Kendrick Lamar Addresses Drake Beef; Shares What His Intent Was

Kendrick Lamar speaks on his “beef” with Drake.

During a recent interview, Lamar shares what his intent for the battle was. “my intent, I think from day one, was to always keep the nature of it as a sport. I don’t care how muthaf*ckers look at it as far as, like… a collaborative effort. That’s cool, too, but I love when artists grit their teeth. I still watch battle raps, I still watch Smack/URL, from Murda Mook to Lux to Tay Roc, my bro Daylyt… This always been the core definition of who I am, and it’s been that way since day one. […]”

He continued, “what I will say about this year: It was more from a space where I think a lot of people was putting rap to the back, and you didn’t see that: You didn’t see that grit, you didn’t see that bite anymore. So I always took that in consideration.”

Lamar also speaks on the success of his hit single “Not Like Us” and winning five awards at the 2025 Grammys. “I just think about the culture, really. It’s always definitely first, I’m not even bullsh*tting with you. When people talk about rap, man, the conversations I hear, they think it’s just rap and it’s not an actual art form. So when you put records like that at the forefront, it reminds people it’s more than just something that came 50 years ago. […] [People] kind of belittle it, so I love to see it get that kind of recognition.”