lil yachty drake instagram

Drake Posts Up With Lil Yachty, Shares Studio Pics

We might be getting new music from the two rappers.

Drake and Lil Yachty have been spending a lot of time together as of late. They appeared in a beachside interview with apparel brand FUTUREMOOD earlier this year. Meanwhile, both men are currently working on new music. Drake told NME in January that he might be releasing a solo album this year. Furthermore, the Toronto rapper released the single "Search & Rescue" in April. The song recently re-entered discussion after a cut Lil Durk verse was rediscovered, in which he appeared to profess a love of watersports. The artist later clarified the lyrics .

Meanwhile, Lil Yachty dropped his fifth studio album, Let's Start Here , in January 2023. The album peaked at #9 on the Billboard Album 200 , the rapper's best album chart performance since Lil Boat 2 in 2018. Yachty also released the single "Strike (Holster)" in April, which peaked at #55 on the Billboard Hot 100 . Drake and Yachty have only ever collabed once, with Drake featuring on Yachty's single "Oprah's Bank Account". However, is that about to change?

• Read More: N.O.R.E. has a backstage link up with Wu-Tang Clan

Drake Shares Photos Featuring Lil Yachty

An image from Drake's Instagram story on June 17 shows Lil Yachty enjoying lunch with Drake. A later image in the story shows the interior of a recording studio. Does this mean the pair are cooking up a new track together? Furthermore, will this be a single release or part of Drake's aforementioned album? Corroborating images do not appear on Lil Yachty's Instagram page.

• Read More: Viral clip appears to show YNW Melly attempting to leave the courtroom mid-trial

The lunch image alone would point to something more innocuous but the fact that Drake included the recording studio image points to this being a collab. Drake's last album, 2022's Honestly, Nevermind , featured one collaboration track. The album ended with "Jimmy Cooks", which featured 21 Savage . Could Lil Yachty be taking the place of honor as Drake's only collab for this upcoming project? Only time will tell. Do you think this a collab, or just a casual link up? Let us know in the comments Follow all the latest music news here at HotNewHipHop .

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Drake Takes Down Son’s Braids and Hits Back at Lil Yachty’s Claim He’s Doing It ‘For the Internet’

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A sweet bonding moment between Drake and his son, Adonis , resulted in a hilariously — but seemingly heated — exchange between the rapper and fellow hip-hop artist Lil Yachty . 

Drake, 36, took to Instagram on Friday, August 11, to share a photo of himself taking down his 5-year-old son’s braids. In the adorable snap, Drake looked focused as Adonis waited patiently while holding a basketball.

Drake’s fans praised the photo in the comments section, but Yachty, 25, wasn’t impressed.

“It’s no way you're sitting here acting like you’re braiding his hair for the internet,” he commented. Drake quickly hit back, writing, “I was unbraiding it, bitch. Your son said you ain’t hit him in 6 months on his finsta. He said he need some Jordans and a backpack for school.” (Lil Yachty doesn’t appear to have a son, but did announce the birth of his daughter in October 2021.) 

This wouldn’t be the first time Lil Yachty and Drake — who have been friends for years — went back and forth on social media. 

Last month, Drake defended his decision to paint his nails pink , which he said was a suggestion made by Lil Yachty. 

“I don’t mind that we don’t talk. Rather be in your thoughts. Rather be on top of your list of ‘what ifs’ and not your list of ‘and whatnots,” Drake wrote via Instagram on July 8 alongside a photo of himself DJ’ing with his manicured nails on display. (Drake had enlisted a manicurist from Tokyo Nails in Chicago, a studio that specializes in using Japanese Gel polish, to help paint his fingertips.)

Lil Yachty quickly chimed in the comments, writing, “Boy got them heavy hangers in his ear.”

Drake quickly told Lil Yachty “get out” of his comments because “YOU TOLD ME TO PAINT MY NAILS SO I STOP BITING THEM AND NOW THE WORLD IS BEING HOMOPHOBIC FOR THE 1st TIME SINCE RICH FLEX.”

Drake’s song “Rich Flex” — made in collaboration with 21 Savage on their album Her Loss — dropped in November 2022, with trolls speculating that he was flirting with his duet partner thanks to the lyric, “21, can you do somethin’ for me?” (The rappers never addressed the rumors.)

Lil’ Yachty, for his part, reacted to Drake’s explanation in the comments. “Woo-sah brother, you're not supposed to have these episodes in public, it’s fine,” the Georgia native replied. “They just don’t get u bro #UDIFFERENTAF ‼️ .”

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Drake Defends Pink Nails On Instagram: 'The World Is Being Homophobic'

Trends Reporter, HuffPost

Drake is defending sporting pink nails after his friend and fellow rapper Lil Yachty commented on his appearance on an Instagram post over the weekend.

In the post, the “Nice for What” rapper, who recently kicked off his Her Loss Tour alongside 21 Savage , shared candid behind-the-scenes snapshots from his show, in which he donned pink nails, totally keeping up with the surging Barbicore trend .

