Drake Vs. His Rivals—And The Women Who Get Caught In The Middle

Hip Hop beef is its own art form, a lyrical battleground where skill and strategy determine who walks away victorious. For decades, Rap wars have been integral in sculpting legacies and establishing icons who know precisely how to expose the weaknesses of opponents. When done properly, a diss track can been a career-defining moment. Some say the rules on wax are the same on the streets, leave girlfriends and partners out of the mix. Others believe that anything goes. Yet, when Drake steps into a battle, he tends to make his own rules, even if the rapper he spars with sets parameters.

Instead of keeping the fight between himself and his rival, Drake has a habit of dragging women into his rap beefs. He's known for weaponizing, shading, and using them as collateral damage. When things get heated, exes, industry peers, and even a rival’s partner suddenly become targets. We've seen this several times throughout his Hip Hop tenure, and it doesn't look as if he's willing to change, even after being obliterated by Kendrick Lamar in their lyrical back and forth.

During the height of K.Dot and Drizzy trading bars, Drake tried to go for the jugular by attacking Kendrick’s fiancée, Whitney Alford. That wasn't the first time he's mentioned a woman's name when engaged in tense moments in music. This is a pattern, not an accident. From subliminal jabs in songs to passive-aggressive social media moves, Drake consistently uses women to deflect from the men who are actually challenging him. Instead of engaging in full-on warfare, he shifts the focus—attacking or involving women who had nothing to do with the fight, as if that somehow strengthens his position.

Yet, here’s the truth: it doesn’t. Rap beef is supposed to be a one-on-one fight—skill against skill, wordplay against wordplay, reputation against reputation. Some of the most legendary diss tracks in Hip Hop history were direct and unapologetic, keeping the focus on the men involved (albeit, "Hit Em Up" definitely alluded to Faith Evans). "Ether" didn’t need to mention Beyoncé. "No Vaseline" didn’t drag in Ice Cube’s wife. Drake moves differently.

Rather than keeping the battle between himself and his opponent, he often redirects the focus onto women. Time and time again, Drake has used women as shields, weapons, or distractions in his Rap conflicts. He reduces them to pawns, leveraging their names to avoid dealing directly with the men who are actually testing him. It’s a grand design built on deflection, misogyny, and insecurity. Further, as his Kendrick Lamar battle wages on a full year later, the pattern is becoming harder to ignore.

Drake’s pattern of weaponizing women in his Rap conflicts isn’t speculation—it’s increasingly blatant. Obviously, the OVO head honcho has had his fair share of war of words. He went toe-to-toe with Meek Mill, tried his hand at targeting Pusha T, had a spat with Kanye West that the world witnessed front row, keeps poking at Joe Budden, and—in record numbers—was reduced to ashes during Kendrick Lamar's lyrical takedown. He's both reigned victorious and taken the L, and often, spouses and family members have been used as bait.

Although the 6 God and Lamar have had a strained relationship for some time, things bubbled over in 2024. It seemed as if Kendrick wasn't a fan of Drake and J. Cole's collaborative "First Person Shooter," and responded with a verse on Metro Boomin and Future's "Like That," where he dropped bars about standing apart from the "Big 3" in Hip Hop. Soon after, a version of "Push Ups" slid onto social media, where Drake takes a direct jab at Lamar's longtime partner, Whitney Alford.

Then, Kendrick Lamar launched a full-scale assault on Drake. He delivered—often back-to-back— multiple diss tracks that left no room for debate, as Dot went scorched earth on Drake, his career, his skills, and, quite pointedly, his relatives on "Meet the Grahams." Drake also returned with tracks of his own, even insinuating on "The Heart Part 6" that one of Lamar and Alford's children was fathered by Kendrick's friend and manager. Lamar's reply didn't mention Alford and instead, he gave the world "Not Like Us." It became a track that has earned the rapper several Grammys, as well as a Super Bowl halftime performance that has gone down in music and sports history.

