A timeline of their feud, from 2024 on

The long-standing feud between rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar hit a fever pitch in 2024 and has been incrementally escalating ever since.

In January, Drake filed an explosive defamation lawsuit towards his personal file label, Common Music Group, on which Kendrick Lamar can also be signed. Within the lawsuit the Canadian rapper accuses UMG of prioritizing “company greed over the protection and well-being of its artists” by releasing Lamar’s diss monitor “Not Like Us,” which accuses Drake of being a pedophile.

Drake amended the grievance on Wednesday, including that UMG additionally capitalized on the music’s Grammy wins — it made historical past because the first and only diss track to ever take residence a Grammy — and the efficiency of the music in the course of the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show to further damage his reputation.

Right here’s what occurred previously 12 months that’s led us so far.

March 22, 2024: Kicking off the newest chapter of their feud is the music “Like That” from Future, Metro Boomin and Lamar. In it, Lamar refutes the declare that he, Drake and J. Cole are the “Large Three” in rap music. “It’s simply large me,” Lamar raps, referencing J. Cole’s verse on Drake’s 2023 music.

April 13, 2024: Drake responds to Lamar with the leaked monitor “Push Ups,” by which the Canadian rapper tells Lamar, “You ain’t in no Large Three,” earlier than calling out Lamar’s options on pop songs of artists like Taylor Swift.

April 19, 2024: Drake hits again with one other diss monitor whereas ready for Lamar to reply. On “Taylor Made Freestyle,” the previous Degrassi: The Subsequent Technology actor makes use of AI-generated voices of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg — Lamar’s idols — to insult him. The music, nonetheless, was deleted after Shakur’s estate sent Drake a cease and desist letter. The monitor supposedly bought its identify as a result of Drake accused Lamar of not responding to his authentic diss as to not intrude with the discharge of Taylor Swift’s album The Tortured Poets Department on April 19.

April 30, 2024: Lamar reenters the chat with a music titled “Euphoria” — additionally the identify of the HBO collection Drake produces — that assaults Drake on all fronts, blasting his parenting and rap talents. The “Not Like Us” rapper additionally accuses Drake of getting cosmetic surgery.

Might 3-5, 2024: Diss tracks are exchanged. Lamar drops “6:16 in LA,” “Meet the Grahams” and “Not Like Us.” Drake releases “Household Issues” and “The Coronary heart Half 6.” The rappers make explosive allegations of abuse, infidelity and false parenthood.

Might 24, 2024: Drake seems on rapper Sexyy Purple’s new mixtape, on the monitor, “U MY EVERYTHING.” Rapping over Metro Boomin’s “BBL Drizzy” — a music that spawned a slew of memes referring to rumors that Drake bought a Brazilian butt-lift process — the monitor seems to be a means for Drake to reclaim the narrative.

June 19, 2024: Throughout Lamar’s Juneteenth “Pop-Out” live performance, he performs a model of his diss monitor “Euphoria” with new lyrics, saying, “Give Tupac’s ring again and I’d offer you somewhat respect.” Followers additionally consider Lamar’s performance outfit was a nod to Tupac.

July 4, 2024: Lamar releases his “Not Like Us” music video, which contains Easter eggs for followers who’ve been carefully following the feud, together with: Lamar’s companion Whitney Alford and their two kids collectively, references to lighting in Drake’s “Household Issues” music video and a set modeled after a jail cell.

Sept. 8, 2024: Lamar confirms that he’ll be performing on the Tremendous Bowl halftime present. In his announcement, the “Cash Timber” rapper takes a jab at Drake, saying, “You already know it’s just one alternative to win a championship — no spherical twos.” The road refers to Drake’s undelivered promise of rehashing their feud.

Nov. 22, 2024: Lamar releases his sixth studio album, GNX, which outlines the fallout of his feud with Drake. The Compton-born rapper makes use of this as one more alternative to additional jab on the “Hotline Bling” hitmaker, suggesting he’s a pedophile as soon as extra.

Nov. 25, 2024: Drake accuses his record label UMG and streaming service Spotify of boosting streams of “Not Like Us” in an inorganic strategy to “deceive shoppers into believing the music was extra common than it was in actuality.” The rapper states within the New York court docket submitting that he’d tried fixing this matter with UMG privately, however the label had “little interest in taking duty for its misconduct.”

UMG rapidly denies Drake’s accusations, calling them “offensive and untrue.” Spotify declined to touch upon Drake’s allegations.