Not long after, Lil Yachty hopped under Drake’s post with a comment about the Grammy winner’s earrings writing, “Boy got them heavy hangers in his ear.”

“GET OUT MY COMMENTS YOU TOLD ME TO PAINT MY NAILS SO I STOP BITING THEM AND NOW THE WORLD IS BEING HOMOPHOBIC FOR THE 1st TIME SINCE RICH FLEX…which wasn’t that long ago now that I think about it,” Drake wrote in response, referencing his hit song with 21 Savage .

“Wait is the world homophobic? Smh,” the 36-year-old added.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi)

To which Yachty, 25, replied: “woo-sah brother, [you’re] not supposed to have these episodes in public, it’s fine. They just don’t get u bro #UDIFFERENTAF.”

Drake’s social media exchange about his nails comes several months after he went viral over his delivery of lyrics on “Rich Flex.”

The viral moment birthed endless memes that poked fun at Drake , whose real name is Aubrey Drake Graham, after fans suggested that he was flirting with his lyrical pal with the words, “21, can you do somethin’ for me?”

After Drake first showed off his pre-tour pink nails in a separate Instagram post on Monday, fans shared mixed feelings over the crooner’s style choice.

The “ Degrassi ” alum joins other artists, including Kid Cudi and Machine Gun Kelly , who have been spotted rocking the trend.

Drake and Yachty have been vocal about their friendship in recent months, with the OVO Sound founder also appearing on the “Strike” rapper’s FUTUREMOOD “A Moody Conversation.”

In the roughly 30 minute interview, the pair dove into a variety of candid topics, with Drake at one point admitting that he’s been mulling over “a graceful exit” from the music industry.

“I think I’m at the point now where I just wanna, like — I feel like maybe we talked about this the other day, but I feel like I’m kind of introducing the concept in my mind of a graceful exit,” Drake told Yachty as the duo relaxed on the beach.

Drake and 21 Savage’s It’s All a Blur Tour , which is set to wrap up in October , marks the Canadian rapper’s first concert trek across North America since the Aubrey and the Three Migos Tour in 2018.

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Rappers drake and lil yachty spar on instagram over their parenting prowess.

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LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 30: Drake speaks onstage during Drake's Till Death Do Us Part rap battle on October 30, 2021 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

Drake in a photo on social media where he appears to be braiding the hair of his young son, Adonis Graham.

We can officially crown Drake as clap back king after his epic response to Lil Yachty’s shady comment on an Aug. 12 Instagram photo.

In the post, Drizzy shared a heartwarming pic of himself and his son, Adonis Graham , as he’s seen seemingly braiding the 5-year-old’s hair.

Fellow rapper Lil Yachty came through with a jab commenting, “It’s no way you’re sitting here acting like you’re braiding his hair for the internet.”

The ‘Rich Flex’ rapper, who shares Adonis with model Sophie Brussaux , playfully fired back at his friend with, “I was unbraiding it b—h,” adding, “Your son said you ain’t hit him in 6 months on his finsta he said he need some Jordans and a backpack for school.”

Oh snap, looks like some daddy-duty drama.

The father-son moment also caught the attention of other hip hop heavyweights including DJ Khaled who commented on the post with a crown emoji. In addition, rapper Tyga wrote, “Like father like son.”

The Canadian rapper, who is currently in the midst of his ‘It’s All a Blur’ tour , spent the weekend at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, CA, where Adonis watched his dad perform live for the first time.

“Look, to be honest with you, I can’t talk about t—–s tonight in L.A. because my son is at the show for the first time,” the ‘Hotline Bling’ rapper is seen telling the crowd in a TikTok fan video . “So we’ve got to keep this real PG tonight. Y’all keep your bras on.”

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Drake Talks Plans for a "Graceful Exit" From the Music Industry

“i’m not going to force myself to compete.”.

After releasing his critically acclaimed Let’s Start Here album , Lil Yachty has now turned his attention to his sunglasses brand, FUTUREMOOD . Promoting his emerging imprint, Lil Yachty launched FUTUREMOOD ‘s “A Moody Conversation” by tapping Drake for a candid interview.

During the chat, the two artists went back and forth in the engaging conversation but an interesting moment came when Drake shared that he’s been mulling “a graceful exit.” At the 5:50 mark, the Canadian artist begins to discuss the idea after being asked about what there is “to even search for or want” anymore. “Well, I think like on a broader scale, I think I’m at the point now where I just wanna, like—I feel like maybe we talked about this the other day—but I feel like I’m kind of introducing the concept in my mind of a graceful exit, said Drake.”

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by C.V T (@lilyachty)

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Who is Bobbi Althoff? All about the podcaster who’s interviewed Drake and Lil Yachty

Bobbi Althoff, a TikToker-turned-podcast host, rose to fame in just two short years.

She began her career posting mom content on the social media site and then started her own podcast last year.

Soon after, she was interviewing big names such as Shaquille O’Neal, J Balvin, Mark Cuban and her now-viral video with Drake.

She has garnered more than 7 million TikTok followers and over 1 million YouTube subscribers.

Find out more about Althoff and how she became successful.

Althoff started posting on TikTok in 2021.

