These Celebs Can't Stand Kendrick Lamar

Hip-hop is an ever-evolving art, and in 2024, Kendrick Lamar took the game to a new level when he released the Drake diss track "Not Like Us." The song earned Lamar five Grammy Award nominations and won all of them, including Record of the Year. The nature of Lamar's blow-up was startling, especially since he's been known to throw subliminal messages at other rappers without real confrontation.

When the Compton native was asked if he was just as surprised by himself, he told Apple Music, "No. I don't think I surprised myself [be]cause ... for me, and for my partners that's been around me since 2005-2006—like, my brothers—they know my personality. They know my capabilities, even when it wasn't presented to the public first." Lamar continued, "So, this is just like, um, a revolving door of what I've been doing in Carson Studios, at the homie garage, or my brothers at TDE, or just anybody around the city of Compton."

Over the years, Lamar has been in the bad books of several celebs. From cryptic jabs at Lamar's career to diss tracks that hit way below the belt to questions about loyalty, keep scrolling to find out which celebs can't stand the "B***h, Don't Kill My Vibe" song sensation.

Long before Drake and Kendrick Lamar's feud became a global affair, the rappers collaborated on A$AP Rocky's hit song "F**kin' Problems." In 2013, Lamar featured on Big Sean's song "Control," in which he mentioned several rapper's names (including Drake's) and followed up the lyrics with the lines, "I got love for you all, but I'm tryna murder you n****s / Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you n****s." Drake brushed off Lamar's claims in a chat with Billboard, saying, "I know good and well that Kendrick's not murdering me, at all, in any platform. So when that day presents itself, I guess we can revisit the topic."

True to the rapper's word, he set off another hip-hop war with Lamar when he featured J. Cole on the 2023 song "First Person Shooter," off of his album "For All The Dogs." Lamar retaliated in March 2024 with the release of "Like That," featuring rappers Future and Metro Boomin, and afterward, things got out of hand.

Lamar and Drake released diss tracks toward each other, including the song "Family Matters," in which Drake hints at infidelity in Lamar's long-term relationship with Whitney Alford. Drake raps, "Why did you move to New York? Is it 'cause you livin' that bachelor life? / Proposed in 2015, but don't wanna make her your actual wife / I'm guessin' this wedding ain't happenin', right? / 'Cause we know the girls that you actually like."

Azealia Banks had a clear winner in the Drake-Kendrick Lamar beef, and it wasn't the "DNA" rapper. In May 2024, right after Lamar released the diss track "Euphoria" as a response to Drake's shady song "Push Ups," Billboard published an op-ed that said Lamar's counter-attack was "worth the wait." Banks took to social media to dispel the viewpoint on her Instagram stories, writing (via Complex), "No it was not. Kendrick is still 4' 9” and wears the same jean size as me. No one on earth cares about the feelings of small fake gangsta nepo babies."

Banks' criticism of Lamar had no limits. When a Lamar fan alluded to the fact that Drake had dismissed a case about the feud, Banks took to X (formerly Twitter) to inform them that the dispute hadn't been resolved. She further addressed Lamar's pedophilia claims in the song "Not Like Us" and warned that the NFL would be shooting itself in the foot if it allowed Lamar to perform the record-breaking song at the Super Bowl. "Yall are so blinded by Drake jealousy ure not seeing how f***ed up and crazy it actually is to use alleged pedophilia as a token in a rap beef," Banks wrote. "That's not something u spit on wax that's something – if u have real proof of – YOU GO TO THE F***ING POLICE ABOUT."

A lot of rappers went on tour in 2023, and the final list of the best-selling performers had the top three spots taken by Drake, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, and Wiz Khalifa. Still, rappers Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole have often been considered "The Big Three" by fans, but in 2023, questions arose on who was the greatest. 

In Drake and Cole's 2023 release "First Person Shooter," Cole added to the debate on who is the heavyweight in the rap industry by saying, "We the big three like we started a league, but right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali." When Lamar later replied to Cole's sentiments on the track "Like That" with the line, "Mother***k the big three, n***a, it's just big me," Cole obviously didn't take things lightly. In April 2024, Cole released the diss track "7 Minute Drill," off of his extended play, "Might Delete Later," in which he ridiculed Lamar's rap career. The song featured the lyrics, "He still doin' shows, but fell off like 'The Simpsons' / Your first s**t was classic, your last s**t was tragic / Your second s**t put n***as to sleep, but they gassed it," which were thought to be about Lamar.

