Breaking Down All of Drake’s Shots at Kendrick (and Half the Rap Game) on “Family Matters”

Just a day after Kendrick Lamar dropped his second diss track "6:16 in LA," Drake fired back with his own diss track, accusing Kendrick of domestic violence and infidelity. In the seven-minute track, Drake also takes shots at several others he's had ongoing feuds with, including Rick Ross, ASAP Rocky, and The Weeknd. Produced by Boi1da and Tay Keith, the track seamlessly continues from where “Push Ups” left off, and it was accompanied by a separate diss record that Drake posted on his Instagram. Mere minutes after this, Kendrick responded with yet another diss track aimed at Drake, the full analysis of which you can read here.

None of these explosive claims have been backed up with solid evidence, but there’s plenty to unpack. Here’s a breakdown of the visuals, the Instagram remix, and every rapper who got caught in the crossfire of Drake's "Family Business" diss.

The “Buried Alive Interlude” Remix

Before diving into the actual diss track, let's discuss the Easter egg. Drake announced "Family Matters" with an Instagram post featuring a completely different song in which he reworks his Kendrick-assisted Take Care track, “Buried Alive Interlude,” turning it against the Compton rapper. In the first part of the song, Drake mimics Kendrick’s flow, referencing how he had Kendrick open for him on the Club Paradise tour back in 2012. "It feels like Twitter ghostwriting your replies," Drake raps, playing on the idea that some of Kendrick's bars in "Euphoria" were already voiced by fans on social media.

The Music Video

The "Family Matters" music video is loaded with symbolism. It begins with a shot of Drake spinning an old-school G-Unit spinner chain as the lyrics flash on the screen, nodding to his bars on “Push Ups” about his opponents making him "talk like [he’s] 50 [Cent]." Drake is also seen wearing FUBU in the video, a response to Kendrick’s line in “Euphoria” where he criticized Drake for not owning the Black-owned brand.

Next, we see what seems to be Kendrick's mother's Dodge Caravan, which was featured on the cover of *Good Kid, M.A.A.D City*, being driven through the streets of Toronto before it's dramatically crushed in a junkyard. As the beat switches, we’re shown a Black Mercedes Benz hearse through a fisheye lens—Drake previously mentioned this specific hearse in “You Broke My Heart,” symbolizing his intent to metaphorically bury Kendrick.

The video then shifts to various locations, including New Ho King, a Toronto restaurant Kendrick mentioned in “Euphoria.” We are then taken inside one of Drake’s properties, where he flaunts the jewelry he bought from Pharrell’s collection at auction, showing off Tupac's ring, which has become a recurring symbol in their feud, alongside what appears to be a certificate of authenticity. Later in the video, two cakes appear with the words “Happy Divorce” and “Happy Co-parenting,” subtly suggesting that Kendrick and his fiancée Whitney have separated due to infidelity.

In the final part of the video, we see Drake recording in the studio, a shot of a Michael Jackson action figure with a focus on the words “Black and White” while Drake raps about Kendrick’s lighter-skinned child, and a closing shot of Drake wearing a chain with a ring on it, which some speculate could be the engagement ring Kendrick gave Whitney Alford nine years ago.

Kendrick Disses in the First Verse

Unlike in “Push Ups,” where Drake spread out his disses, he zeroes in on Kendrick throughout “Family Matters,” making harsh accusations about Kendrick, his partner, and his children—provoking Kendrick to release his response track “Meet the Grahams” just minutes later. Drake accuses Kendrick of being an unfaithful, absentee father who is violent towards his partner.

"'Maybe in this song, you shouldn't start by saying'/ Nigga, I said it, I know that you mad/ I've emptied the clip over friendlier jabs/ You mentioned my seed, now deal with his dad/ I gotta go bad, I gotta go bad”

In the first moments of the track, we hear Drake’s mother, Sandra Graham, asking him not to start the song with "nigga," but he does it anyway, responding to Kendrick’s line in “Euphoria” where he says, “I even hate when you say the word ‘nigga.’” Drake then references Kendrick's “friendly fade” line, saying he’s ready to escalate because Kendrick mentioned his son. When Drake says he's "emptied the clip over friendlier jabs," he could be referring to Meek Mill’s Twitter rant that led him to drop “Charged Up” and “Back to Back,” or any number of other minor feuds he’s had over the years.

“I mean it's true a nigga slimed me for my AP”

Here, Drake confirms the rumor referenced in Kendrick’s “Euphoria” where Kendrick mentioned a Toronto restaurant called New Ho King, where the rapper was allegedly robbed in 2009.

