Kendrick Lamar Says I'm Not Petty Enough

And honestly? He might be right...

There’s a time for peace, a time for love, and apparently, a time for violence.

Matthew 11:12 (NIV) says: From the days of John The Baptist until now, the kingdom of Heaven has been subjected to violence, and the violent people have been raiding it.

And Kendrick Lamar? Yeah, he’s currently in his World War III era.

If you’ve been living under a rock (or just using social media responsibly, unlike the rest of us), Kendrick and Drake have been locked in a rap beef so intense it deserves its own Netflix documentary. Kendrick is currently on a warpath against Drake, and this is not a regular rap beef.

No, it is a full-blown, no-holds-barred character assassination. He didn’t just take a shot; he emptied the whole clip, reloaded, and shot again. And honestly, watching Kendrick go full strategic ops mode on Drake has made me realize something rather disturbing.

I’m not nearly as petty as I need to be.

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How It Started

Let’s rewind a bit. What many people may not know is that the Drake-Kendrick beef didn’t start last year. The first signs of trouble began in 2013, but that’s not why we are here.

In October 2023, Drake and J. Cole dropped ‘First Person Shooter,’ a song where J. Cole woke up the sleeping bear in Lamar by saying: “Love when they argue the hardest MC/ Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me?/ We the big three like we started a league…”

Now, normal people would take this as a compliment but Kendrick? No. He took it personally. Fast forward to March 2024, and Kendrick hops on Future & Metro Boomin’s Like That and goes full attack mode on both Drake and Cole.

His verse was essentially a “Are you mad? Are you foolish? Are you sick in the head?” and J. Cole (Lord bless his sweet heart), sensing that this was not his fight, did the smartest thing possible. He apologized and exited the group chat.

Drake, on the other hand? He responded and that was how we got to where we are now. In a full-fledged, no-holds-barred rap beef where Kendrick is not just winning, but actively out to ruin Drake’s career.

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Let’s Not Lie… It Pays To Be Petty

Rap beef is crazy but what’s crazier is that if you do it well, it actually pays. Take a look at Kendrick. He’s doing it exceptionally well, that at the 2025 Grammy Awards, Kendrick’s diss track Not Like Us didn’t just make waves; it swept the entire ocean. His ‘hate’ was so good that he took home:

- Record of the Year
- Song of the Year
- Best Rap Performance
- Best Rap Song
- Best Music Video

Five Grammys. All for one diss track.

What does that tell you? Even wicked people dey win for this life. Don’t even get it twisted.

And if you thought Kendrick was going to keep his pettiness limited to award-winning diss tracks, you must not know who this man is. At the Super Bowl 2025 halftime show, Kendrick performed Not Like Us to 133.5 million people aimed directly at Drake. But he didn’t stop there. He brought out SZA and Serena Williams (In case you didn’t know) and both ‘reportedly’ dated Drake back in the day.

Seeing Sza team up with her ex’s opp and Serena dancing to a track dissing Drake? That’s next-level petty. In fact, that’s petty with a PhD.

Now here’s the thing. Normally, we’re taught that being petty is bad. “Be the bigger person,” they say. “When someone slaps you, turn the other cheek,” they preach. But Kendrick is living proof that sometimes? Being the bigger person is really just a scam.

See, there are moments in life when maturity is overrated and pettiness is the only reasonable response. For instance, I’ve learned that you need to be extra petty in situations…
• When someone tries to play with your name both in private and public.
• When they think they can embarrass you without consequences.

I mean, Kendrick could’ve ignored Drake and continued his peaceful life. But where’s the fun in that? Instead, he chose to apply pressure. And look at him now - thriving, charting, and winning.

Watching this whole thing unfold has made me realize that maybe, just maybe, I’ve been too forgiving. Too peaceful. Too willing to let things slide. Kendrick reminds me that sometimes, the only way to get results in life is to apply pressure. So, if you see me start choosing vawulence and taking things by fire, by force; just know that Kendrick Lamar inspired me.

Tankiu!

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I had a serious internal battle about posting this because I felt the timing wasn’t right anymore. Even now, I’m hesitant to post it but if you are reading this, then I didn’t give in to the voice in my head.

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Songs I’m currently listening to:

Is It a Crime by Rema

Messy by Lola Young

Uncle Pele by Dxtiny

Do have a beautiful week ahead

Xoxo,

Eseosa 🤍