At the time, she was sharing candid videos about being a mom and her pregnancy with her second daughter.

In one of her first TikTok videos from July 2021, Althoff posted a clip of her mouthing the words to Nicki Minaj’s “Grindin'” remix.

“When people choose to have their kids in their 20s instead of waiting till they are at least 35+,” she wrote atop the video.

Althoff started her podcast, “The Really Good Podcast , “  in April 2023. One of her first celebrity guests was Tammin Sursok, who starred in “Pretty Little Liars” and “The Young and the Restless.”

Fans were immediately drawn to her signature dry, awkward and confrontational style of interviewing.

Since then, she has welcomed several A-listers on her show, including Jessica Alba, Rick Glassman, Charlie Puth, Maluma and Jason Derulo.

Althoff’s career skyrocketed when her interviews with Drake, YouTuber Funny Marco, Lil Yachty and Offset went viral.

The most talked about episode, perhaps, was the one with the “God’s Plan” rapper, who Althoff said reached out to her after he saw her interview with Funny Marco.

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“When I saw he followed me, I was like I’m gonna ask,” she revealed on “Today,” adding that three days later, she was interviewing Drake in a hotel room bed.

Though the interview garnered over 9 million views, it was deleted from her page after fans noticed that she and the five-time Grammy winner unfollowed each other on Instagram.

Bobbi’s husband, Cory Althoff, filed for divorce from the influencer in February 2024 after four years of marriage.

The author cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split and is asking for joint legal and physical custody of their two kids, according to court documents obtained by Page Six.

Cory listed the date of separation as July 4, 2023 — the same month Drake was a guest on Bobbi’s podcast.

The following month, she denied speculation that she and the “Hotline Bling” rapper had a romantic fling that led to a falling out.

After news of the divorce surfaced, Bobbi took to Instagram to speak out about the split.

“As most of you have heard, Cory and I have filed for divorce,” she captioned a black-and-white Instagram snap of herself with the “Self-Taught Programmer” author.

“As sad as I am right now, I am so thankful for the time I got to be his wife. Our girls are so lucky to have him as a father & I am so lucky to be able to coparent with such an incredible father and person,” she added.

“While our relationship did not work out as husband and wife, we will always be friends and I will always love him.”

The estranged couple share daughters Luca and Isla, whom they welcomed in 2020 and 2022, respectively.

Though Bobbi never shows her girls’ faces on social media, she did feature her youngest daughter on TikTok while documenting her time as a newborn.

“I’m gonna baby wear her so that I can get some laundry done and just get some stuff done around the house,” she said in the clip while Isla was wrapped on her chest.

Bobbi recently deleted all videos of her little ones because she doesn’t want them to have a “digital footprint.”

“I’m so happy I [deleted the videos], especially since I made that decision before [the podcast] because I don’t want them to have the digital footprint that I’ve created,” she said on the “BFFs” podcast in August 2023.

“Now when they go public and they’re not with me, I don’t have to worry so that’s good.”

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Drake Does Son Adonis Graham's Hair in Sweet Instagram Photo

Fellow rapper Lil Yachty jokingly accused Drake of pretending to do Adonis' hair "for the internet" in the comments section

Drake/Instagram

Drake is in dad mode.

The Canadian rapper, 36, documented a sweet parenting moment in a new Instagram post .

On Friday, the Grammy winner shared a photo of himself and son Adonis . In the snapshot, Drake sits behind the 5-year-old as he carefully takes his blond curly tresses out of their braided hairstyle.

The “One Dance” rapper also wore his hair in braids in the father-son photo, prompting Tyga to comment, “Like father Like son.”

Collaborator and fellow dad DJ Khaled also commented on the post with a simple emoji: "👑."

Drizzy captioned the carousel with an Allen Iverson quote: “Just because you put a guy in a tuxedo doesn’t make him a good guy.”

In the same post, Drake also shared one of his signature mirror selfies — sporting a Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball jersey, faded jeans and large white sneakers — and a funny video of Adonis and the rapper's mom Sandi Graham .

In the clip, Sandi, 63, thanks her son for gifting her a new watch. “What a gift,” she says of the sparkly green watch. “Isn’t that gorgeous?”

The “Passionfruit” rapper then asks his son, whom he shares with French artist Sophie Brussaux, to comment on the present. “Do you like Bubby’s watch?” he asks.

Adonis, who was playing ping pong before his dad began filming, shrugs off the purchase, telling Drake he does not like it because it is “too expensive.”

“I know,” the rapper tells him. “Don’t worry, when you get older.”

The “God’s Plan” musician, who is currently on his It's All a Blur Tour with 21 Savage , also stirred the pot in the post’s comments section following an accusatory remark from longtime pal and fellow rapper Lil Yachty .

“It’s no way [you're] sitting here acting like [you're] braiding his hair for the internet,” Yachty, 25, jokingly commented on the post.

Drake clapped back with his reply, writing, “I was unbraiding it bitch your son said you ain’t hit him in 6 months on his finsta."

"He said he need some Jordans and a backpack for school," he added.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

This is not the first time the pair has faux beefed in Drake’s comments section.

