After 10 years of silence, Kendrick Lamar has finally dissed Drake and J. Cole. Following the release of his verse on “Control” (2013) by Big Sean, wherein Lamar threatened several major hip-hop artists of the time, both Drake and Cole have released subliminal and conspicuous disses directed towards the rapper. Drake has primarily blasted Kendrick via interviews and social media, while Cole has limited his disses towards Kendrick to his music. Incredibly, despite Drake and Cole releasing statements, verses and various subliminal disses, Kendrick has denied both of them public responses for over 10 years. However, in response to the collaborative track, “First Person Shooter” (2023), wherein Cole and Drake essentially eliminate Kendrick from the podium for ‘greatest rapper alive,’ Kendrick finally unleashed wrath with his scathing verse on “Like That” (2024) by Metro Boomin and Future.
Generally, hip-hop beef is personal: Nas versus Jay-Z, Drake versus Pusha T, Tupac versus Biggie. However, contrary to the common belief of hip-hop fans and media, I believe that this beef is impersonal; instead, the “Big 3” of hip-hop, as Cole himself coined, are battling for the crown as the king of hip-hop. Surely, if “First Person Shooter” was the track that finally generated a Kendrick Lamar response after 10 years, then the duo must have fired monumental shots, right? Well, not quite. As expected, Drake incorporated very little lyrical poison. The only definitive diss arrives in Drake’s opening verse: “I love a dinner with some fine women when they start debatin’ about who the G.O.A.T. ... it’s just you and Cole.”
In contrast, Cole utilizes both the intro and his verse to conclusively ‘diss’ Kendrick. However, as mentioned, this diss is not personal — Cole uses his verses to express that HE deserves the crown of hip-hop: “lot of n--- debatin’ my numeral / Not the three, not the two, I’m the U-N-O;” “Love when they argue the hardest MC / Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me? / We the big three like we started a league, but right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali;” “The G.O.A.T. with the golden pen, the top toucher.” Cole only directly directs one diss towards Kendrick: “Everybody steppers, well, f--- it, then everybody breakfast and I'm ’bout to clear up my plate.” Regardless, Cole does not use his verses to attack Kendrick; instead, he argues that he should be the king of hip-hop — Cole clearly desires the crown.
Cole has continually held the bronze medal in hip-hop — while Drake beats Cole commercially; Kendrick beats Cole in critical acclaim. After years of losing awards, critical praise and fanfare to his contemporaries, I imagine that Cole is finally fed up; since the release of his most recent studio album, “The Off-Season” (2021), Cole has released countless hit singles and show-stealing features whereas Kendrick Lamar has been less prolific. With his verses, Cole asks the question, “who deserves to be king?” Despite regularly absconding from the public hip-hop community, Kendrick surely believes that he still deserves the crown. On the other hand, Cole reckons that his persistent musical greatness warrants, at the very least, the opportunity to challenge the king.
