Kendrick Lamar finally claps back at Drake in response to both “Push Ups and “Taylor Made Freestyle”. Here is a breakdown of what every diss is referring to and what category it goes into.
First off, the title: “Euphoria” refers to the HBO show of the same name starring Zendaya. Drake is an executive producer on the show. While it isn’t clear what Kendrick is hinting at with this title, it may allude to something he knows about the show, which has been a theme with this beef.
VERSE 1
Them super powers gettin’ neutralized, I can only watch in silence
The famous actor we once knew is lookin’ paranoid, and now spirallin’
You movin’ just like a degenerate, heavy antic, it’s feelin’ distasteful
Why calculate you, not as calculated, I can even predict your angles
Fabricate stories on the family front, ’cause you heard Mr. Morale
A pathetic master manipulator, I can smell the tales on you now
You not a rap artist, you a scam artist with the hopes of being accepted
Tommy Hilfiger stood out, but FUBU never had been your collection
How I make music that electrify ’em, you make music that pacify ’em
I can double down on that line, but spare you this time, that’s random acts of kindness
Know you a master manipulator, and habitual liar too
But don’t tell no lie ’bout me, and I won’t tell truths ’bout you
Kendrick starts off hot by attacking Drake as the person for being a cunning individual. The persona of Drake is falling apart, as he becomes “paranoid and now spiralling”. He’s hinting at Drake lying through his teeth about his wife trying to fabricate the story when he said “Bodyguards like Whitney” in “Push Ups.”.
Verse 2: Lines Directly Responding to “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made Freestyle”
There are a lot of lines where Kendrick directly responds to Drake’s diss.
Somebody had told that me you got a ring, on God, I’m ready to double the wage
I rather do that, than let a Canadian n**** make Pac turn in his grave
Drake bought a Tupac ring from an auction for $1 million. Kendrick says he’s ready to “double the wage” as in double the bounty on Drake for someone to kill him. He’d rather do that than let Drake keep insulting Tupac by buying the ring and using his AI generated voice
There’s three GOATs left, and I see two of them kissin’ and huggin’ on stage
I love him to death, and in eight bars, I’ll explain that phrase, huh
Eight bars later:
Yeah, Cole and Aubrey know I’m a selfish n****
The crown is heavy, huh
I pray they my real friends, if not, I’m YNW Melly
Kendrick talks about Aubrey (Drake’s real name) and Cole are all cool now “kissin and huggin” on stage. Then eight bars later he says “I pray they my real friends” or else he’ll go “YNW Melly” as in the rapper who murdered his friends and is now facing a death sentence.
We ain’t gotta get personal, this a friendly fade, you should keep it that way
I know some shit about n***** that make Gunna Wunna look like a saint
Kendrick feels Drake is trying to get personal, which Kendrick would rather not but more in an ominous way than a scared one. He re-iterates that this is a friendly scuffle but if Drake wants to go personal, Kendrick can to. Gunna is a rapper who is known for snitching on rapper Young Thug so this is a reference to Kendrick knowing a lot about Drake he will reveal if provoked.
Let’s speak on percentage, show me your splits
I make sure I double back with you
You was signed to a n**** that’s signed to a n**** that said he was signed to that n****
Drake’s entire chorus was about Kendrick getting exploited but now he wants to see Drake’s splits which he thinks isn’t any better.
You was signed to a n**** that’s signed to a n**** that said he was signed to that n****” refers to Drake being signed to Lil Wayne who was signed to Birdman who was signed to a label himself. Birdman is notorious for not paying rappers including Lil Wayne himself so Kendrick doesn’t think Drake has gotten better splits on his deal.
Try cease and desist on the “Like That” record
Hoe, what? You ain’t like that record?
Why would I call around tryna get dirt on n*****?
Y’all think all of my life is rap?
Kendrick exposes that Drake sent a cease and desist for “Like That”, the Future and Metro Boomin track where Kendrick had a verse dissing Drake. He also alludes to Drake calling people to get dirt on him, which Kendrick finds stupid.
Ain’t twenty-v-one, it’s one-v-twenty if I gotta smack n***** that write with you”
Yeah, bring ’em out too, I clean ’em out too
Tell BEAM that he better stay right with you
Kendrick flips back Drake’s line of it being a “one-v-twenty” on “Push Ups” into Kendrick being the one going against twenty because of Drake using ghostwriters. It’s unclear if Drake has used them for any of his diss tracks but he’s been proven to use them for multiple tracks which Kendrick pokes fun at.
“Am I battlin’ ghost or AI? n**** feelin’ like Joel Osteen
Funny, he was in a film called “AI”
And my sixth sense tellin’ me to off him”
Drake used AI to use the voices of Tupac and Snoop Dogg so this is in reference to that. He name drops Joel Osteen, a notorious televangelist everyone hates but he says that he was in A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Sixth Sense but that was Haley Joel Osment. Not sure if this was in jest or if Kendrick was mistaken.
Verse 2: Kendrick Hates Drake
The entire theme is built around what Kendrick hates about Drake and there is a lot of it in a humorous manner. A lot of is in reference to a DMX interview on The Breakfast Club
It’s always been about love and hate, now let me say I’m the biggest hater
I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk
I hate the way that you dress
I hate the way you sneak diss, if I catch flight, it’s gon’ be direct
We hate the bitches you fuck, ’cause they confuse themselves with real women
Kendrick just hates everything about Drake. The way he talks, the way he walks, everything about his personality. In the first verse he says Drake is slimy and he does the same. He hates Drake’s choice in women because it validates those women.
