Kendrick Lamar Refused To Appear On Drake's "First Person Shooter"

BYElias Andrews20.2K Views
Link Copied to Clipboard!
2018 BET Experience STAPLES Center Concert Sponsored by COCA-COLA - Night 2
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 22: Kendrick Lamar attends the 2018 BET Experience Staples Center Concert, sponsored by COCA-COLA, at L.A. Live on June 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ser Baffo/Getty Images for BET)
The hatred between these two runs deeper than we thought.

Kendrick Lamar hates Drake. It used to be a speculative statement, but after the release of his diss track "Euphoria," it's been validated as a fact. The rapper hates the way Drake talks and acts, and according to DJ Akademiks, he hates the way Drake tried to play nice and clique up. The internet personality dropped a bombshell revelation during his May 2 live stream when he revealed that Drake asked Lamar to appear on his 2023 hit "First Person Shooter."

"First Person Shooter" is the song that kicked off the Drake vs. Lamar battle. The song features J. Cole and the 6 God swapping bars about being the best of their generation, and the former shouts out Lamar for being the third in the so-called "Big Three." Evidently, this reference is a glimpse of what the original version of "First Person Shooter" was going to be.

According to DJ Akademiks, Drake asked J. Cole and Lamar to contribute verses, but Lamar wanted nothing to do with him or the song. He was so put off by the offer, in fact, that it led to him writing the "Like That" diss.

Kendrick Lamar References The Offer On "Euphoria"

"Drake hit up Kendrick," Akademiks said. "Now, if you think about this entire timeline and beef with that in mind, makes sense... I'm hearing that 'First Person Shooter' was a song intended to be with the 'Big Three.' I'm hearing that verses were reworked because Kendrick Lamar did not respond to the feature request." Drake is not the source of these claims, but Ak assured viewers that he's gotten his info on good authority.

The "First Person Shooter" theory has actually been circulating online since the release of Lamar's "Euphoria" diss on April 30. On the third verse of the song, the Compton rapper references a feature request that Drake made. "Surprised you wanted that feature request," he spit. "You know that we got some sh*t to address." It was widely assumed that "First Person Shooter" was the feature in question, but Akademiks has now confirmed it.

DJ Akademiks had a busy May 2. In addition to sharing the "First Person Shooter" story, the internet personality shot down a rumor that Drake was going to drop a diss on May 3. DJHed claimed that the Toronto rapper was going to clap back at Lamar mere days after "Euphoria" released, but Ak shut the hype train down. He hopped on the phone with Kai Cenat and told him there was no diss coming that soon. "Drake’s not dropping tonight," he stated. "He’s dropping soon though, but not tonight."

About The Author
Elias Andrews is a music and entertainment writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH in 2024 as the lead night shift contributor, which means he covers new music releases on a weekly basis. In the year since joining, Elias has covered some of the biggest and most turbulent stories in the world of music. He covered the Drake and Kendrick Lamar battle, and the release of the disses “Family Matters” and “Meet the Grahams,” in particular, in real time. He has also detailed the ongoing list of allegations and criminal charges made against Diddy. Elias’ favorite artists are Andre 3000, MF Doom, pre-808s Kanye West and Tyler, The Creator. He loves L.A. hip-hop but not L.A. sports teams. The first album he ever bought was Big Willie Style by Will Smith, which he maintains is still a pretty good listen.
...