| Drake–Kanye West feud | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Drake in 2016  Kanye West in 2009 | |||
| Date | April 27, 2018–present (8 years, 43 days)[a] | ||
| Medium | Diss tracks | ||
| Status | Ongoing; characterized as on-and-off by music journalists | ||
| Parties | |||
| Works | |||
The Canadian rapper Drake and the American rapper Kanye West became involved in a rap feud in April 2018, when West used an instrumental that Drake wanted in the troll song "Lift Yourself". It escalated in May following the release of the West-produced Pusha T album Daytona, which features a diss track targeting Drake. Music journalists have characterized the feud as infrequent, with periods of acrimony and relative peace.
Background
editIn 2009, the Canadian rapper Drake described the American rapper Kanye West as his biggest influence. West responded by praising Drake's rapping on the song "Every Girl".[1] Drake and West shared managers at the time,[2] and they began to collaborate.[1] That year, Drake and West appeared on a remix of Jamie Foxx's "Digital Girl", West directed the music video for Drake's "Best I Ever Had", and the two featured on "Forever" with Lil Wayne and Eminem. In 2010, West wrote and produced portions of Drake's debut album Thank Me Later, while Drake contributed backing vocals to the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy song "All of the Lights".[1] Drake recorded a verse for "All of the Lights" that was cut from the released song.[2]
West appeared at Drake's OVO Fest in 2013, 2015, and 2016.[1][2] During his 2013 performance, West said that Drake inspired his and Jay-Z's collaborative album Watch the Throne (2011); Drake later called West's appearance "probably the most important moment in my career to date".[2] They appeared together on "Blessings" (2015) with Big Sean and "Pop Style" (2016) with Jay-Z.[2][3] In 2016, West provided production for Drake's album Views and Drake received writing credits on West's album The Life of Pablo.[2][4] In August, they teased a collaborative album,[2] and in 2017, West appeared on the song "Glow" from Drake's playlist More Life.[1]
History
edit2011–2017: Early disputes
editBillboard and XXL wrote that there were occasional signs of tension between Drake and West, beginning in 2011.[1][5] Drake suggested that West and Jay-Z got the idea for Watch the Throne from his and Lil Wayne's plans for a collaborative album,[1] and XXL interpreted Drake's line "I'm just feeling like the throne is for the taking / Watch me take it" in the DJ Khaled song "I'm on One" (2011) as a subtle shot at West.[5] In October 2011, Drake told The Source that he considered surpassing West his goal,[1] and in 2014, criticized West's lyricism on Yeezus (2013).[5] West dismissed the criticism, saying he was uninterested in a feud with Drake, and in 2015 described Drake as an "amazing sparring partner" whose success inspired him to continue making music.[2]
During the November 19, 2016, show of his Saint Pablo Tour, West went on a rant in which he complained about how much Drake and DJ Khaled's "For Free" (2016) was played by radio stations.[1] West subsequently checked into the UCLA Medical Center with hallucinations and paranoia,[6] and canceled the rest of the Saint Pablo Tour. Drake expressed confusion as to why West chose to target him given they were working on the collaborative album at the time, though he "accept[ed] what [West was] going through".[1]
2018: Escalation
edit
In 2018, West produced five albums—Pusha T's Daytona, West's Ye, West and Kid Cudi's collaborative album Kids See Ghosts, Nas' Nasir, and Teyana Taylor's K.T.S.E.—collectively known as the Wyoming Sessions in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.[7] In an appearance on LeBron James' The Shop, Drake recounted that West invited him to Wyoming,[1] where they worked on music together.[2] According to Drake, West said he wanted to be Drake's "Quincy Jones"; West requested Drake play and inform him of upcoming releases, while he gave Drake an instrumental.[8] Drake played West "March 14", which addressed Drake's relationship with his newborn son and co-parent,[9] prompting a conversation regarding his personal issues.[8] Drake said that West did not inform him he was working on any albums.[2]
On April 27, West released a song, "Lift Yourself",[10] using the instrumental that he had offered Drake.[8] Journalists characterized "Lift Yourself" as an act of trolling.[10][11][12] Following a long buildup, West announces he is about to deliver a great verse; he then scats, rapping nonsense lyrics based around the words poop, scoop, and whoop, and the song abruptly ends.[11] Drake was frustrated by West's use of the instrumental, which he interpreted as an insult.[13] Drake became further angered when West announced he would begin releasing the Wyoming Sessions albums weeks before Drake was set to release his album Scorpion. He said this was when he determined that "[West was] trolling me. This was like a manipulative, like, 'I wanna break you' thing".[8]
The first Wyoming Sessions album, Pusha T's Daytona, was released on May 25. Despite their friendships with West, Pusha T and Drake had been on bad terms since 2011 and frequently dissed each other. Pusha T criticized Drake as inauthentic, while Drake questioned Pusha T's drug-dealing background.[14]
2021: Reignition and attempted reconciliation
edit2022–2025: Further exchanges
editCommentary
editSong chronology
editRelated songs
editNotes
edit- ↑ Drake and West have had disputes dating back to 2011, but the current feud started in 2018.
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Saponara, Michael (April 24, 2024). "A Timeline of Drake & Ye's Relationship: From Friends to Feuds". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Tracy, Brianne (September 3, 2021). "From Diss Tracks to Twitter Feuds: A Timeline of Drake and Kanye West's Complicated Relationship". People. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
- ↑ Miller, Matt (April 5, 2016). "Drake Just Dropped His First-Ever Song With Jay Z and Kanye West". Esquire. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
- ↑ Bacle, Ariana (April 29, 2016). "Drake reveals why he cut Kanye West and Jay Z verse from 'Views'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
- 1 2 3 Coleman II, C. Vernon (March 14, 2024). "Kanye West and Drake's Confusing Feud Continues to Get More Confusing". XXL. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
- ↑ Winton, Richard (November 24, 2016). "Authorities spent 2 hours persuading West to be hospitalized, sources say". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
- ↑ Rubright, Taylor (November 22, 2022). "How Kanye West's "Wyoming Sessions" Rollout Was Doomed From The Start". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 Quinn, Dave (October 13, 2018). "Drake Opens Up About Feud with 'Manipulative' Kanye West: 'This Guy's Trolling Me'". People. Archived from the original on October 13, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
- ↑ Peters, Micah (October 13, 2018). "Drake Aired Out Kanye West to LeBron James on 'The Shop'". The Ringer. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
- 1 2 Strauss, Matthew (April 28, 2018). "Kanye Trolls Everyone With New Song 'Lift Yourself': Listen". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
- 1 2 McKenzie, Joi-Marie (April 28, 2018). "Kanye West's new song 'Lift Yourself' has fans scratching their heads". Good Morning America. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
- ↑ Berry, Peter A. (April 28, 2018). "Kanye West Drops New Song 'Lift Yourself'". XXL. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
- ↑ Brueny, Gabrielle (October 13, 2018). "Drake Opened Up About How His Feud With Kanye Got Started". Esquire. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
- ↑ Penrose, Nerisha (July 7, 2020). "A Timeline of Drake & Pusha T's Feud". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2025.