The latest chapter in Kendrick Lamar and Drake's ongoing rap beef has arrived in the form of "Euphoria." Kendrick's first single in nearly a year is jam-packed with bars ranging from subtle sneak disses to overt character attacks. Even Toronto gets caught in the crossfire fire as Kendrick parodies a Toronto man accent and slang to come for Drake.
Since the track is over six minutes long, there's inevitably a lot to unpack — particularly from someone with Kendrick's talent as an MC.
In response to Drake's initial jab "Push Ups," Kendrick employs several different flows over three different beats, starting with a drowsy melody over a breezy guitar lick and drums before the 808s kick in and he starts really coming after Drake with bars aimed at his parenting skills, alleged use of ghostwriters and AI, culture authenticity and more.
He ropes Toronto into his crosshairs by rapping the word "Crodie" several times and spitting "Tell me you're cheesin' fam" in a brutally accurate Toronto man imitation.
Since J. Cole has officially tapped out, the beef between modern hip-hop's "Big Three" has condensed to a one-on-one (although, if you believe either Drake or Kendrick, they're alone against 20 opponents).
Regardless, it remains to be seen whether Drake will respond — although, given the sheer volume and intensity of disses on "Euphoria" it'd be surprising if he let Kendrick get the last word.
Listen to "Euphoria" and "Push Ups" below and decide for yourself: who's coming out of this on top?