In July, the “One Night” rapper complimented Drizzy’s massive diamond earrings, prompting him to reply with a rant about homophobic comments he has received about his nails — which he painted at Yachty’s recommendation.

Gregory Pace/Shutterstock; Michael Hurcomb/Shutterstock

"GET OUT MY COMMENTS YOU TOLD ME TO PAINT MY NAILS SO I STOP BITING THEM AND NOW THE WORLD IS BEING HOMOPHOBIC FOR THE 1st TIME SINCE RICH FLEX…which wasn’t that long ago now that I think about it," Drake responded on the post. "Wait is the world homophobic? Smh."

In response to his friend, Yachty wrote, "Woo-sah brother, [you're] not supposed to have these episodes in public, it’s fine.”

"They just don’t get u bro #UDIFFERENTAF,” he finished.

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Drake surprises fans at Lil Yachty concert in Toronto 

October 4, 2023 Breanna Marcelo

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Toronto’s favourite rapper Drake is home and he’s ready to give fans a memorable week of performances. 

To kick things off, the 6ix God decided to surprise fans at Lil Yachty’s concert at HISTORY Tuesday night. The Atlanta rapper is in town for his tour, “The Field Trip.”

The two have become close friends over the past few years and have collaborated on a number of songs, such as their first track “Oprah’s Bank Account,”as well as “Search & Rescue” and “P**sy & Millions,” which Yachty helped to produce.

On Tuesday night, fans went wild when Drake appeared on the mezzanine to address the crowd. He told everyone he hadn’t been home for four months and that Yachty could take a little break, before tearing into his latest popular hits “MELTDOWN” from Travis Scott’s recent new album, UTOPIA and “Rich Flex” from his album Her Loss.

READ MORE: Drake showed off his massive bra collection courtesy of his fans on social media

Throughout the show, Drake was also seen with his son, Adonis. In some clips taken by fans, the Toronto rapper is seen lifting him up Lion King style as “Smells Like Teen Spirit” plays in the background.

Before leaving, the Toronto rapper gave an update to fans about his upcoming new album, For All The Dogs, set to drop this Friday. He said he came straight from the studio where he was finishing up the album and confirmed that Lil Yachty is on the album too.

Drake is set to perform at Scotiabank Arena for his “It’s All A Blur” tour this Friday and Saturday. 

There is also speculation among fans that the rapper might make an appearance at the SZA concert at Scotiabank Arena Wednesday night. 

The two released a song titled “Slime You Out” last month which debuted at number one on Billboard’s Hot 100. 

Writer / Reporter

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On Wednesday (Sept. 6), Lil Yachty and MitchGoneMad premiered the sixth episode of “A Safe Place Podcast.” During their lengthy discussion, the topic of Drake’s upcoming LP, For All The Dogs , came up. It was at that time when Lil Boat decided to give his take on the highly anticipated body of work.

“It has the most, I would say like the most performance album he’ll have, as far as like energy,” Yachty said. “I think some of the best Drake verses that I ever heard are on this album. Some of the verses I’m just like, ‘Bruh, what’s wrong with you?’ People gonna have a lot to say about some of his topics on this album. And I don’t think he does it on purpose. I will say he deals with some controversial things.”

For All The Dogs was first announced in June by Drake as part of promotions for his first literary work, “Titles Ruin Everything: A Stream of Consciousness,” which was created alongside Kenza Samir. The following month, the OVO captain kicked off his “It’s All A Blur Tour,” which has been full of loose updates about the long-awaited effort.

“I know y’all worried about this album. You think I’mma wait till like, next year to drop this s**t. I promise you I’m not. I promise you,” he said to the packed crowd during the first of two Las Vegas stops on his aforementioned tour last Friday (Sept. 1). “I know I say this a lot, it’s real close… I gotta go listen to it one more time. It’s coming. It’s coming real soon.” As previously reported by REVOLT , he finally confirmed a Sept. 22 release date on social media, along with a throwback of a “Stormy Monday with Danny Marks” performance from his father, Dennis Graham.

Drake ft. Lil Yachty – “Another Late Night” [VIDEO]

• By | Yuriy Andriyashchuk
• Published | October 7, 2023

Drake releases “Another Late Night” video with Lil Yachty    

Drake released his eight studio album, “ For All The Dogs ,” on Friday. 23 new records were included, which also had plenty of star-studded features in 21 Savage, SZA, Lil Yachty , Sexyy Red, J. Cole , and more.

Meanwhile, one of the hottest songs off of For All The Dogs has since been “Another Late Night.” Moreover, this contains a feature from Lil Yachty, who is one of Drake’s close friends in the industry. As a result, the video for it is also now available, which was directed by Cole Bennett of Lyrical Lemonade.

• Another Late Night , drake , featured , For All The Dogs , lil yachty

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Lil Yachty Has a Wild Clapback to Fans Saying He Stole Playboi Carti’s Flow

Lil Yachty is clapping back at fans who accused the rapper of stealing Playboi Carti 's flow on a new song.

