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Kendrick Lamar (Dot) has finally responded to Drake's Pushups and his recently-deleted diss track Taylor Made Freestyle, on a record titled Euphoria. Before this song dropped, many believed that Lamar had stepped away from the 2024 Rap Beef after his verse on Like That hit streaming platforms on March 22, as part of the official tracklist for Metro Boomin and Future's collaboration album, We Don't Trust You.
It's taken Kendrick Lamar over a month to release a response to Drake (Aubrey Graham), who targeted the Compton rapper on Pushups, taking shots at his height, discography, success, Top Dog Record Label, and rap industry status.
Kendrick Lamar's decision to title his diss track Euphoria can be explained through the cover art that references Drake's position as the executive producer on the HBO Teen Drama show Euphoria, with the word supposedly also alluding to his elated mood with the current rap beef.
Kendrick Lamar drops his highly anticipated response to Drake on his latest single, Euphoria
Kendrick Lamar's latest single is a lengthy, threatening response to Drake containing over 1300 words. Euphoria was distributed to all DSPs (Digital Streaming Platforms) on April 30 independently, without any prior announcement, under an exclusive license to Interscope Records.
Lamar spends a lot of the song taking shots at Drake's career, personal life, public image, and more. The record, which lasts a total of 6:23 minutes, was produced by Kyuro, Cardo, Sounwave, Johnny Juliano, Yung Exclusive, and Matthew “MTech” Bernard.
This review will help readers understand the several double entendres, sneak disses, and hidden meanings on Kendrick Lamar's Euphoria.
Disclaimer: This song review is rated explicit. Reader's discretion is advised.
[Verse 1]
"Them super powers gettin' neutralized, I can only watch in silence / The famous actor we once knew is lookin' paranoid and now spiralin' / You're movin' just like a degenerate, every antic is feelin' distasteful / I calculate you're not as calculated, I can even predict your angle."
Kendrick Lamar addresses the fact he's been quietly observing the Rap Beef unfold from behind the scenes, alluding to how Kanye West, A$AP Rocky, and Rick Ross joining Metro's side has supposedly left Drake Spiraling out of control.
He also calls Drake an actor for supposedly being a fake rapper. This is also a reference to the 2009 Canadian TV show, Degrassi, where Drizzy played the character Jimmy Brooks.
"Fabricatin' stories on the family front 'cause you heard Mr. Morale / A pathetic master manipulator, I can smell the tales on you now / You'rе not a rap artist, you a scam artist with the hopes of being accеpted / Tommy Hilfiger stood out, but FUBU never had been your collection."
The rapper directly addresses the allegations that his wife had been unfaithful which Drake brought forward on Pushups. He claims that Drizzy is a "master manipulator" supposedly spreading lies in hopes of being celebrated online.
The reference to Mr. Morales and The Big Steppers fits into this theme of family issues as Kendrick Lamar spends a lot of time on that album diving into themes of infidelity.
"I make music that electrify 'em, you make music that pacify 'em / I can double down on that line, but spare you this time, that's random acts of kindness / 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"
Kendrick Lamar goes on to state how his music is far superior to Drake's but chooses to not dive too deep into that topic as an "act of kindness".
Dot proceeds to call out Drizzy for being a habitual liar and threatens the Canadian rapper by stating if he continues to lie about his personal life, he won't have a choice but to reveal hidden truths about Drake.
[Verse 2]
"Yeah, I'm out the way, yeah, I'm low, okay / Yeah, the island right here's remote, okay / I ain't thinkin' about no reaper / N*gga, I'm reapin' what I sow, okay."
The second verse of the song begins with a transition into a thick Hip/Hop - Trap infused production, with Kendrick Lamar opening on the track by firing aggressive shots at Drake in an attempt to diminish his G.O.A.T status and establish himself as the biggest rapper in the game.
"Got a Benjamin and a Jackson all in my house like I'm Joe, okay / Hellcat, made his homeboys and them type sell they soul, okay / Everybody wanna be demon 'til they get chipped by your throwaway / And I might do a show a day, once a lame, always a lame."
