooting me like a ‘First Person Shooter,’ I’m hoping they included three switches.He gave a rap. “It’s just big me, motherfuck the big three, n—a.”
Cole then addressed this with his diss track, “7 Minute Drill,” which was a part of his unexpected album “Might Delete Later.” He rapped, “I got a call, they say that somebody is not being nice / You want some attention, it comes with extensions.” You put n—s to sleep with your second shit, but they gassed it; your third shit was tremendous, and that was your peak; I was following closely after and I just reached mine. He’s still performing gigs, but he dropped off like “The Simpsons.”
After declaring to the crowd at his Dreamville Festival that the song’s release was the “lamest shit I did in my fuckin’ life,” Cole received conflicting responses. While some applauded Cole for putting an end to the feud, others made fun of the rapper for caving in to Lamar so fast. He took the song off streaming outlets yesterday.