“You the Black messiah wifin' up a mixed queen/ And hit vanilla cream to help out with your self-esteem/ On some Bobby shit, I wanna know what Whitney need/ All that puppy love was over in y'all late teens”

Drake calls out Kendrick for being married to a biracial woman while making racially charged disses in songs like “Euphoria.” He also uses a Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston reference to suggest that Kendrick’s relationship with Whitney Alford is strained, possibly even hinting at physical abuse. Drake also implies that Kendrick has been unfaithful with white women, something Kendrick himself addressed on *Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers*.

“Your baby mama captions always screamin', ‘Save me’/ You did her dirty all her life, you tryna make peace/ I heard that one of them little kids might be Dave Free/ Don't make it Dave Free's/ 'Cause if your GM is your BM secret BD/ Then this is all makin’ plenty fuckin sense to me”

Drake insinuates that Kendrick has been abusive towards Whitney, before dropping the bombshell that one of Kendrick's children might actually be fathered by his manager and close friend, Dave Free. He then references Sexyy Red’s hook on “Rich Baby Daddy,” twisting it to reference Dave Free.

“Your man a lil' K, we call that shit a mini Drac'/ He always said I overlooked him, I was starin' straight/ These bars go over Kenny head no matter what I say”

Drake takes jabs at Kendrick’s height, using wordplay to say his bars literally and figuratively go over Kendrick’s head.

The Entire Final Verse of Kendrick Disses

Drake dedicates the entire final verse of "Family Matters" to dissing Kendrick, layering petty insults and serious allegations about Kendrick's personal life. He starts by calling Kendrick overrated and accuses him of getting unwarranted praise just for "opening his mouth." Drake then misgenders Kendrick’s trans aunt, whom Kendrick talked about in “Auntie Diaries,” asking for his “uncle” so he can “talk to the man of the house.”

Drake challenges Kendrick to retrieve all of Pharrell’s jewelry, countering Kendrick's claim that he sent a cease-and-desist for “Like That” by accusing Kendrick of trying to sue him over the “Taylor Made Freestyle.”

Drake goes on to bring up the story Kendrick told on “Duckworth” about his father being robbed by Top Dawg when they were younger. "Your daddy got robbed by Top, you Stunna and Wayne, like father, like son/Anthony set up the plays, Kojo be chargin' you double for nothin’," Drake raps, implying that Kendrick is stuck in a bad deal with Top Dawg and that Kojo Timothy, who is credited on Kendrick’s *Mr. Morale*, is overcharging him.

Drake then takes a shot at the concept of a “Big 3,” saying it’s only “Big D and there’s video proof,” referencing his own NSFW leaked video. He also comments on the respective “light skin kids” of both rappers, implying that Kendrick is ashamed that his child isn’t darker.

Drake doubles down on his accusations of Kendrick assaulting his partner, asking, “When you put your hands on your girl, is it self-defense ‘cause she’s bigger than you?” He then flips the Michael Jackson vs. Prince comparison that has been a recurring theme in their feud, suggesting that Kendrick is more like Michael Jackson because “Michael was prayin' his features would change so people believe that he's actually white/ Top would make you do features for change, get on pop records and rap for the whites/ And wait, you say your brother Jermaine, but you wanted him to stay out of the light.” The end of that line serves as a double entendre, referencing Michael Jackson’s brother Jermaine, as well as J. Cole (whose real name is Jermaine), hinting that Kendrick never wanted to work with him despite their long-standing friendship.

Drake ends the verse with a bombshell, claiming Kendrick hired a crisis management team to "clean up the fact that you beat up your queen," fully committing to the narrative that Kendrick was physically abusive towards Whitney.

The Weeknd

The Weeknd sent shots at Drake on “We Still Don’t Trust You,” and after Drake clapped back at The Weeknd’s management on “Push Ups,” he now addresses the singer directly.

“Knew it was smoke when Abel hit us with the serenade/Nigga said, "Uh, uh"/ Almost started reachin' for my waist”

Drake jokes about how The Weeknd dissed him in a melodic way on “All to Myself,” singing sweetly instead of delivering a hard-hitting rap verse.

“If Drake shooters doing TikToks, nigga/ Realest shooter in your gang, that's P's brother, y'all ain't getting shit shot, nigga/ Can't listen to the stick talk in falsetto, save it for a hip-hop nigga/ You don't even be at home, dog, you a souvenir-out-the-gift-shop nigga/ Still mad about that one ho, we ain't even fuck, I just lip-locked with her”

Drake directly responds to The Weeknd's line in “All to Myself” about Drake’s shooters making TikToks, possibly a reference to Drake’s former bodyguard Baka Not Nice. Drake mocks the idea of tough-guy talk in a falsetto, and then insinuates that The Weeknd is rarely in Toronto, alluding to rumors that their beef is connected to a past relationship with Bella Hadid. The Weeknd and Hadid dated from 2015 to 2019, and Drake previously name-dropped the Hadid family on “Sandra’s Rose” in 2018, saying, “My house is full of supermodels just like Mohamad Hadid.” Though it’s unclear if Bella is the woman Drake is referring to here, it seems the beef is tied to a past romantic relationship.

