Kendrick Lamar walks onstage during the Super Bowl LVIX Pregame & Apple Music Super Bowl LVIX Halftime Show Press Conference at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on February 06, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
After letting Drake off the hook on his Playboi Carti features, Kendrick is back to the subtle shade by filming his latest video with Drake's own videographer in his city, Toronto.
Editor's Note: This post was originally published in March 2025 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
It seemed as if Kendrick Lamar had moved past dissing Drake — at least on Playboi Carti’s new album, I Am Music.
On the recently released project, Lamar appears on three different tracks: “Mojo Jojo,” “Backd00r” and “Good Credit,” with no mention of Drake to be heard.
But with his latest music video for "Luther," Kendrick tapped Drake's longtime videographer, Karena Evans, and fans are saying the Boogyman is back. A few weeks ago, Drake poked the bear with a video of his own. Fans have pointed out that in the "Nokia" video, Drake mimics some of Kendrick's "Not Like Us" dance moves and ended the video showing six owls sitting on a power line. The owls, a symbol of Drake's OVO brand, call back to the same owl that Kendrick put in a cage at the end of the "Not Like Us" video.
While there were rumors that the West Coast rapper would be dissing Drake on Carti's album, that doesn’t appear to be the case, with the GNX artist not mentioning the Toronto rapper at all.
Instead, he opts for references to Luka Doncic and A$AP Relli on “Good Credit.”
In regard to the former, he raps, “The numbers says nothing, the money is nothing, I really been held my promise / Say Kenny been heavy out West and I carry the weight, I'm Luka Doncic.”
As for the latter, he raps, “Eliantte go big, white-gold link fall on the belly / The emerald cut for hers and his, that b**ch on point like A$AP Relli.”
Lamar isn’t the only notable feature on Carti’s I Am Music, with the album boasting appearances from Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, Future, Skepta and more.
Lamar has had an incredible start to his 2025. He won some of the top prizes at this year’s Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Music Video.
He also performed at this year’s Super Bowl, serving as the halftime performer for the annual football event.