Lil Yachty Has a Wild Clapback to Fans Saying He Stole Playboi Carti's Flow

On Wednesday (March 20), Yachty responded to chatter online surrounding his flow on an unreleased song Kai Cenat previewed  during a livestream last Monday (March 18). Fans were quick to call out Lil Boat's cadence on the track, with many of them comparing it to Carti's.

"Biting him? How did I bite him?" Yachty wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, in response to a critic. "If that's the case i been workin with cardio since 2019-2020 on record yall fans be smoking the strongest d**k."

Cardo is known for producing all of Carti's most recent releases : "H00dByAir," "Ketamine," "EvilJ0rdan" and "Backr00ms." So fans were quick to clap back at Yachty's clapback.

"The song is terrible," the user @hadmyback replied . "The beat is a ‘H00DBYAIR’-type beat. Your flow is an obvious attempt at a Carti flow, and you used a ‘what’ ad-lib in the same cadence [that] Carti uses.”

Read More: Lil Yachty, Dr. Umar Disagree on Reason Why Black Women Get BBLs

Lil yachty announces new album.

Boat had previously announced in an  Instagram  post on Feb. 13 that he is dropping a  new album with James Blake .

"I mean, granted, I think James has worked with a quite substantial amount of hip-hop  artists. But this project is so left for both of us," the  Quality Control  rapper said in the video clip. "And then, aside from the one picture that James posted, which—he doesn’t have many followers actually—I don’t think people know that we know each other exist. So it’s just gon’ be like, 'What the f**k? When they do this?'"

Lil Yachty had previously dropped off "A Cold Sunday" on Feb. 2.

Read More: Playboi Carti Accused of Copying Classic Slipknot Mask

See Lil Yachty's reaction to biting Playboi Carti's flow below.

See Lil Yachty's Reaction to Being Accused of Stealing Playboi Carti's Flow

See which rappers are touring in 2024, more from xxl.

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The Kendrick Lamar/Drake Beef, Explained

By Frazier Tharpe

It’s been a minute since we've had a good ol’ fashioned rap beef, but Kendrick Lamar just firmly and decidedly thawed his Cold War with Drake all the way out—not with a spicy Instagram Live or tweets, but with straight bars . To quote prime Jigga-era Jay-Z , “the summer’s bout to get hot.”

Future and Metro Boomin’s decade-in-the-making new album We Don’t Trust You was already one of the most feverishly anticipated rap releases in some time, and on the song “Like That,” Kendrick delivers on that Christmas Eve energy with a guest verse that may as well be a “Control” sequel. But whereas that name-naming 2013 landmark was ultimately rooted in the spirit of competition, this time the gloves are off and the love is done.

Kendrick sets the tone early, declaring that he’s “choosing violence” and it’s time for an opponent to “prove that he’s a problem.” And though no names are officially named, a reference to Drake’s song “First Person Shooter” and the album it lives on, For All the Dogs, means we have to consider this something more than a subliminal. On “FPS” Drake brags about taking Michael Jackson’s mantle for having the most Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 songs, going as far as to hit the “Beat It” steps with a sequined glove in the video. Here, Kendrick finally, formally casts himself as direct opposition, ending his verse with a haymaker referencing MJ’s own longtime Cold War enemy: “Prince outlived Mike Jack.” Sheesh.

Kendrick and Drake have a complicated history, with over 10 years worth of static. As fanfare around Kendrick Lamar grew, Drake was quick to embrace him, giving Kendrick his own interlude on his 2011 album Take Care and bringing him along for the subsequent Club Paradise tour (which also included J. Cole, A$AP Rocky, Meek Mill, 2 Chainz, Waka Flocka Flame and others.) But even on that song, “Buried Alive,” tension was in the air, with Kendrick recounting his thoughts while receiving game during a meeting with Drake—then the more established in the industry at that point—and admitting to being irritated by Drake's success.

Nevertheless they linked up for the excellent “Poetic Justice” on Kendrick’s seminal good kid, M.a.a.d. City album—but the collaborative vibes stopped a year later, after Drake was one of the many peers Kendrick named in his timeline-stopping, call-to-arms verse on Big Sean’s “Control.” A month or two after that moment, Drake dropped Nothing Was the Same , and in an interview with Elliott Wilson , slickly managed to give Kendrick his props while dismissing the verse at the same time. Fast forward a month, to a cypher at the 2013 BET Hip-Hop Awards where Kendrick Lamar rapped “Nothing’s been the same since they dropped ‘Control’/and tucked the sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes.” Two months later: Drake hops on a remix to Future’s titanic “Sh!t” and ends his verse with “Fuckn-ggas, gon be fuckn-ggas/that’s why we never gave a fuck/when a fuckn-gga switched up.”