It didn't take long before Cole expressed deep regret following the track's release. In fact, at the time of writing, "7 Minute Drill" has been pulled from his official Spotify account. Speaking at the Dreamville Festival in North Carolina, Cole said he acted out of peer pressure, and that the diss track was the "lamest s**t I ever did in my f***ing life."

In Big Sean's 2013 song "Control," one of the rappers Kendrick Lamar targeted with his unsettling lyrics was Big Sean himself. Since then, the pair has been thought to have covertly written lyrics aimed at each other, and fans are convinced that they may be sworn enemies. Big Sean has denied being at war with Lamar, but the signs of a feud are too loud to ignore.

In Lamar's 2017 album "DAMN," he released a song dubbed "Element," which made it to No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. While the original release didn't have any reference to Big Sean, a leaked version of the song in 2023 featured the lyrics "You finally famous for who you date, not how you rhyme (Boy) / Cute a** raps, get your puberty up," which were supposedly aimed at Big Sean's relationship with Jhéne Aiko. When TMZ caught up with Big Sean and asked about his thoughts on the provocative lines, the "It Is What It Is" rapper said, "[It ]ain't not diss ... if it was a diss it would have been a diss."

Big Sean appeared on the music platform On the Radar in July 2024, where he spit bars that allegedly targeted Lamar. That same month, he teased a collaboration with Kanye West with the lyrics, "I laugh at the fact they calling y'all the greatest, I'm set it's on, we solidified / You ni***s say you run your city but that s**t is gentrified," and once again, he fueled allegations of rivalry between him and Lamar.

Amid the Drake-Kendrick Lamar beef, "In Da Club" rapper 50 Cent sat on the fence, even though he admitted in a conversation with Billboard that the public's perception was that his loyalty should have been to Lamar. "I say a lot of things on social and they get upset because they look and go, 'Ahh, I'm automatically supposed to be on Kendrick's side because of my association with Dre,'" 50 Cent told the outlet. Lamar also appeared in S5 of 50 Cent's show "Power" as Laces, a homeless pothead, which led fans to believe that they were on good terms.

While 50 Cent didn't publicly slam Lamar, he made several remarks that painted Drake as the more successful artist. 50 Cent told The Hollywood Reporter, "When it becomes Drake versus Kendrick, it's because it's the only thing you can put up against Drake's success...Drake's just experiencing what you experience as a backlash from success, from the consistency he's delivered over and over. "

Some fans felt that 50 Cent was making light of Lamar's success: at the time of writing, Lamar is a 22-time Grammy Award-winning artist with five No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart. One fan wrote on X, "It feels like just yesterday when Kendrick made a cameo on Power. But now, it seems like 50 goes out of his way to downplay Kendrick's achievements and the impact he's had on hip-hop."

Comparisons are not so uncommon in the rap game. In a 2020 interview with Complex, "Unforgettable" rapper French Montana claimed to have more hit songs than Kendrick Lamar, based on a debate that started online. Montana, who has two Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart compared to Lamar's 22 songs, told the outlet, "I love Kendrick. Actually, Kendrick is the one the first people to invite me to the studio when I was coming up. So, I never said I was a better artist than Kendrick ... All I was saying was I would go neck to neck [with him]." To put his argument into perspective, Montana compared Lamar's then-top hit "Humble" to his song "Unforgettable," which reportedly sold $7 million and $8 million copies respectively.

Montana's sentiments, which he had asserted in a series of tweets, ignited beef between him and fellow rapper Young Thug. Young Thug posted a video of himself rubbishing Montana's claims, saying (via DJ Akademiks), "Stupid as n***a say he got more hits than Kendrick Lamar ... fool!" Naturally, the pair began going back and forth in a heated exchange. Montana even ridiculed Young Thug for wearing a skirt in his "No Stylist" video and posted a picture of the "Go Crazy" rapper sporting red lipstick, while Young Thug leaked earlier DMs he'd sent to the "Famous" rapper. When Montana eventually claimed that they'd resolved their feud, Young Thug responded by mocking his album sales.