Speaking of "Not Like Us," the chart-topping diss track is also at the center of a lawsuit. Aubrey Graham vs. Universal Music Group and Spotify took Hip Hop by surprise, as many fans believed he would bow out of the Lamar beef gracefully. Instead, he opted to avoid a court battle with his lyrical foe and instead attack the powers that be. Graham asserts that UMG and Spotify inflated "Not Like Us" numbers with bots, a charge that Lamar noted during his Super Bowl performance by mentioning, "You can't fake influence."

The discourse surrounding Drake's lawsuit became fodder for his defectors who saw the litigation as a weak move. In taking UMG to court, he's going to war with its Chief Executive Officer Lucian Grainge, a top-tier mega-mogul behind the scenes. Then, instead of simply keeping the conflict at the corporate level, Drake veered into pettiness. In his typical trolling, Drake shared a photo of Sofia Richie Grainge, Lucien's daughter-in-law, who is also the daughter of music great Lionel Richie.

Of course, this wasn’t about Sofia. It was about Drake trying to rattle Grainge through association. However, in doing so, he reinforced a pattern, choosing instead to drag uninvolved women into battles they didn’t sign up for.

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The history between Drake and Serena Williams runs deep. It's rumored that between 2011 and 2015, the rapper and tennis championship engaged in an on-again-off-again romance. This pairing, although never spoken about by either party, has seen Drizzy often make reference to the tennis champion in his songs. In 2017, Williams moved on to her now-husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, but that hasn't kept Drake from mentioning his purported ex. It was also rumored that the brief Hip Hop beef between Common and Drake stemmed from Serena, as well. Further, Drake admitted that his 2016 track "Too Good" was about Serena.

It looks as if Serena has taken note of Drake's jabs, because she joined fellow Compton native Kendrick Lamar during his Super Bowl halftime show. Lamar mentioned Williams in "Not Like Us," so it wasn't far-fetched that she wore an all-blue tennis-style 'fit while doing the Crip walk under her own spotlight during Dot's anticipated closer. An unexpected appearance, sure; but to some, it made sense that Williams got her lick back.

One would think that will all the prodding Drake has done to Williams and her husband over the years, he'd take this one in stride. Not to be outdone, Drizzy returned to the internet following the halftime slaughter—not with Lamar in his crosshairs for staring into the camera and saying Drake's name during the show, but to get under Williams' skin. The rapper took to social media to share a photo of himself with Jill Smoller, Serena's longtime agent. Vibe reported that the image is from 2015 when Drake made his way to the stands as Williams competed in a tennis match.

Melyssa Ford has worn many hats during her longstanding entertainment career. Some know her as a video vixen, others as a reality star, but most recently, she's sat alongside Joe Budden for his popular podcast. This latest venture has caused her name to be added in yet another Rap song—this time, thanks to Drake. The love-hate relationship between the podcast giant and Drizzy has been well-documented, and Drake took another jab on his recently released "Gimme a Hug."

On the track, which is featured on Drake's joint project with PARTYNEXTDOOR, he calls Ford a "legend from the 6" before adding that he “hate to see you with a d*ck sucker," seemingly a dig at Budden. Joe played the track on his podcast and had a direct message for the Take Care icon. “Hey, Drake, don’t shoot at me now that you ice cold,” Budden said, referencing Drake's beef with Kendrick Lamar. “I’m not doing a back-and-forth with a corpse. I wanted to do it when it was fun.” He added, "Don’t go get shot all through the year and then pop up like Bernie at Weekend at Bernie’s wanting to shoot at me now. No, n*gga. Go spin. Spin the f*cking block."

Before Drake's purported loss to Lamar, he was exposed by Pusha T during a takedown unlike any other. Drizzy ruffled Push's feathers when the former brought up the latter's wife, Virginia Williams. Was it necessary? No. Unsurprisingly, Pusha T didn't appreciate his lady's name being mentioned, so he unleashed "The Story of Adidon," revealing that Drake fathered a son with former adult film star-turned-artist, Sophie Brussaux. The announcement made global headlines, forcing Drake's hand in a way he most likely never expected.