A little over 10 years later, a Future song sampling Three 6 Mafia (whose influence continues to have a stranglehold on the game) is once again the stage for a response. The decade in between has been rife with subliminals, references that could be reasonably taken as warning shots but easily disavowed as harmless if either artist was asked. A spicy allusion to rappers using ghostwriters just months before that whole scandal broke out here . A charged “I put him on MY tour” reminder there . “The Language,” “Element,” “Deep Water,” “100” —all reasonably diss canon but never made official. (To say nothing of Kendrick and his cousin Baby Keem’s “The Hillbillies” conspicuously aping Drake’s “Sticky” flow, or Drake saying he can't be like “one of those guys” who only drops albums every three to five years when announcing For All the Dogs .) NFL star Marcellus Wiley once claimed he bore witness to one of the rappers taking it there when asked about the situation during an ESPN SportsNation interview, but cooler heads prevailed, the rapper's team had the interview buried and to this day we don't know which of the two it was.

By Erin Bunch

By Oren Hartov

By Zoe Weiner

In the midst of playing United States vs. Soviet Union, though, both rappers maintained a close relationship with Germany, i.e. J. Cole. Kendrick and Cole have yet to make a rap forum dream a reality with their long-alluded-to collab album (we’ll always have this , though) but stayed in communication on wax in other ways, like Kendrick handling hook duty on Cole’s “Under the Sun” or that time they did a beat swap and freestyle over each other’s songs on Black Friday . Cole and Drake, meanwhile, have always been upfront about maintaining a real friendship outside of rap, but finally doubled down on that on wax with not one but two collaborations last year (their first songs together in 10 years) and Cole joining Drake’s nationwide tour for several dates.

In another interview with Wilson, this time alongside Brian “B.Dot” Miller at the tail end of the last decade, Drake mused that the next 10 years would be the time for him, Kendrick and Cole really show and prove who’s built to last. Cole made the subtext plain on a 2021 freestyle over Drake’s then-new song “Pipe Down,” rapping “Some people say that I'm running third, they threw the bronze at me/Behind Drake and Dot, yeah, them n-ggas is superstars to me.” He leans into it even harder in his verse on Drake’s “First Person Shooter” with “Love when they argue the hardest MC/Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me?/We The Big Three, like we started a league.”

On “Like That,” Kendrick is feeling a lot less kumbaya, rapping “Motherfuck the Big Three, it’s just Big Me.” Between that and dismissively observing that “n-ggas cliquin up” earlier in the verse, some could argue that the song also functions as a J. Cole diss as well as Drake. But you could just as easily say the same about Cole’s recent statements that he’s out to prove he’s the best, as he preps his long-awaited album The Fall Off , a Black Album -esque manifesto he’s crafting to ostensibly end all debate. After all, that Big Three line on “First Person Shooter” does end with Cole declaring himself Muhammed Ali, a sentiment he's been doubling down on in one stellar verse after another for the last few years. He clarified in an interview with Lil Yachty that he never once awarded himself the bronze medal, just merely acknowledged that it was a rampant perception. So in theory, the new Kendrick lines could be received by Cole as the same spirit of competition that he’s been preaching.

But we’ve gone hundreds of words without returning to the duo who delivered this moment: Future, the fourth face on that 2010s Rap Mount Rushmore, and Metro Boomin, the superproducer he’s made some of his most potent music with. There’s a deeper layer to Kendrick choosing a Future and Metro album as the stage to finally go at Drake: Metro has seemingly had his own problems with the 6ix God. Late last year he posted and subsequently deleted a tweet about his acclaimed album Superheroes and Villains continuing to lose awards to Drake (and frequent Metro collaborator 21 Savage’s) album Her Loss . During a livestream not long after, Drake hilariously referenced “the non-believers, the underachievers, the tweet-and-deleters,” adding “you guys make me sick to my stomach, fam.” Despite trading a few more subliminal potshots across Twitter and IG , Metro downplayed any beef, saying that the issue was “not deep at all.”

Still, when eagle-eyed fans took note of Metro unfollowing Drake on Instagram—the definitive 21st century signpost of an un-amicable split—ahead of the album’s release, it didn’t take a hip-hop scholar to assume that, as Kendrick would declare, “it’s up.” And for those wondering how a producer-rapper beef would even reasonably play out, Metro makes it clear by serving up a new creative peak on “Like That,” with an obscenely screwface-inducing beat sampling Three 6 Mafia’s “Who the Crunkest” (which itself sampled 80s rap duo Rodney O and Joe Cooley), alongside Eazy-E's classic “Eazy Duz It” as well as a splash of “Ridin Spinners.” In effect Kendrick and Metro are following playbooks beloved by the likes of Jay-Z before them, or even Drake with “Back to Back,” in dissing your opponent on a song that’s an undeniable banger whether people know the context or not.

But why would Future, who has approximately 30 ( thirty ) collaborations with Drake, including the 2015 collab album What a Time to Be Alive and two fairly recent tracks on Future’s last solo album, cede airtime on his new project to a noted Drake enemy? No one knows for sure at press time, but it’s possible they have issues of their own. Despite their prolific collaborations, their relationship has had its rough moments from day one. Recall 2011, when an ascendant Future got an assist from Drake remixing the former’s “Tony Montana,” only to publicly bemoan Drake refusing to do a video . And while they toured together in 2016, who can forget that time in 2013 when Future was briefly, allegedly booted off of Drake’s tour for less-than-flattering comments about his music in an interview.

