Kendrick Lamar Hits Drake with Vicious Bars on “Euphoria”
Kendrick Lamar is a rap monster. A quiet, calculated, vicious lyricist who says little but waits patiently in the cut until the right time to strike. Don’t get too comfortable. There’s a reason that he’s known as hip-hop’s reigning boogeyman. After inciting a hip-hop maelstrom with “Like That” — that pulled in J. Cole, Rick Ross, Future and others in its wake — the rapper finally released his direct shot at the real target: Drake.
“euphoria” was released today at 11:24 am ET (more on the significance later) and showcases the full gamut of Kendrick’s lyrical dexterity.
It begins with a freeform jazz-style intro over Teddy Pendergrass’ You’re My Latest, My Greatest Inspiration” and quickly flips into a full onslaught that features flow changes, beat drops and double and triple entendres. You’ll want to listen to this track a few times, trust me. Kendrick blasts Drake for pretty much his entire being as a “scam artist” including: his beleaguered relationship with his biracial identity (a thread that Pusha T pulled in “Song of Adidon” in 2018), misogyny, shortcomings as a father, alleged plastic surgery, exaggerated street connections, reliance on ghostwriters and AI, the fact that he has more accents than the United Nations, his propensity to leverage new and young artists like Lil Yachty and Sexxy Redd to stay relevant and being Canadian and an interloper in American hip-hop culture.
Highlighted bars:
“Know you a master manipulator and habitual liar too/But don’t tell no lie about me and I won’t tell truths ‘bout you”
“I pray they my real friends, if not, I’m YNW Melly/I don’t like you poppin’ shit at Pharrell, for him, I inherit the beef /Yeah, fuck all that pushin’ P, let me see you push a T”
“I’m allergic to the lame shit, only you like bein’ famous/Yachty can’t give you no swag neither, I don’t give a fuck ‘bout who you hang with/I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress/Surprised you wanted that feature request”
“When I see you stand by Sexyy Red, I believe you see two bad bitches/ I believe you don’t like women, it’s real competition, you might pop ass with ‘em”
What’s so great about “euphoria” is that it’s six minutes and 24 seconds of rapping. Straight bars. Instead of falling for Drake’s penchant for social media trolling and gimmicks, specifically summoning Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg’s likeness through artificial intelligence on “Taylor Made Freestyle”, Kenny goes back to the foundation of battle rap by actually rapping.
Now for those who wanted a bloodbath, “euphoria” isn’t it. Kendrick isn’t exposing anything that most of us don’t know already — a notable exception is the allegation that Drake tried to take down “Like That” with a cease and desist, which is ironic given the fact that Tupac Shakur’s estate did the same thing on “Taylor Made Freestyle” — but what he does do is prove that one, he’s always quietly observing and hears everything that’s said and two, he’s a great rapper.
In 2024, it bears repeating that the foundation of hip-hop is competition. A rap battle is about rapping. Yes, it’s disses and bars and did-you-hear-that moments but it’s also about who is the best rapper. What started as the Top 3 is now the Top 2 (since J. Cole bowed out in the first round). Despite what rabid fans, mainstream media and rap podcasters, who have essentially become paid surrogates, say…this is a rap battle. The victor needs to showcase actual skill, wit, wordplay and flow in order to take it.
So far, it’s 2–0 in favor of Kendrick Lamar. Let the best rapper win.
In case you missed it:
- The opening: “eurt si em tuoba yas yeht gnihtyreve” is from Richard Pryor in The Wiz… in reverse.
- The title of the track is a nod to HBO’s Euphoria, a show about teenagers in high school, which Drake is inexplicably an executive producer of.
- For my numerology heads: The track appears to have been released at 8:24 am West Coast time. Late basketball legend Kobe Bryant wore the numbers 8 and 24 during his career — and was a personal hero to Kendrick Lamar.