“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/ Abel, run your fucking bread, need to buy some more chains for some more guys/ Let me find another street nigga I can take to the game courtside/ Let me get a used Ferrari for a rapper, take the nigga on a horse ride/ Anything to take the spotlight off the fact the boss is a drugged-out lil' punk sissy from the Northside”

Drake cracks jokes about The Weeknd and his crew, while calling back to his bars on “Push Ups,” where he said The Weeknd’s management was blowing his money. Drake highlights his own influence, claiming he can make any new Toronto artist a star, just like he did for The Weeknd, and he’s willing to do so to get them away from XO.

Rick Ross

Rick Ross was quick to respond to Drake’s “Push Ups” with his own diss, “Champagne Moments,” released on the same day. Ross has since been poking fun at Drake, and on “Family Matters,” Drake hits back with:

“What the fuck I heard Rick drop, nigga? Talkin' somethin' 'bout a nose job, nigga/ Ozempic got a side effect of jealousy and doctor never told y'all niggas/ Put a nigga in the bars, let a nigga rot, kind of like your old job, nigga/ House sittin' on some land, but it's out where no one even really know y'all niggas/ Bitches gotta drive two hours 'fore you pay 'em just to give a blowjob, nigga”

Drake reuses some jokes he had already thrown around on Instagram, addressing the rumors of a nose job and commenting on Ross’s “vacant land” property. He also makes a jab about Ross using Ozempic, although this hasn’t aged well since the cover art for Kendrick’s “Meet the Grahams” features a bottle of the weight loss drug prescribed to Aubrey.

“Ross callin' me the white boy and the shit kind of got a ring to it/ 'Cause all these rappers wavin' white flags while the whole fuckin' club sing to it”

At least Drake can laugh at himself. He found Ross calling him a “white boy” as funny as everyone else and cleverly uses the meme to his advantage, flipping it to show how his diss tracks also become club hits.

“Body after body fuckin’ body and you know Rick readin’ my Miranda Rights”

Drake takes another shot at Ross’s past as a correctional officer, which was a major controversy early in Ross’s music career because it contradicted the mob boss image he cultivated.

ASAP Rocky

ASAP Rocky somehow avoided Drake’s wrath in “Push Ups,” despite sending some of the most direct shots at him in “Show of Hands.” However, Drake rectifies this by giving Rocky a handful of bars, claiming that Rocky’s rap career has fallen off and that he’s more known for fashion and his relationship with Rihanna. It seems Drake has been waiting to come at Rocky for a while, as these are some of the harshest bars in the song (outside of the Kendrick disses).

“Rakim talkin' shit again/ Gassed 'cause you hit my BM first, nigga, do the math, who I was hittin' then? I ain't even know you rapped still 'cause they only talkin' 'bout your 'fit again/ Probably gotta have a kid again 'fore you think of droppin' any shit again/ Even when you do drop, they gon' say you should've modeled 'cause it's mid again/ Smokin' Fenty 'bout it, should've put you on the first one, tryna get it in/ Ask Fring if this a good idea the next time you cuddled in that bed again/ She'll even tell you leave the boy alone 'fore you get your head split again”

In “Show of Hands,” ASAP Rocky hinted that he had been with Drake’s baby mother first (“I smashed before you birthed son, Flacko hit it first son”), and Drake replies by implying he was still with Rihanna when that happened. He dismisses Rocky’s rap career, saying the only thing he’s known for is his family and fashion (which isn’t a bad thing), and that he should have been included in “Push Ups.” Drake then uses an old nickname he had for Rihanna (Fring) to warn Rocky to back off.

Future & Metro Boomin

For fans of Future and Drake’s collaborations, this part hurts, as it’s clear that even Drake doesn’t fully understand why Future dissed him. But at least we can still listen to “Diamonds Dancing” and remember the good times.

“Pluto shit make me sick to my stomach, we ain't never really been through it/ Leland Wayne, he a fuckin' lame, so I know he had to be an influence/ These niggas had a plan and they finally found a way to rope you into it/ Two separate albums dissin', I just did a Kim to it, nigga, skim through it”

Drake implies that he doesn’t know why Future sent shots his way, but he believes Metro Boomin (whose real name is Leland Wayne) must have been the instigator. Drake’s use of Metro’s real name is unexpected and still funny because it’s rarely seen. Drake also thinks that people have always plotted against him, and now they’ve managed to get Future involved, even though he only skimmed through *We Don’t Trust You* and *We Still Don’t Trust You*.