Kendrick Lamar is having a monumental year, with his highly anticipated Super Bowl halftime performance alongside SZA on February 9, 2025. His Grammy-winning track “Not Like Us” is once again at the center of the ongoing feud with Drake, a rivalry that has captured the public’s attention.
The tension between the two started in October 2023 when Drake and J. Cole released their collaboration “First Person Shooter,” which implied that these rappers were the best in modern hip-hop. Kendrick responded with the diss track “Not Like Us,” which would go on to win both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 2025 Grammys.
However, things took a legal turn in January 2025 when Drake filed a federal defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG). He claimed that UMG had manipulated Spotify’s algorithms to boost the song’s popularity, accusing the label of violating the RICO Act and other deceptive practices. Drake’s legal team also alleged that the song’s lyrics falsely accused him of being a pedophile.
UMG rejected these claims, stating that the allegations were untrue and that the success of the song was driven by fans’ preferences, not artificial promotion.
Despite the ongoing legal battles, Kendrick continues to release new music, while Drake has responded with his own diss track, “The Heart Part 6,” denying the accusations. As their feud rages on, fans are left wondering if this rivalry will ever come to an end, or if it will keep escalating.