There might be a fair amount of people who think that Drake is the only rapper out there who has had problems with Kendrick Lamar. That really isn’t the case, though. But before we get to it, here’s a quick rundown of their heavily publicized rap beef.
In October 2023, Drake put out a song called First Person Shooter featuring fellow rap artist J. Cole. The lyrics of the song emphasized that Drake and Cole, along with Kendrick Lamar, were a part of the Big Three of Rap (the top 3 artists of the genre).
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However, in March 2024, Kendrick Lamar appeared on rapper Future and producer Metro Boomin’s track Like That and made it very clear that there was no Big Three and it was ‘just big me,’ declaring that he was the biggest rapper in the industry.
This kickstarted a rap beef that saw Drake and Lamar go back and forth at each other with tracks like Push Ups, Taylor Made Freestyle, 6:16 in LA, Euphoria, Family Matters, Meet the Grahams, Not Like Us, and The Heart Part 6.
With the track Not Like Us, Kendrick Lamar seemed to have raked in overwhelming support from rap fans and common folk alike, with many declaring that he had won the hip-hop feud. The track also gained widespread recognition and was the central element of his performance at the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show. Tennis legend Serena Williams, who supposedly dated Drake, was also a part of the performance.
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That being said, here are some of the other rappers who have either feuded with Kendrick Lamar or at the least subliminally hinted at having problems with him.
J. Cole
While many are aware of the friendship and mutual respect that J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar share, what nobody saw coming was a diss track from Cole that fired shots at Lamar’s music. Days after the track Like That was released, J. Cole put out a mixtape that had a song called 7 Minute Drill.
Throughout 7 Minute Drill, Cole ridiculed Lamar’s discography, claiming that it was boring and putting people to sleep. He also took jibes at Lamar’s height and sporadic releases, ending the track declaring that it was a warning shot.
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Surprisingly, just two days after the track was released, J. Cole publicly expressed his disappointment over it. He also publicly apologized to Kendrick Lamar during his set at the Dreamville Festival.
Though he hasn’t publicly addressed the beef or his track since, J. Cole has spoken about it in his track Port Antonio. In it, he also talks about his bond with Drake and solidifies his respect for Lamar.
Azealia Banks
Azealia Banks wasn’t too convinced that Lamar’s responses to Drake were rap-feud-worthy. This came after Billboard published an op-ed in which the writer opined that Euphoria, Lamar’s response to Drake’s diss track Push Ups, was “worth the wait.”
Banks took to Instagram and put out a story that read, ‘No it was not. Kendrick is still 4’9″ and wears the same size jean as me. No one on earth cares about the feelings of small fake gangsta nepo babies.”
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She further alleged that the op-ed was paid for, writing, “@billboard y’all really are paid for. Even the tone and time of Kendrick’s voice is an ultimate defeat. LOL STOP LYING”
Azealia Banks wasn’t too pleased with Kendrick Lamar performing Not Like Us at the Super Bowl. She took to X days before the performance and put out a post that sounded more like a warning while also seemingly supporting Drake.
Big Sean
While the artists so far had issues that stemmed from his feud with Drake, Big Sean and Kendrick Lamar have had what many call a subliminal beef. To the unaware, a subliminal beef is where artists indirectly take shots at each other by making subtle references in their tracks.
This began in 2013 when Lamar was featured on a track with Sean called Control. In it, Lamar openly declared that he views the likes of Sean, Drake, Cole, and a bunch of others, as his opponents and declared that he would artistically “murder” them and would also “make sure” that their “core fans never heard of” them anymore.
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Since then, the two have traded subliminal blows. Most noteworthily, Lamar ridiculed Sean in the leaked version of his song Element, in which he took jibes at Sean’s relationship with Jhéne Aiko. Sean, however, didn’t consider it a diss, telling TMZ, “(It)ain’t not diss. If it was a diss it would have been a diss.”
Big Sean seemingly took shots at Lamar during a 2024 appearance on the music platform, On The Radar. The same year he also seemed to mock Lamar with lyrics that read, “I laugh at the fact they calling y’all the greatest, I’m set it’s on, we solidified / You n—– say you run your city but that s— is gentrified.”
Jay Electronica
Jay Electronica was one of the rappers mentioned in Lamar’s verse on the above-mentioned track, Control. When taunted by a fan that “Kendrick could body him,” years after the track was released, Electronica clapped back, saying “Look, you couldn’t pay Kendrick a million dollars, Kendrick would tell you himself he couldn’t body me. Kendrick is my son. Kendrick is my baby. Kendrick wishes that he could be me.”
A while later, Jay Electronica would release a track titled #TBE: The Curse of Mayweather. In it, he would fire shots at Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent, referencing the taunt made by the fan. The line reads “World War 3, mothaf–a, the catastrophe.”
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After the song’s release, Dave Free, Lamar’s friend and longtime associate, would make remarks that Electronica was just miffed about the verse in Control and that he hadn’t recovered from it. Soon after, Jay Electronica apologized to both 50 Cent and Lamar but that wasn’t the end of their tussle.
Around the time that the Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud was at its peak, he subtly showed whose side he was on by sharing a link to Drake’s song, Champagne Poetry on his X handle. Jay Electronica did delete it eventually, though, seemingly not wanting to get in Kendrick’s bad books.
Other noteworthy mentions when it comes to artists who have either openly voiced out their problems with Lamar or whose names have been involved in tussles with him include French Montana, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Lupe Fiasco, and Joelle Ortiz.
