The conflict between Drake and a group that remains a powerful faction in the hip-hop community deepens. On Friday night (April 19), the rapper released a song called “Taylor Made Freestyle” on his own social media. The song features Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg's AI vocals in between diss records while waiting for Kendrick Lamar's response to his just-released album. “push ups.”
In the song, an imaginary Shakur speaks directly to Lamar, addressing his silence since delivering the verse on “Like That,” the diss song that started the feud last month. “Kendrick, we need you, the savior of the West Coast / Carve your name into hip-hop history,” raps the artificial Shakur. “Call him a bitch for me/Tell him he likes young girls as a gift to me.”
Drake goes on to address Lamar directly using Snoop Dogg's computer-generated vocals. “The world's watching this chess match, but oh, we're missing a hand, dot/You know OG never doubted you/But now what? It seems like you posted it without knowing it. Or what the heck are you trying to do?”
Many have speculated that Drake rapped a Shakur and Snoop Dogg verse and used AI to manipulate its sound. However, Drake says his verse at the end of his song is a stopgap until he hears back from Lamar. “The first one really only took an hour or two/The next one is really about 'bringing out the coward in you,'” he says. On Instagram, where he posted the song, he wrote, “I guess I'm waiting for you.”
He also reflected on the overwhelming cultural moment surrounding Taylor Swift's new album, The Tortured Poets Department, and how its presence overshadows everything else. This suggests that Lamar may be holding off on his response. “But now you have to wait a week because Taylor Swift is your new top,” he said, referring to Lamar's former record label, Top Dawg Entertainment. “And when you're about to fall, she has to approve/This girl's really trying to make you act like there's no feud.”
It all started when Lamar contributed a surprise verse to “Like That,” a song from Future and Metro Boomin's joint album We Don't Trust You. Lamar takes issue with J. Cole's inclusion of him in the “big three” of Cole and Drake's collaboration song “First Person Shooter” on Cole and Drake's 2023 album “For All the Dogs.” chanted.
Since then, J. Cole has been a free spirit in hip-hop's upper echelons, responding to Lamar with the song “7 Minute Drill,” which was included on his surprise release project, “Might Delete Later.” With the song, Cole attempted to discredit Lamar's discography, but quickly backtracked and removed the song from streaming platforms.
Drake released his diss track “Push Ups” over the weekend. It was first leaked as an unfinished demo, and soon a studio version was leaked. He officially dropped the song on streaming services today (April 19).