Factor in the name of the album, and Future’s rap on the intro about someone who’s his number one fan despite sneak dissing him on the side, and you don’t need that big of a tinfoil hat to make the leap. Any opinions on the current status of Future and Drake’s relationship is all baseless conjecture for now, but what is irrefutable is that rap beef is geopolitics. One would imagine Drake, who on the chorus of a recent track cheekily wonders what Pluto (Future) would do in a certain romantic situation (answer: not safe for work), wouldn’t simply shrug at one of his most frequent collaborators releasing a project with space reserved for direct shots at him. (That would be like 21 Savage letting Pusha T hop on a track.)

It’ll be interesting to see how this all unfolds, but while it’s understandably taking up a lot of oxygen on the timeline right now, one thing we shouldn’t lose sight of is that We Don’t Trust You is, quite simply, incredible. Sure, beef is cool but so is Future reverting to some of his most historically depraved peaks earlier on the track—do not listen closely if you don’t want to hear specifics of the X-rated scenario that may absolve him of one of his 20 carat rings. He’s blacking out mostly everywhere else on the album even harder; 2022’s I Never Liked You is a great album, but We Don’t Trust You arrives immediately battling for an even higher spot in his storied discography. The same can be said for Metro’s beats; I yelled just as loudly as I did at Kendrick on “Like That” later on at the surprise Rick Ross verse as he glides on the soulful, escalating beat for “Everyday Hustle” ... only for the beat to morph a third time as Future returns to take the reins.

Metro’s been talking this album up for the better part of a year, directly acknowledging the high standard set by his and Future’s past work as a unit. They’ve cleared that bar and then some, shaking the rap game up in the process, securing a top slot for a summer outside and any Best Of lists. Silencing all doubters with the music, casting oneself as a step ahead of the competition: it’s energy the late, great Mobb Deep rapper Prodigy would appreciate, which is perhaps why the album is peppered with gripping soundbites from some of his past interviews.

New beef and a handful of great mainstream rap records all before Easter? I thought it was a drought.

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Drake And Lil Wayne Share The Stage During Wayne's First Date On The "It's All A Blur Tour"

On Saturday (March 23), Drake and his mentor and partner in rhyme, Lil Wayne, shared the stage during the “A Milli” rapper’s first date on the “It’s All A Blur Tour — Big As The What?” The Sunrise, Florida, show date also featured a cameo from famed producer and personality DJ Khaled.

Lil Wayne has been on an exciting run following his sold-out “Welcome To Tha Carter Tour.” Presented by Young Money, Rolling Loud and Live Nation, the 28-city trek kicked off April 4 in Minneapolis before making its way to Chicago, Toronto, New York, Atlanta and Houston, wrapping up on May 13 in Los Angeles.

While the Young Money CEO performed a medley of his greatest hits, Drake ran onto the stage , telling attendees, “Hold on, hold on, because these are my favorite moments in life right now. From top of the mountain emerged the motherf**king greatest rapper of all time. Florida, if y’all don’t make some f**king noise for my brother, Lil Wayne, in here tonight,” before the crowd erupted in cheers.

The duo performed a few of their most popular collaborations before the “God’s Plan” recording artist finished his hefty set list. This was the first tour date since Future and Metro Boomin released their highly anticipated album, WE DON’T TRUST YOU , which seemingly featured a few shots at the Canadian-bred emcee.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi)

Kendrick Lamar’s verse on “Like That” seemed to be a direct jab at the “First Person Shooter” rapper. On the new song, Lamar rapped, “N**gas clickin’ up, but cannot be legit, no ’40 Water,’ tell’ em/ Ah, yeah, huh, yeah, get up with me/ F**k sneak dissin’, first-person shooter, I hope they came with three switches.”

Drake has yet to respond publicly to the diss track, but fans believe the recent photos of him looking distressed and leaving a club wearing headphones were from the moment he first heard the new diss.

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Drake seemingly trolls nav after realizing he unfollowed him on instagram, drake calls in during sexyy red's stream with adin ross, new photos of drake go viral following kendrick lamar's verse on "like that", social media reacts to future name-dropping megan thee stallion on "type s**t", kendrick lamar fires shots at drake and j. cole on "like that": "f**k sneak dissin'", fans claim big sean picked a bad day to release his new song "precision", sponsored stories.

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Should Drake and J. Cole Respond to Kendrick Lamar? Here Are Pros and Cons For Each

After Kendrick sent shots at Drake and J. Cole on “Like That,” what happens next? Should Drake and Cole fire back? We broke it down.

The ball is in Drake and J. Cole ’s court. After Kendrick Lamar sent shots at his peers on “Like That” (read a whole breakdown of the situation here if you’ve been living under a rock), the rap world’s attention now turns to Drake and Cole. Will they respond? If so, how will they do it?

Drake and Kendrick have a long history of tension that dates back to 2013, following Dot’s infamous “Control” verse, and now their quiet beef has finally boiled over into direct jabs. Cole and Kendrick have always seemed to be on good terms—Cole spoke highly of Kendrick as recently as last November on Lil Yachty’s A Safe Space podcast —but he may have been hit with these shots because of his close association with Drake.