He goes on to flex his net worth while dismissing Drake's verse on Pushups, where Drizzy called himself a demon, alleging he makes all the people around him "sell their soul" for fame and success.
"Oh, you thought the money, the power or fame would make you go away? / Have you ever played have-you-ever? Okay, n*gga, let's play / Have you ever walked your enemy down like with a poker face? / Have you ever paid five hundred thou' like to an open case? / Well, I have, and I failed at both, but I came out straight."
Kendrick takes it a step further by asking Drake to play the game "Never Have I Ever," while alluding to several alleged rumors that have been floating around for years. He alludes to Drizzy supposedly paying over 500 thousand dollars to close an open SA case in 2019.
"I hate when a rapper talk about guns, then somebody die / They turn into nuns, then hop online, like "Pray for my city" / He fakin' for likes and digital hugs / His daddy a killer, he wanna be junior, they must've forgot the shit that they done."
Kendrick Lamar alludes to Birdman and Lil Wayne as people Drizzy looks up to as father figures, citing how the Canadian rapper's actions imply his wish to be looked at with similar respect and fear and continues to chase that reputation since he doesn't have the same level of street credibility.
"Dementia must run in his family, but let it get shaky / I'll park his son / The very first time I shot me a Drac', the homie had told me to aim it this way / I didn't point down enough, today, I'll show you I learned from those mistakes."
These lines stood out as Kendrick Lamar appears to turn his attention to J. Cole calling him out for siding with Drake and for releasing a full-blown diss track on his MIGHT DELETE LATER mixtape, before publicly apologizing to Lamar during his Dreamville set.
The use of "Park his son" looks to be a wordplay on the neuro-degenerative Parkinson's disease, seemingly referencing Cole's verse on First Person Shooter where he cites how recent successes have him feeling like Mohammed Ali.
"Somebody had told me that you got a ring, on God, I'm ready to double the wage / I'd rather do that than let a Canadian n*gga make Pac turn in his grave / Cutthroat business, you got shit twisted / What is it? The braids? / I hurt your feelings? You don't wanna work with me no more? Okay / It's three G.O.A.T.s left, and I seen two of them kissin' and huggin' on stage."
Lamar then proceeds to call out Drake for using Tupac's AI-generated voice in his deleted diss track, Taylor Made Freestyle, highlighting the disrespect that Drizzy showed to Pac, adding that California's rap game would not go down lightly before making fun of Drake and J. Cole's friendship and their recent "It’s All a Blur: Big as the what?" Tour.
"I love 'em to death, and in eight bars, I'll explain that phrase, huh / It's nothin' nobody can tell me, huh / I don't wanna talk on no celly, huh / You know I got language barriers, huh / It's no accent you can sell me, huh / Yeah, Cole and Aubrey know I'm a selfish n*gga / The crown is heavy, huh / I pray they my real friends, if not, I'm YNW Melly."
Kendrick Lamar uses these lines to explain his relationship with Drake and Cole, citing that both rappers are aware of Kenny's "selfish" nature. It appears that Lamar's true wishes are for all three to remain friends.
YNW Melly is used as a reference for Kendrick's potential actions against Drizzy and Cole, in case they turn on him. Melly is a rapper who is currently being charged with first-degree murder for the death of his two friends, YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser, in 2018.
"I don't like you poppin' sh*t at Pharrell, for him, I inherit the beef / Yeah, f*ck all that pushin' P, let me see you push a T / You better off spinnin' again on him, you think about pushin' me / He's Terrence Thornton, I'm Terence Crawford, yeah, I'm whoopin' feet."
Kendrick Lamar references Drake and Pusha T's beef from 2018, where Drizzy supposedly lost when Pusha revealed to the world that Aubrey had fathered a child in The Story of Adidon.
Dot likens himself to the boxer Terence Crawford claiming that although Pusha (Terrence Thornton) was a tough competitor, Drizzy has yet to face a rapper like Kendrick.
"We ain't gotta get personal, this a friendly fade, you should keep it that way / I know some shit about n*ggas that make Gunna Wunna look like a saint / This ain't been about critics, not about gimmicks, not about who the greatest / It's always been about love and hate, now let me say I'm the biggest hater."
