A comprehensive breakdown of some of what’s been said in the studio and on social media since Kendrick Lamar released his “Like That” verse

Kendrick Lamar; Drake. PHOTO: GETTY (2)

If you don’t keep up with hip-hop news, you might be wondering what’s been happening between Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Future, Metro Boomin, Rick Ross — and, well, even Uma Thurman at this point.

They’re all connected in an ongoing war of lyrics, and while it’s likely been brewing for longer behind the scenes, things really made headlines when Kendrick Lamar, 36, joined Future and Metro Boomin in March for “Like That,” the trio’s latest No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

In “Like That,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper took aim at both Cole, 39, and Drake, 37, and things have been developing fast since.

To keep track of the back-and-forth between the rap heavyweights, here’s a comprehensive timeline of some of what’s been said in the studio (and at times, on Instagram) between Lamar, Drake — and just about everybody else — since the release of “Like That” (and a little before it).

Oct. 6, 2023: Drake and J. Cole release “First Person Shooter”

J. Cole (L) and Drake (R) perform during the Dreamville Festival at Dorothea Dix Park in April 2023.ASTRIDA VALIGORSKY/WIREIMAGE

Lamar’s “Like That” verse may have sparked quite a few responses, but it only began as a response to J. Cole and Drake’s “First Person Shooter,” which was released in early October as part of the Canadian hitmaker’s latest album, For All the Dogs.

The song, which eventually hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, features Cole effectively comparing himself to both Drake and Lamar as the “big three.”

“Love when they argue the hardest MC,” he raps. “Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me?/We the big three like we started a league, but right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali.”

March 22, 2024: Kendrick Lamar, Future and Metro Boomin release “Like That”

Kendrick Lamar appears at the 2023 Met Gala.ARTURO HOLMES/MG23/GETTY

Lamar was apparently not a fan of Cole’s “big three” comment, as five months later he addressed it with “Like That” — a song released as part of Metro Boomin and Future’s collaborative effort We Don’t Trust You.

In Lamar’s verse, which is sandwiched in the middle of the song, he declares “motherf— the big three,” adding “it’s just big me.”

Lamar also responded to “First Person Shooter” by adding: “f— sneak dissin’, first-person shooter, I hope they came with three switches.”

Beyond the “big three” takedown, Lamar’s verse also takes aim at Drake specifically, apparently comparing his adversary to Michael Jackson and himself to Prince — all while dissing Drake’s “best work.” In the same verse, he seemingly calls out Drake’s For All the Dogs album.

“What? I’m really like that/And your best work is a light pack/N—-, Prince outlived Mike Jack’/N—-, bum,” Lamar raps. “‘Fore all your dogs gettin’ buried/ That’s a K with all these nines, he gon’ see Pet Sematary.”

April 5, 2024: J. Cole releases “7 Minute Drill”

J Cole performs on the main stage during Day 2 of Wireless Festival in July 2022 in London, England.JOSEPH OKPAKO/WIREIMAGE

After “Like That” rose to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, J. Cole released his surprise album Might Delete Later in early April.

Included in the album was track “7 Minute Drill,” which took direct aim at Lamar, specifically calling his 2022 album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers “tragic” and implying that Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly  album was boring.

“He still doin’ shows, but fell off like the Simpsons/ Your first s— was classic, your last s— was tragic/ Your second s— put n—– to sleep, but they gassed it/ Your third s— was massive and that was your prime/ I was trailing right behind and I just now hit mine/ Now I’m front of the line with a comfortable lead/ How ironic, soon as I got it, now he want somethin’ with me,” Cole rapped.

He later argued that the elusive Lamar was “averagin’ one hard verse like every 30 months or somethin’,” then raps: “Four albums in 12 years, n—-, I can divide.”

April 7, 2024: J. Cole apologizes for “7 Minute Drill”

J. Cole attends BALLY’s ‘Off the Grid’ New York premiere in August 2015 in New York City.NEILSON BARNARD/GETTY

Two days after “7 Minute Drill” took the internet by storm, Cole walked back on his rhymes.

During an appearance at his Dreamville Festival in North Carolina, the Grammy winner told the crowd that dissing Lamar so publicly “disrupts my f—ing peace,” and that it didn’t “sit right with my spirit.” He noted that he “downplayed” Lamar’s catalog and “his greatness.”

“I felt so conflicted because I’m like, bro, I don’t really feel no way,” he said, according to video shot by fans in attendance.

“But the world wanna see blood… So I say all of that to say, in my spirit of trying to get this music out, I ain’t gonna lie to y’all, I moved in a way that I spiritually feel bad on. I try to like, jab my n—- back. I try to keep it friendly, but at the end of the day, when I listen to it and when it comes out and I see the talk, that s— don’t sit right with my spirit.”

Cole asked Lamar to forgive him “for the misstep.” The song was removed from streaming services just days later.

April 12, 2024: Future and Metro Boomin release another joint album, ‘We Really Don’t Trust You’

Metro Boomin performs at the Sahara Tent during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2023. MATT WINKELMEYER/GETTY IMAGES FOR COACHELLA

Just days after Cole backtracked on his Lamar diss, Future and Metro Boomin returned with a follow-up album stacked with features from the likes of The Weeknd, A$AP Rocky, and even Cole himself.

On track “All to Myself,” The Weeknd sings: “They could never diss my brothers, baby/When they got leaks in they operation/I thank God that I never signed my life away.” Complex and other outlets have since reported that the line appears to reference his past association with Drake.

