Kendrick Lamar like to do things in one fell swoop. Drake, his enemy throughout 2024, likes to do a lot. Memes, IG Stories, AI diss songs, etc. Lamar will go silent for weeks, maybe even months, then drop an absolutely devastating track. He did it again on September 11. The rapper came out of his "Not Like Us" hiatus and dropped a five minute epic on his Instagram. There's no title or mention of Drake's name, but there are plenty of bars that are clearly aimed at the 6 God throughout. Let's unpack them.
Let's start with the opening verse. The first line Kendrick Lamar utters is "I think it's time to watch the party die." This is a direct reference to a line in Lamar's scathing "Meet the Grahams" diss. Towards the end of the song, he mentions crashing Drake's "party" by uncovering all of the rapper's flaws. The next few bars also seem squarely aimed at Drizzy. "This sh*t done got too wicked to apologize," Lamar raps.
"It's different, get him whacked and disqualified." The first part seemingly references the fact that kids and significant others were dragged into the Drake battle. The second part doubles down on the idea that Drake shouldn't have a seat at the table when it comes to the all time greats.
Kendrick Lamar References Multiple Drake Songs In His Lyrics
The song functions as a broader take on what Kendrick Lamar was rapping about on "Euphoria" and "Not Like Us." He's effectively taking the rap game to task for allowing Drake to take over. He hates what the genre has become, and wants to start over. In this sense, the song is both a Drake diss and a diss to the industry (i.e. the "party") that made Drake. The rest of the first verse makes this abundantly clear. "Why argue with these clowns if the circus is well at work," he asks. "Just walk that man down, that'll do everyone a solid. It's love but tough love, sometimes gotta result in violence."
A full breakdown of the song would balloon this article to dissertation length. Kendrick Lamar seemingly throws digs at Drake's past courtesy of a "Star67" reference. He also asks Drake where his soldiers are at, after the Toronto rapper made reference to being a general in the song "The Heart Part 6." Kendrick is taking a different approach here, but it's no less cutting. He's got a lot more to get off his chest when it comes to Drake, and this new song proves it.