And, just like that, the beef came to a screeching halt. This was the moment where Drake should have learned his lesson. Instead, he has continued the same cycle, trying to destabilize his male opponents by dragging the women in their lives into the crossfire.

Drake’s habit of using women as pawns in his Rap beefs isn’t limited to direct conflicts with male rivals. He has a long history of disrespecting women in his music and taking subliminal shots at them in ways that feel calculated and bitter. When he’s not shading an ex, he’s been known to mock women in the Rap game. Drake has developed a reputation for making music that gets the ladies in their feelings, but not every woman is a fan of his deliveries.

The unraveling of Megan Thee Stallion and Tory Lanez's incident became a global phenonmenon. In July 2020, following a party at Kylie Jenner's home, Megan was shot in the foot. She kept silent about her assailant until she felt she was backed into a corner. Then, the Houston hitmaker publicly accused Lanez of being the shooter, and for years, Hip Hop was divided. Megan became the target of scrutiny, not only from Rap fans, but by her peers, as well. Drake sided with friend and fellow Canadian Lanez, mentioning Thee Stallion on his 2022 Her Loss track, "Circo Loco." He rapped, "This b*tch lie ’bout gettin’ shots but she still a stallion."

The line was a clear reference to Megan, playing into the false narrative that she lied about being injured. He could have stayed silent regarding someone who never disrespected him publicly, but Drake chose to antagonize Megan.

Drake spent years parading his admiration for Rihanna, treating their relationship like a badge of honor. He gave her the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the Video Music Awards in 2016 with a speech that felt more like a public love confession than an industry tribute. Further, he often referenced her in his music, then, Rihanna moved on. Now, she's living a loving, parental life alongside longtime friend-turned partner, A$AP Rocky.

That didn't stop Drake from seemingly giving a nod to Rih in 2023's "Fear of Heights." He said, "Why they make it sound like I'm still hung up on you? That could never be. Your ex-man’s a fan, he ‘bout to come and pick up the pieces." It is unclear what led Drake to drop this enigmatic supposed Rihanna mention during a time when she's enjoying bliss with Rocky. Moreover, Rihanna hasn't spoken about Drake publicly in years, yet he still felt the need to make her the subject of gossip once again.

Drizzy doesn’t always need a direct diss to make an impact. Sometimes, a carefully placed voice clip is enough to stir controversy, and that’s exactly what he did in 2023’s “Search & Rescue.” Instead of name-dropping Kanye West, he let Kim Kardashian’s voice do the talking. On the track, listeners hear a sampled clip of Kim speaking about her divorce from Ye on Keeping Up With the Kardashians: "I didn’t come this far just to come this far and not be happy."

The decision to feature Kim wasn’t subtle—it was a well-calculated taunt. West had already been vocal about his frustration with Drake over rumors that the rapper had been involved with Kim, a claim that had circulated since their 2018 feud. Fast forward to 2023, and with Kanye and Kim’s marriage officially over, Drake revived the tension—without having to say a word. The inclusion of Kim’s voice immediately sparked speculation. Was it a dig? A reminder of Ye's losses? A way to toy with the idea that Drake had always been part of the picture? Whatever the intention, it worked—the message was received.

Drake had once again found a way to involve a woman in his battle, keeping his hands clean while letting the world dissect the meaning. Kim Kardashian became yet another name caught in the crossfire of his rap feuds. For all of Drake’s success, his approach to beef has consistently revealed a weakness: his often inability to face his rivals head-on without using the women in their lives as a crutch. Drake did it with Kendrick Lamar. He did it with Pusha T. He did it with Joe Budden, Lucian Grainge, and Kanye West.

Drake has spent years mastering the art of the subliminal shot, the strategic name-drop, and the well-timed distraction. However, as the pattern becomes impossible to ignore, one question remains: in a culture that values direct competition, why does he keep choosing to fight his wars this way?

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