Now Drake and Cole have some decisions to make. Will they respond to Drake? If so, how should they do it? Under the assumption that they would each respond in music, rather than on social media, we broke down the pros and cons of Drake and J. Cole firing back at Kendrick. As K. Dot himself once said, “I’m usually homeboys with the same niggas I’m rhyming with/ But this is hip-hop and them niggas should know what time it is!”

Will Drake Respond?

If Drake responds to Kendrick with a well-crafted verse, it would be a reminder to the naysayers that he can do more than just send subliminal shots , because he also has a history of making surgical diss tracks. During his feud with Meek Mill in 2015, he disarmed the Philly rapper with “Charged Up,” which had wild bars like “Come live all your dreams out at OVO/ We gon' make sure you get your bread and you know the ropes,” before ether-ing him with “Back to Back,” the first ever Grammy-nominated diss track. And he might have lost his beef with Pusha-T, but “Duppy Freestyle” is still a very lyrically impressive record. (”I had a microphone of yours, but then the signature faded/ I think that pretty much resembles what's been happenin'” is a cold-ass bar.) If it comes down to it, a new diss record from Drake that isn’t marred by any unnecessary drama could be great for rap and for his own career.

If Drake doesn’t bring his A-game, it could backfire and make him look even worse. He has a tendency to play characters in different situations he’s in, and as of late, he’s either been the OVO mob boss who raps about “linking with the opps” for J Prince or the “petty king” who plans to “buy your most personal belongings when they’re up for auction.” The worst thing that Drake could do in this situation is play too deeply into one of these personas and deliver a diss record that’s all about how he’s more rich than Kendrick. Even if it’s true, no one wants to hear that. As the most commercially successful rapper of the last decade, with countless accolades to his name, Drake has a lot to lose in this situation. If he releases a wack response and ultimately loses a battle with Kendrick, it would put a major blemish on his reputation and could knock him off of what many believe is a throne he's been sitting on for years.

Drake is tired of people playing with his name. He responded to For All The Dogs criticism by releasing a Scary Hours Edition deluxe pack, which was filled with the exact kind of lyricism that many critics said was missing from the original album. He reads every comment and sees what people are saying on the internet, and I don’t think he’s going to let Kendrick get away with bodying him on a song from his old homies Metro Boomin and Future. 

In November, he said that he wrote the five additional Scary Hours songs while he was on the road, explaining that this is the most inspired he’s felt since If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. If that’s the case, then he shouldn’t have a problem crafting one refined record aimed squarely at Kendrick (and potentially Future and Metro) while he’s on tour. There are plenty of reasons why he would choose not to respond, mainly because Kendrick has the capability to bar him up, but given how explosive “Like That” is, I doubt Drake will stay out of the booth. Now is the time for him to finally respond directly, because Kendrick came at him in a way that was too straightforward for Drake to ignore. If he doesn’t, it might always go down as a “what-if” moment for him and he could be haunted by criticism about backing down to a formidable opponent. He definitely shouldn’t do what he usually does and make a shady Instagram post, followed by sprinkling subliminal disses in every solo rap single, guest verse, and concert speech for the next 6 years. 

Will J. Cole Respond?

It’s never been unanimously agreed upon who is better between J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar, but if Cole successfully won a direct war of words, he would finally have more ammo in the debate. Cole had a hell of a year in 2023 as he dominated every feature he appeared on, firmly establishing himself as one of the best MCs alive right now . He’s had friendly sparring matches with Kendrick before, like when they rapped over each other’s beats on their 2015 “Black Friday” singles, and it seems like there is a mutual respect between the two of them. If Cole chose to respond to Lamar's jabs, and did so triumphantly, he would position himself in a class of his own right now. He already had the best verse on Drake’s “First Person Shooter.” Now all that remains is for him to prove that he can out-rap Kendrick on the most visible stage possible.

For fans of Cole and Kendrick, the worst-case scenario would be if they ruined their relationship because of a back-and-forth feud. Some are still holding out for a long-awaited collab album between the two of them, and it would be unfortunate if a verse that was primarily aimed at Drake created a rift that went beyond music. For Cole, a loss to Kendrick on a stage like this would strengthen arguments that he is definitively in third place amongst the Big 3. It would be a major blow to his legacy if he went head-to-head and couldn’t meet Kendrick’s lyrical ability. 

Most of Kendrick’s shots were directed at Drake on “Like That,” and while Cole did catch some bars, I don’t think he will (or should) respond to Kendrick’s verse with bars. Kendrick is more likely to get a phone call from Cole than a verse, which is what he did with Noname after she responded to his “Snow On Tha Bluff.” Plus, Cole and Kendrick don’t have the same contentious history that Dot and Drake do. It wouldn’t be perceived as an L from fans if he chose to stay quiet and let Drake defend himself, so I don't think we'll be hearing any direct shots at Kendrick, which is probably the right call . There’s a lot more risk than reward for Cole when it comes to responding to Kendrick.

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