.         Although many fans had excitedly anticipated the release of Metro Boomin’s album, We Don’t Trust You, on March 22, 2024, no one expected for it to result in a full blown rap war between some of the biggest names in modern day Hip-Hop and R&B: Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and J. Cole. 

.         The initial start of the feud can be traced back to October 6, 2023, when Drake and J. Cole released a song, “First Person Shooter,” asserting their dominance as the top artists of the rap industry: “Is it K-Dot [Kendrick Lamar]? Is it Aubrey [Drake]? Or me [J. Cole]?/We the big three like we started a league.” 

.         Despite being included as part of the “big three,” Kendrick shot back at both Drake and J. Cole in the song “Like That” on We Don’t Trust You, saying, “Motherf**k the big three, n****, it’s just big me.”

.         Less than a month later, on April 5, 2024, J. Cole responded with his own diss track “7 Minute Drill” on his latest album, Might Delete Later, no longer asserting himself as Kendrick’s equal, but his superior: “That was your prime/ I was trailing right behind…/ Now I’m front of the line with a comfortable lead.”

.         The song was out for less than 72 hours before J. Cole publicly apologized for the song at the Dreamville Festival on April 8, 2024. The rapper called it “the lamest sh**” he ever did, and claimed that he “love[s]” Kendrick Lamar. The song was promptly removed from streaming. While the aforementioned rapper has yet to acknowledge the apology, it seems to serve as J. Cole’s official exit from the feud.

.         Similarly, Drake released a diss track on April 19, 2024, called “Push Ups.” He establishes Kendrick as a subpar artist, saying, “Pipsqueak, pipe down/ You ain’t in no big three/ SZA got you wiped down/ Travis [Scott] got you wiped down/ [21] Savage got you wiped down.”

.         Unlike J. Cole, Drake has shown zero remorse, and has even continued to post about the conflict on social media with targeted posts. Kendrick has yet to respond to the song, but this lyrical battle between rappers doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon.