It feels like it’s been a while since Kendrick Lamar blessed us with his presence. But, boy, did he come back in a major way in the wee hours of the morning on Friday.
Lamar popped up as a feature on Metro Boomin and Future’s new collaboration album WE DON’T TRUST YOU. This was already one of the most anticipated albums of the last decade. Fans had been waiting on another complete Metro and Future project for nearly a decade. We finally got it and it did not disappoint.
The features are a big hook this album. The list includes big names like Travis Scott, The Weeknd, Rick Ross and more. The work is fantastic. The album transports you through time to the days when “Commas” was still going crazy on the radio. Yes, kids, we were still listening to the radio back in 2014. The entire project is well worth your time.
But if you let the internet tell it today, Lamar’s verse on “Like That” is the highlight of the entire project. And I can’t blame them — I wholeheartedly agree.
Kung Fu Kenny takes the gloves off with his verse and directly confronts the notion that any of his contemporaries can hold a candle to him — specifically Drake and J. Cole, who many might actually be better artists.
Warning: There is some NSFW language in this video
His words weren’t subliminal shots. He wasn’t using playful banter. Plain and simple, this was Lamar saying, “You cannot touch me.”
This is beef, folks. And I’m glad that we finally got here.
Wait, I couldn't listen. What did he say?
(Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for Cash App)
Well, I won’t write out every single lyric here. But from the jump, Lamar said he’s “choosing violence.” That’s exactly what he did.
He directly called out Drake and J. Cole’s “First Person Shooter,” which appeared on Drake’s most recent album, For All the Dogs. In it, the two of them made several references to being the best rappers in the world while also giving subtle nods to Lamar, too.
But Kendrick wasn’t having it. “[Expletive] the big three, [expletive] it’s just big me,” he asserted at one point in his feature verse.
There’s a lot more included here, but yeah, you get the gist of it.
Wow. What made him this upset?
(Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)
Well, first, there’s a bit of a history between Kendrick Lamar and Drake that hasn’t been addressed for years.
The two have widely been regarded as the best rappers of their generation, so there’s already some natural competitive tension. But the two of them have thrown subliminal shots at each other for over a decade now. They’ve done it while hopping on each other’s songs. They’ve done it in cyphers. They’ve done it through interviews.
But, really, at the center of it all is 2013’s “Control” verse from Kendrick Lamar. He called out every single rapper he considered as his competition by name. Drake was included.
It’s been spicy ever since.
OK. That explains Drake. But what about J. Cole?
Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Yeah, see, this one is weird. As far as we know, J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar are friends. They’ve been friends for a long time.
They did their whole Black Friday collab almost a decade ago now where they created their versions of each other’s songs. They were also reportedly working on a joint album together at one point. He was even featured in 2019’s Revenge of the Dreams album on a hook for a song that J. Cole rapped on.
I hate to say it, but this might just be a case of Kendrick trying to put his pal in his place. On “First Person Shooter” Cole rapped about not just being on the same level as Lamar, but actually being better than both him and Drake.
Warning: There is some NSFW language in this video
In the song, J. Cole raps “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.”
Yes, that’s him calling himself the Muhammad Ali of rap. I’m not saying that’s the part that ticked Kendrick Lamar off — my guess is that the entire song did. But if I were him? And I was that good at my job? Yeah, I’d be a little upset.
So what happens now?
(Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP)
We wait. That’s all. One of these guys is going to take the bait sooner or later. I don’t know if it’ll be Drake first. I don’t know if it’ll be J. Cole first. But there’s absolutely no way both of these dudes just let these bars slide and the internet explode without retaliation of some sort.
If I were putting money on it? I’d bet it’d be J. Cole. He always seems ready to respond to things like this. He responded to a shot from NBA Youngboy on the aforementioned “First Person Shooter” joint above.
Maybe we’ll get an entire song from one of these two. Maybe it’ll just be a feature verse. Maybe Drake will drop an IG story or two out there in response. I don’t know.
But something is definitely coming. And when it does? Whew, boy. We’ll be ready.