"Drop it Like it's Hot" rapper Snoop Dogg has a long history of working with Kendrick Lamar. The duo has collaborated on songs, including "I'm Ya Dogg" and "The Recipe," and they graced the Super Bowl stage in 2022 alongside other members of the West Coast crew. During Drake's heated feud with Lamar, Snoop Dogg claimed to have stayed impartial, telling "Drink Champs," "I chose no sides because I have no individual cause with that. That's a grown man going against a grown man, but what it did do is unite the west." The big question is, did Snoop Dogg really stay neutral?

As a recap, Drake's second diss track against Lamar, "Tailor Made Freestyle," featured AI vocals by Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg. The song was deleted from Drake's Instagram due to copyright claims by Shakur's estate. At the time, Snoop Dogg had already reposted it. Snoop Dogg posted a video on Instagram afterward, saying, "They did what? When? How? Are you sure? Y'all have a good night ... Why everybody calling my phone, blowing me up? What the f**k— what happened? What's going on? I'm going back to bed. Good night."

The "Still D.R.E" rapper was called out by Lamar on the song "wacced out murals," in which Lamar said, "Snoop posted "Taylor Made," I prayed it was the edibles / I couldn't believe it, it was only right for me to let it go." Snoop Dogg later revealed that he posted the song mistakenly, deleted it, and apologized when Lamar alerted him that it was a Drake diss track.

As far as rappers comparing themselves to Kendrick Lamar goes, French Montana isn't the only one who's alluded to the fact that he's superior. In a February 2016 post on Periscope (via YouTube), a fan told rapper Jay Electronica, "Kendrick could body you," to which he replied, "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."

Electronica, real name is Elpadaro F. Electronica Allah, released a diss track aimed at Lamar and 50 Cent dubbed "#TBE: The Curse of Mayweather." In the song, the rapper addressed his remarks on Periscope, ridiculed fans who made fun of him, and branded the feud, "World War 3, mothaf***a, the catastrophe." Following the song's release, Top Dawg Entertainment co-president Dave Free, who has since left the record label, made remarks that Electronica was salty because of Lamar's verse on "Control." 

Ultimately, Electronica offered an apology to Lamar and 50 Cent. Although the beef appeared to have subsided, the right opportunity for Electronica to reveal his feelings about Lamar surfaced during the Lamar-Drake feud. As the pair battled each other, Electronica seemingly hinted at supporting the "No New Friends" rapper by posting and deleting a link to his song "Champagne Poetry" on X.

Kendrick Lamar has in the past earned the admiration of many artists for his works. However, the same cannot be said for "Superstar" rapper Lupe Fiasco. In a series of tweets made in 2018, Lupe Fiasco downplayed Lamar's lyrical prowess. The rapper wrote in a now-deleted post on X (via Revolt), "KDot is not a top tier lyricist to me and my standards when it comes to punchlines and bars. His overall lyrics are good his stories phenomenal BUT punchline entendre lyrically I don't see it." 

In another tweet, Lupe Fiasco justified his comment by claiming that he was just as ruthless when analyzing his own artistry. Nevertheless, that wasn't the first time he disapproved of Lamar's talent. Even though he shared a video of himself attending a Lamar concert in 2012 to show that he was a fan, he still said that Lamar was an inferior rapper compared to Joey Badass in a 2016 tweet. 

In the end, Lupe Fiasco apologized to the "Swimming Pools" rapper in an Instagram post and promised to refrain from the topic. However, when the Drake feud became a heated discussion, he told Famekom, "I would give it to Drake. I think Kendrick's a better technically skilled performer, but I don't think he's a better rapper."

The West Coast-East Coast rivalry has been around for years since the '90s, and Kendrick Lamar stirred the pot in the song "Control." Lamar raps, "I'm important like the Pope, I'm a Muslim on pork / I'm Makaveli's offspring, I'm the King of New York." Lamar's assertion of dominance in New York drew controversy, especially since he hails from Compton. Brooklyn-born rapper Joelle Ortiz took offense and released the freestyle "Outta Control," referencing his association with Lamar's hometown. Ortiz raps, "Last time in Compton I was kicking it with Jorge / I rocked with some cons out west like the boy Ye / But I don't claim king even though my name ring." 

In a chat with Vlad TV, Ortiz emphasized that there were boundaries in hip-hop—and that Lamar's bold claim as a West Coast artist was unprecedented. "You've never really heard someone from a different coast call himself the king of a different coast," he remarked. Lamar later explained that his verse had nothing to do with comparing himself with other rappers. Per his conversation with Billboard, the lyrics were tied to a legacy: " leaving a mark as great as Biggie, as great as Pac."

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