At one point, it was pretty much inarguable that Drake, J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar were the “Big 3” of the rap game. Over the past decade, these men have put together projects that have defined the state of rap and pop culture. With hits like “No Role Modelz,” “One Dance” and “HUMBLE,” even your mom has heard one of their songs. Though they are all on the top of their game, J. Cole and Drake have always been closer. They have collaborated many times; as early as 2011, Drake was featured on J. Cole’s “In the Morning.” Most recently, Drake and J. Cole went on the Big As The What? Tour across North America to celebrate their song “First Person Shooter” (featured on

For All the Dogs

(2023)).

In “First Person Shooter,” J. Cole raps “Love when they argue the hardest MC / Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or Me / We the big three like we started the league.” These lines showcase Kendrick’s Pulitzer Prize-winning talent and emphasizes all that he has done for the genre. However, on Future and Metro Boomin’s March 2024 release,

We Don’t Trust You

, Kendrick hopped on “Like That” to let the world know that it is lonely at the top. Kendrick’s verse begins with “F*** sneak dissin’, first-person shooter” followed by six lines dissing Drake and J. Cole, that come to a head with “Motherf*** the big three, N****, it’s big me.” With this line, Kendrick started a war against J. Cole and Drake. Quickly rap fans began to joke that this was a civil war since We Don’t Trust You (2024) included many potential Drake disses from artists like The Weeknd and Rick Ross.

After the release of

We Don’t Trust You

, J. Cole clumsily responded on “7 Minute Drill” using transphobic language to diss Kendrick Lamar. Later, Cole publicly apologized for the diss. Drake, on the other hand, stayed quiet for a while making only a handful of cryptic Instagram posts. Then on April 12, 2024, Future’s successive album

We Still Don’t Trust You

was released. The release included a J.Cole feature on “Red Leather.” Having a feature on this album aligns Cole with Kendrick, The Weeknd and everyone else dissing Drake. It was a disturbing switch-up from Cole’s energy on “7 Minute Drill.” Cole’s flip-flopping and lack of loyalty has fans questioning his representation.

For Drake, Cole’s switch-up must have been the last straw as “Push Ups (Drop & Give Me Fifty)” was leaked the following morning on April 13. The public has questioned if the leak is AI, but with how precise and complex the disses are, it is unlikely. In this song, Drake calls out Kendrick for allowing his management to take 50 percent and for being short, then calls out Rick Ross for only hitting the charts when it is a Drake feature, tells Metro to “shut up and make some drums” and calls out Future for being an absent father. In this track, Drake smoothly calls out his opposition with their own stats. He even lists out the R&B and rap artists who have beaten Kendrick on the charts. It is in complete opposition to Cole’s clumsy response that resorts to transphobic language. Not for nothing, Drake’s diss track proves that he is a strong rapper and a real contender for G.O.A.T. status.

Drake responded to all of the haters on “Push Ups (Drop & Give Me Fifty),” whether or not the song will be officially released is most likely in Kendrick’s hands. If Kendrick responds, it is likely that “Push Ups” would be dropped along with another track to address Kendrick’s response. Without a response from Kendrick, it is unlikely that Drake would have enough reason to use his resources to drop a single. At the end of the day, Drake will always have a strong fanbase because he makes music “for the people,” the kinds of songs that are quoted in Instagram captions.

This Rap Civil War and the second major rap beef of 2024 is signaling a rejuvenation of the genre. These beefs have been entertaining, they have created great music and have been incredibly revealing of the character of these artists.