Kendrick Lamar throws in new Drake jab as he demands Tupac’s ring
Kendrick Lamar added a whole new line to his Drake diss track “Euphoria”, as he performed during his “Pop Out” concert in Los Angeles on Wednesday night (19 June).
The rapper’s feud with the Canadian star has escalated in recent months, with the two hip-hop titans trading barbs over each other’s physical appearance, talent, allegations of paedophilia and claims of secret children in a series of diss tracks.
Opening the set on “Euphoria”, Lamar threw in the new line: “Give me Tupac’s ring back and I might give you a little respect.”
It references the ring previously owned by late rapper Tupac Shakur, purchased at an auction by an undisclosed buyer who last year was revealed to be Drake.
Shakur wore the custom, self-designed crown ring set with rubies and diamonds on his left ring finger while making what would be his final appearance at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards, just over a week before he was killed during a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, aged 25.
The ring had “Pac & Dada 1996” engraved on the band, referencing his engagement to actor Kidada Jones.
Drake confirmed he was the mystery buyer when he posted a photo of the ring to an Instagram Story, with auction house Sotheby’s also confirming he was behind the £1m sale.
In April, Lamar blasted Drake for using an AI-generated version of Tupac on a since-deleted diss track, asking: “Am I battlin’ ghost or AI?”
The new lyric from Lamar is just the latest instalment in their beef, from which he was widely agreed to have emerged the winner. Another diss track, “Not Like Us”, is still riding high in the charts after debuting at No 1 in May.
Lamar welcomed guest stars including Dr Dre, Tyler, the Creator, Schoolboy Q and Jay Rock for the show, which was live streamed by Amazon Music and its hip-hop and R&B brand Rotation.
The show’s title of The Pop Out: Ken and Friends took its name from a line on “Not Like Us” where he raps: “Sometimes you gotta pop out and show n****s/ Certified boogeyman, I’m the one that up the score with ‘em.”
While the feud appeared to cool off after a series of intruders tried to break into Drake’s home, the “One Dance” artist appeared to reference the battle during his guest verse on Sexyy Red’s “U My Everything” last month.
On the track, he raps over Metro Boomin’s “BBL Drizzy” beat, which the producer released online and told followers to make their own version of the song.
Metro previously featured on Kendrick’s early diss “Like That” in March. The “BBL Drizzy” title alludes to rumours that Drake underwent a “Brazilian Butt Lift” surgery.
“Me and the surgeon got history / I changed a lot of girls’ lives for real, they need a new body, they hittin’ me,” Drake raps on Sexyy Red’s song, as the beat switches to Metro’s “BBL Drizzy.”
