By J1 Reporter Reese Eggers

Cleo Washington ‘26 & Sophia Shillcutt ‘26 pretend to duke it out over their favorite rapper’s popularity. Graphic by Reese Eggers

There were 133 million people tuning in to watch Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show, performed on Feb. 9. This performance was controversial and resurfaced conversations about the alleged “beef” between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. This beef goes back many years and can be a hot topic, starting arguments with friends, heated discussions between strangers, and dividing households like it’s election day.

In 2011 Drake released an album called Take Care, with a Lamar feature called “Buried Alive,” which was the beginning of their friendship. Drake was more popular at the time, while Lamar was still up and coming, leading to Drake asking Lamar to open for him in 2012. 

What truly started their conflict is relatively unknown, but publicly, it all started with Lamar publicly making comments calling Drake “fake.” Briefly after this, J Cole drops a song, “First Person Shooter,” with the lyrics: “love when they argue the hardest MC /Is it K. Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me?/ We the big three, like we started the league.” This iconic lyric sparked a lot of controversy. In response, Lamar dropped a song called, “Like That” with the lyrics, “********** the big three,*****, it’s just big me,” lyrics in response to J Cole’s prior lyrics. 

Drake did not take this disrespect, responding with his first Lamar diss track called, “Push Ups” dissing Lamar in multiple ways including calling him short. Drake did not give Lamar time to respond, dropping another diss called, “TaylorMade FreeStyle” with lyrics suggesting that Taylor Swift is Lamar’s new “top dog.” 

The song diss-battle continues with Lamar’s song “Euphoria,” calling on Drake’s alleged plastic surgery, while also coming for his skin color, questioning how many more “Black features” does Drake need to feel Black enough. 

Drake’s response? Another song dissing Lamar! Drake comes out with “Family Matters,” a song calling out Lamar for being a fake activist, and calling him a hypocrite for coming for Drake’s skin color when Lamar’s long time partner is also biracial. Drake also alleges that Lamar hits his partner, with the lyrics, “is it self defense ‘cause she bigger than you?” This was arguably one of Drake’s heaviest hitting disses, and Lamar’s response matches that same energy. 

Lamar then drops, “Meet the Grahams,” with four noteworthy verses. The initial is addressed to Adonis, Drake’s son, “Don’t cut them corners like your daddy did,” referring to Drake’s alleged Ozempic (an anti-diabetic medicine known for causing weight loss) use. The second and fourth verses are addressed to Drake’s mother and Drake. The third is a verse addressed to Drake’s alleged daughter, calling Drake a deadbeat, an alcoholic, and a user of substances. 

The beef only further continues with Lamar using Drake’s alleged romantic relationship with a minor as ammunition. Lamar’s most recent hit -and the song performed at the Superbowl- “Not Like Us,” has many references to Drake’s alleged relationship, like the lyric “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor.”

Anyone active on social media platforms can find this information easily, whether it is through hours of scrolling on TikTok, or even through a friends’ reposts on Instagram. This public, decade-long dispute has caused many people to take sides, including Marian students. Junior Cleo Washington is a Drake fan to the core, while junior Sophia Shillcutt sides with Lamar. 

Washington is a Drake fan simply because she likes his music better. Her favorite Drake songs are “Practice” or “HYFR,” both of which are songs on his Take Care album that Lamar featured on in 2011. Washington has been a fan since middle school, starting to listen to him heavily in seventh grade. To put it simply, “I’m a fan because he’s the GOAT. Duh,” Washington said.

Shillcutt, who lies firmly on the other side of the beef, has a different take. Shillcutt is “team Lamar” because even though she enjoys both Drake and Lamar’s music, Shillcutt believes that Lamar’s lyricism has a lot more thought behind it. For evidence, Shillcutt brings up a great point, that Lamar is the only rapper in history to win a Pulitzer prize. “I have been a fan since “family ties” came out in 2021,” Shillcutt said. Features are another big part of Lamar’s appeal, “his features are better, like his songs with SZA,” Shillcutt said.

Regardless of which artist someone sides with, there is no denying that these men are two of the most influential rappers of the 21st century, with the evidence lying in their chart topping hits and iconic performances. Both Washington and Shillcutt can attest to the fact that this feud has only furthered each artists’ career and boosted their sales.