Drake and Kendrick Lamar have been embroiled in a bitter rivalry in the music industry for many years, during which both musicians have been critical of each other. The latter, 36, recently released a new track called Euphoria, in which he once again targeted Drake. Three days after releasing this diss track, he intensified his feud with Drake on Friday morning by releasing a second one, 6:16 in LA.
This is the latest in their long-running beef, which has gotten bigger and more intense over the past few weeks, involving other rappers.
Not one to back down, Drake is said to quickly hit back with a diss track of his own. However, that is not all—he recently shared a scene from Antoine Fuqua’s The Equalizer 2 on his social media, showcasing his lyrical skills and channeling his inner Denzel Washington in the process.
Drake’s Response to Kendrick Lamar’s Latest Diss Track?
In Euphoria, Kendrick Lamar raps about his ascent in the game and his professional accomplishments, seemingly patronizing his contemporaries. Three days after the release of Euphoria, he has now taken another stab at Drake with a second one.
The new song, titled 6:16 in LA, is a parody of some of Drake’s well-known, reflective ‘timestamp songs’, such as 4 PM in Calabasas (2013) and 8 AM in Charlotte (2023) (see Variety). Taking aim at Drake’s OVO crew, Lamar name-checks one of Drake’s viral hits (“Can not ‘Toosie Slide’ out of this one / it is just gon’ resurface”) in the new song, which he released via Instagram on Friday.
It goes without saying that fans have been talking a lot about the unexpected drop. Drake, though, has remained largely silent about the situation. He appears to be reacting now, and he may not be going easy on Lamar when his response comes in, as seen by his recent post on Instagram Story.
Inspired by Denzel Washington’s resolute character in The Equalizer 2, Drake hinted at his combat readiness by sharing the iconic line from the flick:
“I am going to kill each and every one of you.”
Not only is this a theatrical quotation, but it is also a calculated move that shows Drake’s deep understanding of the art of war in music. And he seems to be prepared to establish beyond doubt who is the greatest in the rap industry.
Drake reacts to Kendrick Lamar's new diss via IG 👀
“I’m going to k!ll each & every one of you & the only disappointment in it for me is that I only get to do it once” pic.twitter.com/ruEJrvhXM0
— Kurrco (@Kurrco) May 3, 2024
Denzel Washington performed the role of Robert McCall, a spy, in the films The Equalizer (2014), The Equalizer 2 (2018), and The Equalizer 3, which was released last year. Similar to its predecessor, The Equalizer 2 was well-received by critics and achieved global sales of $190 million (Box Office MoJo). The Equalizer 3, a follow-up, was released on September 1, 2023, with a similar positive response.
Drake’s Bold Response to Kendrick Lamar in Family Matters Track
Drake has returned with Family Matters, which is available now, following some extremely offensive bars on Kendrick Lamar’s diss track, Euphoria. The video for the seven-minute diss track opens with a mini-van being crushed at what looks to be a junkyard. This is probably a reference to the Dodge van on the cover of Lamar’s 2012 debut album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.
After teasing a prelude in the form of a post and reel on Instagram, he asks his followers to watch his response to Lamar’s diss on YouTube. Anticipating the release of the new song, fans, and fellow musicians were speculating about who was currently winning.
The seven-minute video appears to have one overarching theme: family. It seems that K Dot was the main character who took the brunt of the blows throughout the song. Not only does he make fun of Kendrick Lamar’s rapping style, but he also deliberately disparages his marriage to Whitney Alford and his role as a father.
Drake even can be seen savagely criticizing A$AP Rocky, Rick Ross, The Weeknd, and other people. Despite all of the detours, the target always returns to Kendrick Lamar, whom he subsequently charges with abusing his wife.
The Equalizer 2 is streaming on Hulu.