Kendrick Lamar finally explains his stance on the 2024 Rap beef, stating that he never intended for it to get this personal. It appears Kenny was supposedly hoping for a friendly competition, with some of the best rappers poking fun at each other.
"I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress / I hate the way that you sneak diss, if I catch flight, it's gon' be direct / We hate the b*tches you f&ck, 'cause they confuse themself with real women / And notice, I said we, it's not just me, I'm what the culture feelin."
Kenny spends the next several lines highlighting all the different things about Drizzy's behavior and personal life that he "hates". He follows up on these points by stating they aren't his personal opinions but a reflection of what the entire Rap industry feels about Drake.
"How many more fairytale stories 'bout your life 'til we had enough? / How many more Black features 'til you finally feel that you're Black enough? / I like Drake with the melodies, I don't like Drake when he act tough / You gon' make a n*gga bring back Puff, let me see if Chubbs really crash somethin."
In these lines Dot directly calls out the Canadian rapper by stating he's never liked Drake's "tough" music, urging the rapper to continue pursuing melodic records instead. Kendrick Lamar also references Chubbs, Drake's longtime friend, and bodyguard, when alluding to a rumored incident at DJ Khaled’s birthday in 2014 where Diddy (Puff) supposedly punched Drizzy in the face and his security did nothing.
"Yeah, my first one like my last one, it's a classic, you don't have one / Let your core audience stomach that, then tell 'em where you get your abs from / V12, it's a fast one, baow-baow-baow, last one / Headshot for the year, you better walk around like Daft Punk."
Kendrick Lamar wraps up his second verse by addressing the many rumors surrounding Aubrey supposedly getting plastic surgery, with clever wordplay asking Drake's audience to "stomach" the fact that Drizzy will never have a classic album, while alluding to his rumored ab implants.
[Verse 3]
"Ayy, Top Dawg, who the f*ck they think they playin' with? / Extortion my middle name as soon as you jump off of that plane, b*tch / I'm allergic to the lame sh*t, only you like bein' famous / Yachty can't give you no swag neither, I don't give a f*ck 'bout who you hang with."
Kendrick Lamar begins his third verse by casually name-dropping Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, owner and founder of Top Dawg Record Label, highlighting they're still on friendly terms since his departure from the label in an attempt to disprove Drake's claims that their relationship has turned sour on Pushups.
"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 / You know that we got some sh*t to address / I even hate when you say the word n*gga, but that's just me, I guess"
In the above lines, Kendrick alleges that Drake had potentially wanted to collaborate with him in the past, highlighting his surprise, given that both rappers are now involved in one of the biggest rap beefs the Hip/Hop world has seen since Jay-Z and Nas went at each other in the early 2000s.
"Some sh*t just cringeworthy, it ain't even gotta be deep, I guess / Still love when you see success, everything with me is blessed / Keep makin' me dance, wavin' my hand, and it won't be no threat / I'm knowin' they call you The Boy, but where is a man? 'Cause I ain't seen him yet / Matter fact, I ain't even bleed him yet, can I bleed him? Bet."
Kendrick Lamar appears to highlight his appreciation for every time Drizzy finds success in his career while portraying his hope for Drake to continue to make radio-friendly dance music, and stray as far away from "gangster rap music" as possible to avoid any consequences.
"When I see you stand by Sexyy Red, I believe you see two bad b*tches / I believe you don't like women, it's real competition, you might pop a-- with 'em / Let's speak on percentage, show me your splits, I'll make sure I double back with you / You were signed to a n*gga that's signed to a n*gga that said he was signed to that n*gga."
Lamar calls out Drizzy and Sexy Redd's relationship, aggressively implying Drake is far more comfortable competing with female rappers.
Kenny then references Pushups, citing how Aubrey too is signed under multiple record labels in an attempt to highlight how Drizzy doesn't maintain 100% ownership of his records either.
"Try cease and desist on the Like That record? / Ho, what? You ain't like that record? / Back To Back, I like that record / I'ma get back to that, for the record / Why would I call around tryna get dirt on n*ggas? Y'all think all my life is rap?"
