Kendrick Lamar has heard Drake and J. Cole’s most recent subliminal disses, and he’s done playing games. In his guest verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s new song “Like That,” the rapper comes after his friends turned foes.
After opening his verse by calling out “n****s talkin’ out of they necks,” Kendrick name-drops Drake and Cole’s 2023 hit “First Person Shooter” off the former’s album, For All the Dogs: “Fuck sneak dissin’, ‘First Person Shooter,’ I hope they came with three switches.”
This line is a direct response to Cole boasting on “First Person Shooter” about being the “hardest MC” out of the so-called Big Three rappers of their generation. “Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me?” he raps. “We the Big Three like we started a league, but right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali.”
On the same track, Drake leaves Kendrick out of the discussion entirely: “Who the G.O.A.T.? Who the G.O.A.T.? Who the G.O.A.T.?/ Who you bitches really rootin’ for?/ Like a kid that act bad from January to November, n****a, it’s just you and Cole.”
Kendrick continues by referencing two of Cole’s songs: “Stick” and “PTSD.” “If he walk around with that stick, it ain’t Andre 3K/ Think I won’t drop the location? I still got PTSD,” he spits. “Motherfuck the Big Three, n****a, it’s just big me.”
Then, Kendrick calls out Drake for his frequent Michael Jackson comparisons. At the same time, the Compton rapper parallels his longevity and contributions to music with those of Prince.
“N****a, Prince outlived Mike Jack’,” Kendrick raps, “N****a, bum, ‘fore all your dogs gettin’ buried/ That’s a K with all these nines, he gon’ see Pet Sematary.”
Stream “Like That” and “First Person Shooter” below.
It’s worth noting that while Kendrick and Drake have been trading subliminal disses for nearly a decade, Kendrick and Cole have been occasional collaborators, with rumors of a joint album swirling for years. In the end, hip-hop is a competition, and any MC vying for the top spot is going to have words for their contemporaries.
Kendrick famously said as much back in 2013 on Big Sean’s “Control,” when he rapped, “I got love for you all, but I’m tryna murder you n****s.”
Meanwhile, Drake has the opportunity to respond live on stage while he finishes off the remainder of his postponed “It’s All A Blur Tour — Big As The What?” dates. Get tickets here.
