This bank holiday weekend has felt more like boxing day, with Kendrick Lamar and Drake both dishing out a rapid succession of blows that have left fans on both sides spun. On Saturday, Oakland born rapper Kendrick Lamar dropped yet another diss track in his ongoing feud with Canadian rapper Drake. The rappers' exchanges have been coming in back-to-back, since Friday night (May 3rd) when Drake released ‘Family Matters’, which accused Kendrick of being a deadbeat dad and self-hate among other things. Kendrick then dispelled earlier accusations about his ‘nerves’ made on Drake’s ‘Taylor Made’ freestyle, when he dropped his response ‘Meet the Grahams' just hours later at midnight. 

In Kendrick’s newest track ‘Not Like Us’, Kendrick once again alleges Drake’s sexual indiscretions, accusing him of liking ‘young’ girls and even explicitly referring to Drake and several members of his camp as ‘certified pedophiles’. One member Kendrick specifies when he comically asks ‘why is he around?’, is Drake’s friend Baka, who was arrested for ‘human trafficking’ in 2014,

Kendrick doubles down on his accusations and goes as far as to warn people to hide their ‘younger sisters’ from Drake - whilst the specifics of his accusations (if any) have not yet come to light, some have speculated that the rapper could be referring to ‘Put It on the Floor’ rapper Latto’s younger sister, 21-year-old Brooklyn Nicole, who Drake was spotted out with earlier this year. The cover artwork for the single, is in itself another jab in this direction, as it depicts Drake’s mansion with multiple red pins meant to represent sex offenders Drake allegedly keeps in his company, as it would appear on a sex-offender map.

Kendrick also switched up his fight style more successfully than Humberto Gonzales, and put to bed accusations that his diss tracks were too slow, monotonous and un club-worthy. This time, hitmaker Kendrick emerges on a smooth party beat produced by the infamou(another artist who has not managed to stay safe from Drake’s slew of disses) and . Kendrick then refers to Drakes use of 2 Pac’s AI generated voice on his diss track ‘Taylor Made’ as a ‘disrespect’, before returning to his running theme of attacking the rappers allegiance to his blackness:

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‘You called Future when you didn’t see the club (Ayy, what?)

Lil Baby helped you get your lingo up (What?)

21 gave you false street cred

Thug made you feel like you a slime in your head (Ayy, what?)

Quavo said you can be from Northside (What?)

2 Chainz say you good, but he lied

You run to Atlanta when you need a few dollars

No, you not a colleague, you a fxxxin' colonizer’

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Kendrick is most certainly not alone in his belief that the half Canadian-Jewish, half African-American star has appropriated black artists and black culture for monetary gain and to further his own image. It is an accusation often hurled at Drake by consumers and artists alike, such as by rapper Rick Ross who has also been a contributor to this ever-expanding rap war, with his Drake diss ‘Champagne Moments’. Drake has not been shy to challenge Kendrick’s own comfortability with his blackness, accusing him of being colorstruck, specifically a ‘black messiah wifin’ a mixed queen’ in order to help with his own ‘self-esteem’.

In the hot new release, Kendrick adds that he has even more dirt on the star, in his line the ‘rabbit hole is still deep, I can go further, I promise’. How much further, we do not know, but some fans have argued that this rap beef has gone far enough. Either way, with the incessant mention of families and allegations of sexual and domestic abuse, we don’t see a Meek Mill-Drake style reconciliation on the horizon for these two. It is more than likely the sparring will continue and we look forward to seeing which of these rap gods will be crowned champ when it’s all over.

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Residents, what do you think? Is ‘Not Like Us’ a win for Kendrick?

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