Kanye West and other rappers, who were friends with Drake, turned their backs on him when it came to the feud with Kendrick Lamar.

Drake was popular among many rappers and hip-hop artists until his infamous feud with Kendrick Lamar.
Many of these musicians took sides with Lamar, which prompted ugly diss tracks between them and Drake.
Even Eminem, who has love and respect for Drake, found Lamar’s diss track Not Like Us praiseworthy.

Kanye West only had great things to say about Drake until they started feuding in 2018. Things quickly went south as Ye, who called Drake “the greatest of all time”, accused the Canadian rapper of threatening and bullying him. West was only one of the many rappers who initially loved Drake but went on to turn their backs against him.

Kendrick Lamar and Drake collaborated on several projects before Lamar distanced himself from the rapper in 2013. When he was featured in Future and Metro Boomin’s Like That in 2024, Lamar never thought he would dive into a full diss track back-and-forth with Drake. The Toronto-based rapper responded with Push Ups and Taylor Made Freestyle.

Drake in the music video of Hotline Bling | Credits: Cash Money/Young Money/Republic

Lamar then dropped Euphoria and 6:16 in LA. Drake then dropped Family Matters, to which Lamar came up with Meet the Grahams and the Grammy-winning diss track Not Like Us. The last diss track to come out of the feud was Drake’s The Heart Part 6. Most recently, Drake sued Universal Music Group for allowing the release of Not Like Us and thus defaming him.

Kanye West was a Drake fan before he turned on him

Kanye West in Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Credits: ABC

Things went bad between Kanye West and Drake when rumors spread in 2018 that the latter had an affair with Kim Kardashian. Responding to the rumors, West expressed his frustration with Drake’s silence over the matter (via Business Insider). It led to both of them taking public shots at each other.

Drake later accused West of spilling the details about his son to Pusha T, which led to the whole “deadbeat dad” discourse. West denied the accusation. Later, West accused Drake of threatening him and called him a “bully”. However, fans believed they put the feud behind them as West told Candace Owens in a 2022 interview, “Drake is the best rapper ever by the numbers” (via @nfr_podcast).

Apparently, Drake is not over the feud it seems. When he dropped the song Rescue Me, he included an audio sample of Kardashian talking about her divorce. West later sided with Kendrick Lamar during their 2024 feud.

Other rappers including Eminem who turned their backs on Drake

Rick Ross

Rick Ross in the music video of Fascinated | Credits: Maybach/Epic

Rick Ross was a former friend of Drake. However, after he was featured in We Don’t Trust You, Drake went after Ross in his diss track Push Ups. He wrote in the song about Ross, whom he called “Ricky”:

Every song that made it on the chart, he got from Drizzy. Spend that lil’ check you got and stay up out my business.

Ross responded with his own song Champagne Moments, where he accused Drake of receiving multiple plastic surgeries. Countering Ross’ claims, Drake wrote on Family Matters:

What the f*ck, I heard Rick drop, n****? Talkin’ somethin’ ’bout a nose job, n**** / Ozempic got a side effect of jealousy and doctor never told y’all n****.

Ross was a friend who Drake lost in the after-effect of the beef with Kendrick Lamar. There were others on this list.

A$AP Rocky

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky in a still from the music video of Fashion Killa | Credits: A$AP Worldwide/Polo Grounds/RCA

A$AP Rocky and Drake collaborated on F**kin’ Problems in 2012, which was one of the tracks in the former’s debut album. Their friendship took a hit when Rocky started dating Rihanna, who had an on-off relationship with Drake. In Drake’s 2023 track Fear of Heights, he mocked both Rocky and Rihanna, implying in his song that Rocky can’t leave Rihanna because of their kids.

Amid Drake’s feud with Lamar, Rocky joined forces with Future and Metro Boomin’ and dropped the song Show of Hands. Rocky rapped in the song, “I smash before you birthed, son, Flacko hit it first, son,” which implied that he slept with Sophie Brussaux, Drake’s baby mama, before he did.

Drake responded in Family Matters, “Rakim talking sh*t again. Gassed ’cause you hit my BM first, n****, do the math, who I was hittin’ then?” He implied that he was sleeping with Rihanna at the time when Rocky claimed to have slept with Brussaux.

Future

Future in the music video of F&N | Credits: Freebandz/Epic

Drake and Future were supposed to be best friends. They released a collaborative mixtape in 2015 and did several duets over the years. Their works together included the 2022 hit Wait for U. However, it was Future along with Metro Boomin’ and Kendrick Lamar that kicked off this Rap Civil War against Drake with Like That.

The Weeknd

Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye as Tedros in The Idol | Credits: HBO

The fellow Canadians were on good terms and Drake promoted many of The Weeknd‘s songs during the early stages of his career. The turning point in their relationship was when The Weeknd turned down Drake’s OVO label and signed up for Republic. However, in 2014, he joined Drake’s Would You Like A Tour? in Europe.

However, their relationship went sour in 2024, when The Weeknd was featured in We Still Don’t Trust You. He hints at walking away from Drake’s label, rapping, “I thank God that I never signed my life away.” He also rapped, “Their shooters making TikToks / Got us laughing in the Lambo.”

Drake responded to The Weeknd in his diss track Family Matters, “Weeknd music gettin’ played in all the spots where boys got a little more pride / That’s why all your friends dippin’ to Atlanta, payin’ just to find a tour guide.” He implied that The Weeknd’s music is more popular among gay men.

Eminem

Eminem in a still from 8 Mile | Credits: Universal Pictures

Eminem and Drake shared mutual respect, with Drake often citing Eminem as an influence. Eminem went on to share that Drake did something for his daughters that he would never forget (via @lyricalmedia/TikTok). However, the legendary rapper seemingly turned his back on Drake when he shared his admiration for Kendrick Lamar before his Grammy win.

Eminem correctly predicted Lamar’s Grammy success, sharing, “Kendrick is gonna sweep that sh*t. He’s going to, and he should” (via SiriusXM). He further showered praises on Lamar, “Kendrick is at the very, very top tier of lyricists. Not just of this generation, but of all time.”

Lamar recently entered the Super Bowl after an eventful year for his music career. His diss track Not Like Us became one of the biggest hits at the awards after sweeping all five of its nominations including the Record of the Year and the Song of the Year.