Kendrick Lamar: The Big Steppers Tour, London

Kendrick Lamar biography

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987), professionally known as Kendrick Lamar, is an American rapper and songwriter from Compton, California. He is also a member of the hip-hop supergroup Black Hippy along with members Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, and Schoolboy Q. His music is largely influenced by the works of 2Pac, Eminem, Nas, Lil' Wayne, DJ Quik, E-40, Suga Free, Kurupt, André 3000, Mos Def, DMX, Snoop Dogg and N.W.A. Drake and Lamar's relationship started in 2011 with the collaboration "Buried Alive Interlude" on Drake's album Take Care, followed by "Poetic Justice" on Lamar's album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City in 2012. Lamar also accompanied Drake as an opening act on his 2012 Club Paradise Tour. In 2013, Lamar dissed Drake and several other rappers on the song "Control" by Big Sean, later clarifying that his verse was intended to be seen as "friendly competition". In the ensuing years, Drake and Lamar publicly dismissed speculations of a conflict between them. However, media outlets identified numerous potential disses by both parties in the years leading up to the escalation in 2024. On March 22, 2024, Lamar dissed J. Cole and Drake on "Like That" as a response to Drake and J. Cole's 2023 song "First Person Shooter", where Cole claims that he, Drake, and Lamar are the "big three" in modern rap music. On April 5, Cole responded to Lamar on the diss track "7 Minute Drill", but in the week following its release, Cole apologized for the song and removed it from streaming services. Drake then released the songs "Push Ups" and "Taylor Made Freestyle" in April. "Taylor Made Freestyle" was later deleted from social media over copyright concerns from Tupac Shakur's estate. In response, Lamar released "Euphoria" on April 30 and "6:16 in LA" on May 3. Drake responded with "Family Matters" later on the 3rd, accusing Lamar of being a domestic abuser and alleging that one of Lamar's children was fathered by Dave Free. Less than an hour later, Lamar released "Meet the Grahams", accusing Drake of sex trafficking, being a sexual predator, and fathering a second secret child (in a 2018 diss track by Pusha T, it was revealed that Drake was secretly fathering his son Adonis). Lamar then released "Not Like Us" the following day, more explicitly accusing Drake of pedophilia and disrespecting the rap scene. On May 5, Drake responded with "The Heart Part 6", denying Lamar's accusations and claiming that his team gave Lamar false information about the secret child. Several publications have described Lamar as winning the feud in popular consensus, citing music critics and social media users. Some commentators have praised the rivalry's spectacle and the significance it gave to modern hip-hop, while others have criticized both artists for the way they made and responded to each other's accusations Lamar has been supported by Metro Boomin, Future, Pusha T, Kanye West, The Weeknd, ASAP Rocky, Rick Ross, and Jay Rock, among others.[note 4] The music video for not like us was met with widespread critical acclaim. Numerous publications and websites called it another victory lap for Lamar in his feud with Drake.[a] CBC News called it a moment of re-ignition of the feud,[84] while Vibe opined it as Lamar's "knockout punch" against the rapper.[85] The video's content also discredited many allegations and claims that Drake had dissed Lamar with, including refuting Drake's derogatory claims against his family with their appearance in the video dancing happily alongside him,[57][58] as well as the video credits reading "Directed by Dave Free and Kendrick Lamar", which dispelled rumors that Lamar and his creative partner had been in conflict with each other.[57][86]

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