Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s beef explained as 'Not Like Us' rapper takes shots during Super Bowl

Kendrick Lamar used his Super Bowl half-time show performance on Sunday as an opportunity to escalate his ongoing beef with Drake (real name Aubrey Graham), inviting tennis star Serena Williams on stage with him and making fresh digs at his nemesis during the diss track 'Not Like Us'.

The song sees Lamar brand Drake a "certified paedophile", though the 'All The Stars' rapper opted not to say the word out loud during the sporting event, which saw the Philadelphia Eagles secure a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

And all of this came just days after 'Not Like Us' secured wins for Lamar at this year's Grammys.

But where did this all begin?

If you're unfamiliar with the history, then let's get you up to speed with a handy timeline...

Lamar: 'Like That'

Back in March 2024, Lamar featured on the track 'Like That' with Future and Metro Boomin and claimed he was the best rapper out of Drake, J Cole and himself by rapping: “M********* the big three, n**** it’s just big me”.

This was in response to a verse by fellow rapper J Cole on Drake’s 2023 song, 'First Person Shooter' where J Cole rapped: "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, but right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali."

Drake: 'Push Ups'

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In April, J Cole hit back at Lamar with his track '7 Minute Drill,' but two days later retracted the diss and issued a public apology to Lamar and said he would pull the song from streaming services.

Meanwhile, Drake clapped back at Lamar with the song 'Push Ups' in the same month, in which he says: “How the f*** you big steppin' with a size 7 men's on? / Your last one bricked, you really not on s*** / They make excuses for you ’cause they hate to see me lit / Pull your contract ’cause we gotta see the split / Ain’t no way you doin’ splits b**** your pants might rip."

He also goes on to mock Lamar’s appearances on pop songs such as 'Don’t Wanna Know' and 'Bad Blood'.

"Maroon 5 need a verse, you better make it witty / Then we need a verse for the Swifties / Top say drop, you better drop and give him 50 / Pipsqueak, pipe down / You ain’t in no big three, SZA got you wiped down, Travis got you wiped down, Savage got you wiped down / Like your label boy, you Interscope right now," he raps.

Drake: 'Taylor Made Freestyle'

Drake also dared Lamar to respond to him in 'Taylor Made Freestyle', also released in April, which ends with him rapping: “We waitin’ on you.”

He later removed the track from social media, after the estate of the late rapper Tupac Shakur threatened him with legal action over the song, which appears to feature a version of Shakur’s voice using artificial intelligence.

Lamar: "Euphoria"

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Then came the week of diss tracks at the end of April (30 April), when Lamar released the six-minute song 'Euphoria', taking aim at Drake being biracial by questioning his use of the n-word and asking “how many more Black features 'til you finally feel that you're Black enough”.

He also slams Drake’s apparent use of an AI version of Shakur, saying the 'Hotline Bling' rapper made “Tupac turn in his grave”.

Lamar: '6:16 in LA'

And before Drake could even release an official diss track in response, Lamar shared a second song targeting his rival on 3 May – titled '6:16 in LA', a parody of tracks by the Canadian such as '8am in Charlotte' and '5am in Toronto' – in which he brands Drake a “fake bully” and claims “everyone inside your team is whispering that you deserve” his insults.

Drake: 'Family Matters'

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Later that same day, Drake responded with 'Family Matters', a seven-minute track in which he alleges Lamar “called the Tupac estate and begged ‘em to sue me and get ['Taylor Made Freestyle'] down” and accuses him of domestic abuse.

Lamar: 'Meet the Grahams'

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Lamar’s third diss track came just minutes after that. 'Meet the Grahams' saw Lamar allege Drake has a secret daughter and is addicted to drugs, sex and gambling.

Lamar: 'Not Like Us'

And the 'm.A.A.d city' rapper didn't stop there as on 5 May, he dropped a fourth diss track - the third in 36 hours - titled 'Not Like Us' where he called out Drake out for his alleged preference for younger women and even branded him a “certified paedophile."

"Certified lover boy, certified paedophiles… Why he trollin’ like a b****? Ain’t you tired?/ Tryna strike a cord and it’s probably A-Minor," said Lamar.

Drake: 'The Heart Part 6'

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On 6 May, Drake clapped back with 'The Heart Part 6', claiming his team fed Lamar false information.

He raps: "We plotted for a week, and then we fed you the information / A daughter that's 11 years' old, I bet he takes it.

"If I was f***ing young girls, I promise I'd have been arrested / I'm way too famous for this s*** you just suggested."

Drake: The legal battles

In January this year, Drake filed a lawsuit with his own record label - Universal Music Group (UMG) - for defamation and spreading the "false and malicious narrative" that he is a paedophile via 'Not Like Us'.

Lamar is also represented by UMG, and the aforementioned track was released by its subsidiary Interscope Records, but he is not named in the suit.

In the legal documents, Drake claimed Universal knew the allegations were false but "chose corporate greed over the safety and wellbeing of its artist", and that it "approved, published, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track" which was "intended to convey the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal paedophile, and to suggest that the public should resort to vigilante justice in response".

"In controversy, UMG saw an opportunity, seized it, and continued to fan the flames," the suit reads.

Responding to the lawsuit in a statement to The Independent, UMG said: "Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist—let alone Drake—is illogical.

"We have invested massively in his music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success.”

This legal case was filed just hours after Drake dropped a separate legal complaint against UMG and Spotify, reported by The Independentin November, which alleged UMG had paid Spotify to recommend 'Not Like Us' to users "searching for other unrelated songs and artists".

A UMG spokesman said at the time that "the suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue" and that "fans choose the music they want to hear".

Spotify added: "Spotify has no economic incentive for users to stream 'Not Like Us' over any of Drake's tracks.

"“Only one of Spotify for Artists’ tools, Marquee, was purchased on behalf of the song, for €500 to promote the track in France. Marquee is a visual ad that is disclosed to users as a Sponsored Recommendation.”

Lamar: Super Bowl LIX performance

And when Lamar had the opportunity to perform during one of the biggest sporting events in the world, is it any surprise that he made a few digs at his rival, Drake?

He even referenced the lawsuits when teasing a live performance of 'Not Like Us', saying at one point that "I want to perform their favourite song, but you know they love to sue".

Lamar opted not to say the word "paedophile" while on stage.

But that's not all, as Serena Williams also showed up during Lamar's performance, which social media users suspect is another swipe at Drake considering the sportswoman's own history with the 'Hotline Bling' rapper.

Rumours intensified in 2015 that they were dating, though neither of them has confirmed a romance, and Drake later confirmed his 2016 track 'Too Good' - including the lines "I'm way to good to you / You take my love for granted" - was about Williams.

He was more explicit in referencing Serena in 2022, on the track 'Middle of the Ocean', when he said: "Sidebar, Serena, your husband a groupie / He claim we don't got a problem but / No, boo, it is like you coming for sushi."

Other celebrity appearances included Samuel L. Jackson and SZA.

While Lamar took to the stage in New Orleans, Drake was in Melbourne, Australia, performing on his Anita Max Win tour.

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