Drake: 7 Bars He Must Respond To On Kendrick Lamar Diss 'Euphoria'

• 1.

  One of the lines Drake has to address from “Euphoria” is Kendrick saying that he hates everything about him. The Compton native raps: “I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress/ I hate the way that you sneak diss, if I catch flight, it’s gon’ be direct/ We hate the bitches you f—, ’cause they confuse themself with real women.” Drake referred to this line hours after the diss track dropped on his Instagram Story. The Canadian rapper reposted a scene from the 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You where Julia Stiles’ character is reciting a poem about her crush Heath Ledger. In the poem Stiles reads: “I hate the way you talk to me, and the way you cut your hair/ I hate the way you drive my car. I hate it when you stare. I hate your big dumb combat boots, and the way you read my mind. I hate you so much it makes me sick; it even makes me rhyme! I hate it, I hate the way you’re always right. I hate it when you lie. I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry. I hate it when you’re not around, and the fact that you didn’t call.” While Drake’s trolling was funny, we’re gonna need him to elaborate when he gets to the booth. https://twitter.com/ComplexMusic/status/1785499755256144030

• 2.

  Another line that attracted the intersst of fans was Kendrick name-dropping Gunna. Kendrick insinuates that he has some dirt on Drake and is willing to spill it like some fans and rappers have assumed Gunna ratted out Young Thug for his December 2023 plea deal. Kendrick raps: “We ain’t gotta get personal, this a friendly fade, you should keep it that way/ I know some s— about n—– that would make Gunna Wunna look like a saint/ This ain’t been about critics, not about gimmicks, not about who the greatest is/ Always been about love and hate, now lemme say I’m the biggest hater.” While its unlikely that Drake will offer up free information about himself that can be used against him later, he at least needs to acknowledge the bar in his response. Gunna has denied snitching on Young Thug multiple times as he referred to the rumors in his first single after his release “bread & butter.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpCZPdLC6Cc

• 3.

  Kendrick took a brutal shot at Drake’s fatherhood in “Euphoria.” This was an unforgettable moment in hip-hop battles when it was first brought to the public’s attention: in “The Story of Adidon,” Pusha T revealed that Drake has a child.  His son is named Adonis; he shares him with French artist and former adult film star Sophie Brussaux. “Y’all thinking my life is rap? That’s h- s—, I got a son to raise, but I can see you know nothing about that,” Kendrick raps. Drake ultimately didn’t respond to the diss track but confirmed he did have a child with Brussaux on “Emotionless” which samples Mariah Carey’s “Emotion.” “I wasn’t hidin’ my kid from the world/I was hidin’ the world from my kid/From empty souls who just wake up and looked to debate/Until you starin’ at your seed, you can never relate,” Drake raps. Kendrick himself is also a father and shares two children Uzi and Enoch with his fiancée Whitney Alford.  While Drake didn’t respond to Pusha T, he needs to at least have a fire bar in return for Kendrick so rappers can stop bringing up his family. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKhmK_SuK08

• 4.

  Unknowingly J. Cole and Drake’s “First Person Shooter” began this rap civil war where Cole refers to himself, Drizzy, and Kendrick as hip-hop’s “Big Three.” Kendrick responded to Cole’s claim on “Like That” crowning himself “f— the big three/n—- it’s just big me.” On “Euphoria” Kendrick addresses it again by also bringing up Cole who later responded to Kendrick on “7 Minute Drill.” The North Carolina rapper ultimately took himself out of the beef by taking the song off of streaming services and apologizing to Kendrick. “Cole and Aubrey know I’m a selfish guy, the crown is heavy/ I pray they my real friends, if not, I’m YNW Melly,” Kendrick raps on “Euphoria” referencing YNW Melly, who is currently on trial for allegedly killing two of his best friends. If this direct attack at Drake’s livlihood doesn’t get addressed, it’ll look like he is legit afraid of Kendrick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xty2gi5cMa8

• 5.

  There’s a line off of  “Euphoria” that Drake needs to respond for two reasons. “Yeah my first one like my last one, this a classic, you don’t have one/ Let your core audience stomach that, then tell ’em where you get the abs from.” J. Cole was actually the one to say Kendrick’s last album wasn’t a classic. But he withdrew himself from the beef, and Drake got that heat put on him. Drake needs to defend his discography at the very least. The second part of the line, Drizzy needs to address because even Rick Ross says in “Champagne Moments” that he got ab surgery so he needs to put that rumor — if, in fact, it is one, to rest.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fn7c1s7J5s

• 6.

  Another line Drake should respond to is Kendrick’s line about Sexxy Red and how he “doesn’t like women.” “When I see you stand by Sexyy Red, I believe you see two bad bitches/ I believe you don’t like women, it’s real competition, you might pop a– with ’em” While the Sexxy Red line is just Kendrick making fun of Drake and possibly hitting another surgical pun with the “pop a–” line, the misogny in Drake’s lyrics speak for themself. In “Push Ups (Drop & Give Me 50)” which is diss track aimed at Kendrick, and the host of other artists that have come for Drake in the past few weeks, Drizzy mentions Kendrick’s fiancée Whitney Alfred. “I be with some bodyguards like Whitney/Top say drop, your little midget a– better f—-‘” The line is a double entendre as it also refers to the late Whitney Houston and her lead role in the 1992 film The Boydguard. He’s also come for other rapper’s partners such as Pusha T’s wife Virginia in “Duppy Freestyle,” his ex-girlfriend Rihanna in “Fear of Heights” and Megan Thee Stallion in “Circo Loco.” Since Drake has a strong female fan base it would be wise of him to address Kendrick’s allegations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKH9p19PRLA

• 7.

  As Kendrick ends “Euphoria” he addresses the rumor that Drake has ghostwriters (which Meek Mill said about Drake in his diss track 2015 “Wanna Know”). “Ain’t 20 v. 1 it’s 1 v. 20 if I gotta smack n—– that write with ya.” Throughout the song Kendrick questions Drake’s Blackness because he is known to adopt different accents and cultures in his music but does not use his platform to have conversation on important Black issues. In the outro, Kendrick echos the sentiment that “We don’t wanna hear you say n—- no more” to denounce Drake using the culture as a marketing ploy. If you need a refrehser to any of these lines, listen to “Euphoria” below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPqDIwWMtxg&t=1s