How many more fairytale stories ’bout your life ’til we had enough?
How many more Black features ’til you finally feel that you Black enough?
I like Drake with the melodies, I don’t like Drake when he act tough
You gon’ make a n**** bring back Puff, let me see if Chubbs really crash somethin’
Drake in his music has spoken about having an identity crisis growing up biracial. Kendrick goes right into that saying Drake doesn’t feel “black enough”. Also says he fabricates his stories, and acts tough in his music while he prefers the old Drake. Puff refers to Diddy who is in hot trouble right not. The rumor is that Diddy punched Drake inside of a club in 2014. Chubbs is Drake’s bodyguard so Kendrick hints at him failing to stop it.
Yeah, my first one like my last one, it’s a classic, you don’t have one
Let your core audience stomach that
Didn’t tell ’em where you get your abs from
This line could be aimed at both J. Cole or Drake as J. Cole had a line about Kendrick’s “last album being tragic”. He claims neither of these guys has a classic but their fans won’t admit it, while everything Kendrick has made is a classic.
Rick Ross dissed Drake about his fake abs, Kendrick does the same hinting that he got surgery for them.
I even hate when you say the word “N****”, but that’s just me, I guess
Some shit just cringeworthy, it ain’t even gotta be deep I guess
Still love when you see success, everything with me is blessed
Keep makin’ me dance, wavin’ my hand and it won’t be no threat
I’m knowin’ they call you The Boy, but where is a man? ‘Cause I ain’t seen him yet
Matter of fact, I ain’t even bleed him yet, can I bleed him? Bet
When I see you stand by Sexyy Red, I believe you see two bad bitches
I believe you don’t like women, that’s real competition, you might pop ass with ’em
Kendrick goes back to hating on Drake. Hating that he uses the N word again, going back to Drake’s struggle with his identity. Kendrick wants him to keep making club music. As long as he doesn’t try to act tough in his music, they won’t have any problems.
Drake’s nickname is “The Boy” which he calls himself a lot so Kendrick flips that and asks “where’s the man”. Drake has called himself a lesbian in his music. This is a play on that using Sexxy Redd, who’s collaborated with Drake on For All the Dogs.
VERSE 2: Drake as a Father
Kendrick compares Drake as an absent father to himself as an active father. This is arguably the most personal insult in the entire diss.
That’s ho shit, I got a son to raise, but I can see you don’t know nothin’ ’bout that
Wakin’ them up, know nothin’ ’bout that
And tell ’em to pray, know nothin’ ’bout that
And givin’ ’em tools to walk through life like day by day, know nothin’ ’bout that
Teachin’ them morals, integrity, discipline, listen man, you don’t know nothin’ ’bout that
Speakin’ the truth and consider what God’s considerin’, you don’t know nothin’ ’bout that
Kendrick goes deep into how he deals with fatherhood, teaching his son like a father should while Drake doesn’t do any of that. Pusha T revealed Drake as a father in “Story of Adidon”, where he talked about Drake’s dad being absent in his life and that Drake was going to do the same to Adidon. While Drake has seemingly stepped up after that, Kendrick still doesn’t think Drake is actually being a proper father to Adonis.
VERSE 2: MISC
The very first time I shot me a drac’, the homie had told me that “Aim it this way”
I didn’t point down enough, today I show you I learn from those mistakes
A “Draco” is a gun, and it sounds like Drake. Kendrick says he wasn’t aiming it right when he first held a gun but now he’s got it perfectly aimed at Drake who is below him.
Yeah, OVO n***** is dick riders
Tell ’em run to America to imitate heritage, they can’t imitate this violence
What I learn, these n***** don’t like the West Coast
And I’m fine with it, I push the line with it
Pick a n**** off one at a time with it
We can be on a three hour time difference
Drake disses OVO, Drake’s label,, trying to imitate the West Coast and rap heritage in general, trying to act up the violence. There’s a three-hour time difference between Los Angeles, PST (where Kendrick is from) and Toronto, EST (where Drake is from).
“We can be on a three hour time difference
Don’t speak on the family, crodie
It can get deep in the family, crodie
Talk about me and my family, crodie?
Someone go bleed in your family, crodie
I be at New Ho King eatin’ fried rice with a dip sauce and blamy, crodie
Tell me you’re cheesin’, fam
We can do this right now on the camera, crodie”
Kendrick uses a Canadian accent for this entire section using words like “crodie” and “cheesin” which are Canadian slang which works hilariously with the accent. Drake is notorious for using various accents and switching in and out of his Canadian accent so this is a shot at that. He tells Drake not to get personal once again.
“Whoever that’s fuckin’ with him, fuck you n*****, and fuck the industry too
If you takin’ it there, I’m takin’ it further
Psst, that’s somethin’ you don’t wanna do”
Kendrick disowns the others who are currently dissing Drake (Rick Ross, Weeknd, Future, Metro Boomin A$AP Rocky, etc.) and wants to do this on his own.
He once again threatens Drake saying he knows things and if Drake goes further, he will too. This has been a theme with this beef, both hinting at they know things about each other but neither has really revealed anything crazy so stay tuned to see if they do.
Drake got what he wanted, which is a response from Kendrick. Will he respond? When will he respond? If you want more breakdowns, stay tuned to Feature First.
If you want to know more about this beef, check out Part 1: The Backstory, Part 2: Drake’s Push Ups , and Part 3: Drake’s Tupac and Snoop AI diss track.
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