It’s not Drake’s style to keep his mouth shut.
Following Kendrick Lamar’s fourth diss track against the Canadian rapper titled “Not Like Us,” Drake upped the ante by releasing “The Heart Part 6” on Sunday night. The song’s title is a reference to Lamar’s 2022 track “The Heart Part 5.”
So far, the rappers have released competing diss tracks in which they trade barbs about gossip and Ozempic while also making serious allegations of abuse, addiction, grooming, and another hidden child.
Drake’s nearly six-minute track also addresses Lamar’s jabs at the rapper over past sexual harassment allegations. “Speaking of anything with kids, let’s get to it now / That Epstein approach was the (expletive) I expected / TikTok videos you collected and analyzed / Instead of being on a misdirection (expletive), you’d rather (expletive) grab your pen and misdirect (expletive),” Drake raps.
In 2018, Drake faced backlash after then-14-year-old Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown revealed that she considered the rapper a “great friend and great role model” despite their 17-year age difference. On social media, the rapper was accused of “teasing” Brown because of their texting relationship.
Drake responds to Kendrick Lamar’s accusations of grooming in his diss track
In his latest diss track, Drake hits back at Lamar’s lyrical accusations of grooming and pedophilia. In the song, Drake references Lamar’s song “Mother I Sober” from his studio album “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,” in which the Compton rapper alludes to family allegations of sexual harassment.
“My mom came over today and I was like, ‘Mother me, mother me, mother me… / Wait a minute, that’s the one record where you say you were sexually assaulted,'” Drake raps. “I just made the whole connection / This is getting so depressing / This is trauma from your own confessions.”
“I don’t wanna diss you no more / This really got me thinking,” Drake also raps.
Drake then again denies Lamar’s accusations that he ever had anything to do with minors. “I never dated anyone underage / But now I understand why you’re so into this topic,” he raps.
Listen to “The Heart, Part 6”:
Listen to “The Heart Part 6” by Drake on YouTube.
Kendrick Lamar releases fourth diss track “Not Like Us”
The four-and-a-half-minute song, which Lamar released on Saturday, appears to skewer some of Drake’s public faux pas, including the removal of his song “Taylor Made (Freestyle).” In April, Drake released the song, which featured an AI-generated impersonation of rap icon Tupac Shakur, only to later remove it after Shakur’s estate expressed disapproval.
“You think the Bay (will) let you disrespect Pac (expletive)? I think the Oakland show (will) be your last stop,” Lamar raps in the song.
“Not Like Us” follows the release of Lamar’s previous diss tracks “6:16 in LA” and “Meet the Grahams” on Friday and “Euphoria” on Tuesday.
Listen to “Not Like Us”
Listen to “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar on YouTube and stream on Spotify.
Kendrick Lamar and Drake feud, explained
The feud between Lamar and Drake dates back more than a decade to 2013, when Lamar rapped about wanting to “murder” Drake and other prominent rappers on the Big Sean song “Control.”
Earlier this year, Lamar appeared on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” and rejected the idea that there are “big three” in rap, stating on the track, “That’s just me.” The lyrics were a response to J. Cole referring to himself, Drake and Lamar as the “big three” on Drake’s 2023 track “First Person Shooter.”
J. Cole responded to Lamar in April on the song “7 Minute Drill,” rapping, “He still do shows but he’s fallen off like he was on ‘The Simpsons.'” He also rapped that Lamar was past his “peak.” However, shortly after the song’s release, Cole apologized, saying it was “lame” and “silly” of him to do so.
“I’m not going to lie to you, the last two days have been terrible,” he told the audience at the Dreamville Festival a few days later, calling Lamar “one of the greatest.”
Drake then countered with two diss tracks aimed at Lamar: “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made (Freestyle).” The latter was removed from streaming services after Shakur’s estate threatened to sue him. (On the diss track “Family Matters,” Drake claims Lamar “called Tupac’s estate and begged them to sue me.”)
Lamar references this in his follow-up, “Euphoria,” by rapping that Shakur is “turning in his grave.”
Lamar continues in “Euphoria”: “How many more fairy tale stories about your life do we have to read before we’ve had enough? How many more black features do we have to read before you finally feel like you’re black enough?”
In “Euphoria,” Lamar compliments Drake’s track “Back To Back,” saying he “liked that record.” The 2015 single was a diss track aimed at rapper Meek Mill and was Drake’s follow-up to his first diss, “Charged Up.”
Then Lamar released his own back-to-back album, “6:16 in LA.” Lamar attacked Drake’s label and team, rapping, “Did you ever think OVO was working for me?” before calling Drake a “fake bully.” He continues, “I hate bullies / You must be a horrible person / Everyone on your team whispers that you deserve it.”
The track prompted fans to go down a rabbit hole to collect all the Easter eggs about Lamar’s Canadian opponent. The song title is an obvious reference to a timestamped song format popularized by Drake, but could also refer to June 16 (Father’s Day), Tupac Shakur’s birthday, the premiere date of the HBO series “Euphoria,” and a Lamar concert in Drake’s hometown of Toronto.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers survivors and their loved ones free, confidential support 24/7 in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.
Contributors: Edward Segarra, Anika Reed, Taijuan Moorman, Naledi Ushe, Brendan Morrow and KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Drake releases ‘The Heart Part 6’ diss track aimed at Kendrick Lamar