On these lines, Kendrick Lamar alleges that Drake sent a "cease and desist" letter for Like That, poking fun at the fact that Drizzy didn't appreciate the song. Kenny also highlights his life is more than just diss tracks and rap.
"That's h* sh*t, I got a son to raise, but I can see you don't know nothin' 'bout that / Wakin' him up, know nothin' 'bout that / And tell him to pray, know nothin' 'bout that / And givin' him tools to walk through life like day-by-day, know nothin' 'bout that / Teachin' him morals, integrity, discipline, listen, man, you don't know nothin' 'bout that."
Kendrick Lamar's lines here allege Drake of not being a present father in Adonis's life. We see how he is unwilling to hold back on Euphoria, with each line deliberately suspecting Drizzy of not providing the best situation for his son to grow up in.
"Speakin' the truth and consider what God's considerin', you don't know nothin' 'bout that / Ain't twenty-v-one, it's one-v-twenty if I gotta smack n----s that write with you / Yeah, bring 'em out too, I'll clean 'em out too / Tell BEAM that he better stay right with you."
Kendrick Lamar goes on to imply how this beef is nothing like the "20 vs 1" rap battle Drake implied on Pushups. As per Kenny, the beef is "1 vs 20" with him having to go up against Drizzy and many of his supposed ghostwriters.
"Am I battlin' ghost or AI? N*gga feelin' like Joel Osteen / Funny, he was in a film called AI / And my sixth sense tellin' me to off him / I'ma blick n*ggas all in they coffin / Yeah, OV-ho n*ggas is d*ck riders."
Dot brings up Drake's Taylor Made Freestyle, and the use of AI Tupac and Snoop Dogg verses, when he claims that throughout this beef he's been dealing with either ghostwriters or AI-generated performances, but never with Drake directly.
"Tell 'em run to America, they imitate heritage, they can't imitate this violence / What I learned is n*ggas don't like the West Coast / And I'm fine with it, I'll push the line with it / Pick a n*gga off one at a time with it / We can be on a three-hour time difference"
In these lines, Kendrick Lamar suggests that Drake and his OVO team should move to America to have a better chance at imitating the "gangster rapper" aesthetic, alluding to Canada being too safe for Drizzy to be repping street affiliations.
This claim is, however, factually incorrect as Canada's rate of crime and gun violence has seen a rampant uptake, with their numbers even crossing New York's homicide rate in 2018.
"Don't speak on the family, crodie / It can get deep in the family, crodie / Talk about me and my family, crodie? / Someone gon' bleed in your family, crodie / I be at New Ho King eatin' fried rice with a dip sauce and blammy, crodie / Tell me you're cheesin', fam."
These lines are notable for Kendrick Lamar's cadence, where he intentionally mocks the Canadian slang and accent, especially with his excessive use of the term "Crodie," which is a derivative of the term "Brodie" coined by the Crips used to refer to close peers and members.
"We can do this right now on the camera, crodie / Ayy, f*ck y'all n*ggas, I don't trust y'all n*ggas / I wave one finger and thump y'all n*ggas like mmm / Field goal, punt y'all n*ggas, they punk y'all n*ggas, nobody never took my food."
As the verse comes close to wrapping, Kendrick Lamar's lines highlight how he's unfazed by the shots Drake has fired his way, with him showcasing his relentless need to stay on top of the rap game by any means possible.
"Whoever that's f*ckin' with him, f*ck you n*ggas, and f*ck the industry too / If you take it there, I'm takin' it further / Psst, that's somethin' you don't wanna do."
The final lines in Verse 3 are a threatening message to anybody who wishes to side with Drake. Kendrick Lamar claims that he isn't above pushing limits on his response tracks using Euphoria as an example of why rappers should avoid taking shots at him.
Kendrick Lamar's latest diss track will surely sway public opinion in his favor as the Compton native doesn't just bring out his best pen-game, but actually addresses and attempts to disprove a lot of the disses Drake sent his way on Pushups and Taylor Made Freestyle.
The song, as aggressive as it may be, is not a kill shot as Drizzy's appearance during Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday 2 World Tour stop in Toronto found the rapper suggesting he's ready to respond to Euphoria soon.