Nov. 26, 2024: In a second court filing, now in Texas, Drake accuses UMG of defamation for permitting the discharge of a music “falsely accusing him of being a intercourse offender.” Drake additionally accuses iHeartRadio of conspiring towards him by taking part in “Not Like Us” on the radio.

Dec. 20, 2024: Spotify responds to Drake’s first filing with a movement to dismiss Drake’s grievance.

Drake’s authorized staff fires again at Spotify’s movement to dismiss the rapper’s claims. The rapper’s authorized staff wrote, in a statement to Billboard, “It’s not stunning that Spotify is making an attempt to distance themselves from UMG’s allegedly manipulative practices to artificially inflate streaming numbers on behalf of one among its different artists.”

Jan. 14, 2025: Drake and his authorized staff drop the legal petition against UMG and Spotify.

Jan. 15, 2025: Drake recordsdata an explosive defamation lawsuit towards UMG. Within the submitting, Drake claims the label put “company greed over the protection and well-being of its artists” by means of the discharge of “Not Like Us,” a music that hinges on “the precise, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a legal pedophile, and to counsel that the general public ought to resort to vigilante justice in response.”

UMG denies the rapper’s claims of defamation. “Now we have not and don’t have interaction in defamation — towards any particular person,” the label said in a statement.

Learn extra from Yahoo Leisure: Drake sues his label over Kendrick Lamar diss track ‘Not Like Us.’ Here’s what’s happening.

Jan. 17, 2025: Lamar’s “Not Like Us” formally surpasses one billion streams on Spotify, Billboard reports.

Jan. 23, 2025: Drake releases the music “Preventing Irish (Freestyle).” Right here, Drake appears to trace on the authorized motion he plans to take towards Lamar, saying, “I hate to see the empire crumble on judges’ convictions.”

Jan. 24, 2025: UMG strikes again, submitting a movement to dismiss Drake’s Texas petition over a lack of evidence. The label claims that Drake has “no evidentiary assist for his asserted want for pre-suit deposition of UMG.” UMG additionally requests the dismissal of all discovery associated to the state of affairs till the court docket guidelines on it.

Feb. 2, 2025: Lamar wins large for his music “Not Like Us” on the 67th annual Grammys, successful 5 awards together with Document of the 12 months and Tune of the 12 months. The music turns into the primary diss monitor to win a Grammy.

Feb. 9, 2025: Every week after making Grammys historical past, Lamar takes the stage for his Tremendous Bowl halftime efficiency in New Orleans. He delivers on his promise of rehashing the feud with Drake, rapping “Not Like Us” to your entire Caesars Superdome and international tv viewers. Lamar’s record-breaking halftime present averaged 133.5 million views across all platforms.

Learn extra from Yahoo Leisure: How Kendrick Lamar’s feud with Drake got him to the top of his game for the Super Bowl halftime show

Feb. 14, 2025: Drake releases his collaborative album $ome $ongs 4 U with fellow Canadian rapper PartyNextDoor, on which he fires again at Lamar. On the monitor “Gimme a Hug,” Drake goes in on Lamar, at one level calling him “King Petty.”

Feb. 27, 2025: Drake and his authorized staff dismiss iHeartMedia, the guardian firm of iHeartRadio, from the Texas petition. Each events reportedly attain a settlement.

Mar. 17, 2025: UMG recordsdata a movement to dismiss Drake’s defamation lawsuit, accusing him of making an attempt to “save face” after failing to win his feud towards Lamar.

“As an alternative of accepting the loss just like the unbothered rap artist he typically claims to be, he has sued his personal file label in a misguided try and salve his wounds,” reads the submitting, in keeping with Variety.

Drake’s legal professional, Michael J. Gottlieb, accuses UMG of pretending that “this can be a rap battle” in an effort to distract “its shareholders, artists and the general public” from the truth that they’re profiting off “dangerous misinformation” that has resulted in “a number of acts of violence.”

Mar. 18, 2025: UMG submits a letter within the New York court docket case to halt the invention of knowledge in relation to Drake’s defamation lawsuit as it might trigger “undue burden,” in keeping with Variety.

April 2, 2025: In New York, Choose Jeanette Vargas denies UMG’s request to halt the discovery process of Drake’s defamation lawsuit. Drake is now allowed to entry Lamar’s contracts with the label together with different paperwork.

April 14, 2025: Drake and his authorized staff quietly drop the Texas petition.

April 16, 2025: Drake recordsdata an amended grievance in his defamation lawsuit towards UMG. His legal professional says the amended grievance “makes an already robust case stronger.”