In the definition segment that Kendrick Lamar used for his diss track aimed at Drake, the second example sentence is written as follows:
"They had almost a week to recover from the euphoria of Tuesday’s series-winning victory…"
The release of the diss track on a Tuesday by Kendrick clearly suggests that the "they" here refers to Drake (and possibly his support team, including ghostwriters???). Additionally, Euphoria is also the name of a TV series that Drake is an executive producer of.
So, how does Kendrick's response diss compare to Drake's? Honestly, I quite liked Drake's Push Up which came out earlier, but as a fan of Kendrick, I definitely feel that Euphoria goes much deeper.
In Push Up by Drake, there's a part:
"Extortion baby, whole career, you been shook up'cause Top told you, "Drop and give me fifty," like some push-ups, huh."
To counter Drake's accusation about Kendrick having to split money with label boss Top Dawg, Kendrick borrows a line from Pusha T's rap in Exodus 23:1 to suggest that Drake's recording contract isn't much better, given that Drake signed with Young Money under Lil Wayne, a subsidiary of Birdman's Cash Money, which is under the control of Universal Records.
“You were signed to a n**** that's signed to a n**** that said he was signed to that n****”
In Push Up, Drake criticizes Kendrick's Mr. Morale album for not being successful by the line:
"Your last one bricked, you really not on shitThey make excuses for you 'cause they hate to see me lit"
In response, Kendrick says:
"Yeah, my first one like my last one, it's a classic, you don't have one,"
hitting on the fact that Drake doesn't have a timeless classic album (which Drake fans might disagree with 😃).
In Push Up, Drake raps:
"I be with some bodyguards like Whitney"
to play on words with Whitney Houston's movie The Bodyguard, both to jab at Kendrick's wife, Whitney, not being Kendrick's loyal wife. Some rap fans might not appreciate Drake mocking Kendrick's small stature or using AI to mimic Tupac and Snoop Dogg's voices, but I think it's not too overboard since many diss tracks from other rappers touch on similar topics. However, the worst thing to do is to bring up the opponent's spouse or children.
But Kendrick swiftly responds:
"Fabricatin' stories on the family front 'cause you heard Mr. Morale
A pathetic master manipulator, I can smell the tales on you now
You're not a rap artist, you a scam artist with the hopes of being accepted,"
accusing Drake of only extrapolating from the Mr. Morale album and distorting the truth. Hence the following line: "You're not a rap artist, you're just a scam artist hoping to be accepted," hits hard.
In Push Up, Drake raps:
"What the fuck is this, a twenty-v-one, n****?"
to address having to battle against so many other rappers all at once.
Kendrick immediately responds:
"Ain't twenty-v-one, it's one-v-twenty if I gotta smack ns that write with you
Yeah, bring 'em out too, I'll clean 'em out too
Tell BEAM that he better stay right with you
Am I battling ghost or AI? N feelin' like Joel Osteen
Funny, he was in a film called 'AI'
And my sixth sense tellin' me to off him."
Kendrick flips the script by saying he's actually one against twenty, as behind Drake, there are a bunch of ghostwriters or AI helping him, and Kendrick doesn't know if he's battling a ghostwriter or AI. To further confuse the mix-up between ghostwriter and AI, Kendrick also confuses battling the famous American preacher Joel Osteen (who's also digitally reconstructed using AI) with actor Haley Joel Osment from the movies AI and The Sixth Sense. So, the line: "my sixth sense telling me to off him" is akin to "I see dead people", which Kendrick wants to convey to Drake when he takes him down.
And just like that, beyond the retaliation, in Euphoria, Kendrick continuously launches diss attacks at Drake from all angles of total assault:
1. Calling Drake nothing but a fake:
“Know you a master manipulator and habitual liar too
But don't tell no lie about me and I won't tell truths 'bout you”
2) Accusing Drake of being gay:
“When I see you stand by Sexyy Red, I believe you see two bad b****s
I believe you don't like women, it's real competition, you might pop ass with 'em”
3) Calling Drake a rap immigrant with a laughable rap accent:
“Don't speak on the family, crodie
It can get deep in the family, crodie
Talk about me and my family, crodie?
Someone gon' bleed in your family, crodie”
Crodie is a slang term originating from Toronto, and when Kendrick mimics Drake's tone, he repeatedly uses the word "crodie" to refer to Drake as a "pussy." The reason is that Drake's pet cat at home is also named Crodie.
4) Accusing Drake of just pretending to be a gangster:
“I like Drake with the melodies, I don't like Drake when he act tough”
“Have you ever walked your enemy down like with a poker face?
Have you ever paid five hundred thou' like to an open case?
Well, I have, and I failed at both, but I came out straight
I hate when a rapper talk about guns, then somebody die
They turn into nuns, then hop online, like "Pray for my city"
He fakin' for likes and digital hugs”
The line from Kendrick is also a response to Drake's mocking of Kendrick in the Taylor Made Freestyle about Ken never having been to jail or had a real fight with anyone.
5) Saying Drake shouldn't even be a father either.
“Y'all think all my life is rap?
That's ho shit, I got a son to raise, but I can see you don't know nothin' 'bout that
Wakin' him up, know nothin' 'bout that
And tell him to pray, know nothin' 'bout that
And givin' him tools to walk through life like day-by-day, know nothin' 'bout that
Teachin' him morals, integrity, discipline, listen, man, you don't know nothin' 'bout that
Speakin' the truth and consider what God's considerin', you don't know nothin' 'bout that”
6) And saying Drake ain't "black" enough to follow hip-hop.
“How many more Black features 'til you finally feel that you're Black enough?”
“I even hate when you say the word "n****," but that's just me, I guess
Some shit just cringeworthy, it ain't even gotta be deep, I guess”
And Kendrick ends the song by repeating:
“We don't wanna hear you say "n****" no more
We don't wanna hear you say " n****" no more
Stop”