The entirety of the months-long beef between Kendrick Lamar and Aubrey Drake Graham is predicated on a singular line from J-Cole’s song, First Person Shooter. The line, “Love when they argue the hardest MC, Is it K-Dot, is it Aubrey, or me?” lead to a series of back and forths that would result in a near unanimous victory for Kendrick. Yet, the hints of a beef, or even a direct splinter in the way the two artists view rap/hip hop has been simmering underneath the surface for a number of years. 

Aubrey Drake Graham is a Toronto based rapper who rose to fame in the early 2010’s with his debut album Thank Me Later. Drake had been a child actor for several years beforehand, and had been signed onto Lil Wayne’s label Young Money entertainment after the success of his third mixtape, So Far Gone. After the release of his second album, Take Care, Drake embarked on the Club Paradise tour, with Kendrick as an opener. 

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is a LA, specifically Compton, based rapper who had risen prominence after releasing his first album Section 80. Kendrick however had already made significant connections with figures such as Jay-Z through his first four mixtapes. Throughout 2011 and 2012 the two continued to collaborate, Drake featuring on Kendrick’s Poetic Justice. In 2013, Kendrick would take aim at the state of the rap landscape on Control, explicitly stating his intent to compete with other rappers at the same level as many of the eventually lethal beefs of the 1990’s. Since then, the two had exchanged a myriad of jabs and small disses, but nothing that compared to the scale of the battle that would be instigated in October of 2023. 

And yet it’s perhaps the duos time apart that would best solidify their outlook on hip hop as a genre. Drake became an international superstar and a household name, but had been consistently seen for years as someone whose skills had slowly been slipping away from them. Moreso, a myriad of feuds had exposed much of Drake’s private life, with Story of Adidon by Pusha-T even revealing a hidden child. Despite the retention of his status as an artist, Drake was marred by controversy, even as he entered the beef. 

Kendrick meanwhile has released some of the most pivotal and influential rap albums of the past two decades. To Pimp A Butterfly’s message of hope and empowerment and its follow up album Damn.’s melancholy formed an intense narrative over the lack of lasting change To Pimp A Butterfly had enacted, with Damn. going on to earn Lamar a Pulitzer prize in 2018. His next album would not release for another four years, but when it did Mr.Morale and the Big Steppers revealed itself to be a serious reflection on Kendrick’s personal philosophy and journey through therapy. His legacy remains as a brilliant lyricist and story-teller, as a reflection of black experiences and perseverance. Kendrick very easily could have had a career of similar, if not larger, commercial success than Drake. It is the fact that he does not that proves the difference in mindset of the two, something that will become apparent as the battle drags on.