As previously reported, on song “Show of Hands,” Rocky also appears use Rihanna’s “bad girl RiRi” moniker to allude to Drake still having feelings for her. It comes after fans believe Drake seeming took his own jab at Rocky on his For All the Dogs album in October.

“Call up Pluto, Metro, should’ve put me on the first one / N—-s swear they bitch the baddest, I just bagged the worst one/ N—-s in they feelings over women, what, you hurt or somethin’? / I smash before you birthed, son, Flacko hit it first, son,” Rocky raps.

April 13, 2024: Drake responds with leaked diss track “Push Ups”

Drake performs at “Lil Baby & Friends Birthday Celebration Concert” in Atlanta in December 2022.PRINCE WILLIAMS/WIREIMAGE

While Drake had not initially confirmed its legitimacy, a diss track called “Push Ups” leaked on social media on April 13. The song, initially believed to be AI by some fans on social media, was later premiered in CDQ by media personality DJ Akademiks.

In the song, which Drake officially posted to his YouTube account and streaming services Friday, April 19, Drizzy can be heard calling Lamar “pipsqueak,” arguing that he wears “size 7 mens” shoes, and mocks his previous pop collaborations with Taylor Swift and Maroon 5.

“Maroon 5 need a verse you better make it witty/You only need a verse for the Swifties/Top say drop and give ‘em 50,” he raps, later comparing Lamar to other notable artists.

“You ain’t in no big three, SZA got you wiped down,” he adds. “Travis got you wiped down, Savage got you wiped down/Like your label, boy, you in the scope right now/And you gon’ feel the aftermath of what I write down.”

Fans believe the song takes aim at Future, Metro Boomin (“Metro, shut yo ho ass up and make some drums”), Rick Ross (“Every song that made it on the chart, he got from Drizzy”), and few others — with even more shots apparently thrown Lamar’s way. “I don’t care what Cole think, that Dot s— was weak as f—,” he raps.

April 13, 2024: Rick Ross immediately responds with “Champagne Moments”

Rick Ross. CHRISTOPHER POLK/BET/GETTY

Within hours, Ross responded to Drake with his own diss track — and a number of social media clap backs. The song “Champagne Moments” was first teased on DJ Akademik’s Twitch stream.

In the full song, Ross, 48, accuses the rapper of having “ghostwriters,” calls him a “white boy,” and claims mentor Lil Wayne “gave you the juice.” Ross also accuses Drake of getting plastic surgery to make his nose smaller, and claims he unfollowed him on social media in response to a slight at fellow rapper French Montana.

“I unfollowed you, n—-, ’cause you sent the motherf—ing cease-and-desist to French Montana, n—-,” Ross claims. “You sent the police, n—-, hatin’ on my dawg project/That wasn’t the same white boy that I seen, n—-, when we were makin’ them early records.”

April 14, 2024: Drake and Ross’ social media back and forth continues (ft. Uma Thurman)

Rick Ross, Drake. JERRITT CLARK/GETTY; LEON BENNETT/WIREIMAGE

In the aftermath of the pair’s latest (apparent) releases, Ross and Drake have exchanged plenty of words on Instagram and beyond. Since “Champagne Moments,” Ross has written on X (formerly Twitter): “If we keeping it gangster, when you see me you check me.”

Ross also encouraged him to “drop a response or tell the kids you don’t respond,” using the hashtag “#BBLDrizzy.”

Drake has shared a message of his own to Instagram, uploading an apparent text exchange with his mother, Sandi Graham, in which she playfully asked him about the alleged nose job, per Billboard. “I can’t believe you would get one without me … cuz you know I always wanted one,” she wrote. “Don’t tell me that you got tattoos without me and now this too?”

The Degrassi alum responded to the text: “I would have got us a 2 for 1 deal if I went ma… It’s coming from Rick Ross the guy I did songs with he’s gone loopy off the Mounjaro he hasn’t eaten in days and it’s turned him angry and racist he’s performing at proms for money it’s bad don’t worry we’ll handle it.”

In response to Drake’s Instagram Stories, Ross shared a video of his own, announcing that “BBL Drizzy called his mommy on me.”

“He shared their text messages between each other. Ah, cupcake Drake. Tell your momma you stayed out past your curfew, white boy,” he said, per Billboard.

“…But tell your momma… tell your old girl she a beautiful lady,” Ross added. “I told you that before and I meant that, but you tell your momma, white boy, you stayed out at the park too late and you can’t call her when you get in this s—. This s— too deep to call your momma, white boy.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

And now, Thurman is somehow involved in the back and forth, too. After Drake’s alleged leaked diss hit social media over the weekend, the musician uploaded a still from Kill Bill to his Instagram Stories, where Thurman’s character could be seen surrounded by armed assailants — likely in reference to his several ongoing feuds.

The actress, 53, then posted her own photo of the Kill Bill jumpsuit in storage, asking Drake: “Need this?”

April 19, 2024: Drake calls Taylor Swift the ‘biggest gangster in music’ in Lamar diss “Push Ups,” featuring AI Tupac and Snoop Dogg

MIKE MARSLAND/WIREIMAGE; MATT WINKELMEYER/GETTY; ARTURO HOLMES/MG23/GETTY

Days later, Drake was back for more — and name-dropped Taylor Swift.

As the musician waited for Lamar to respond to his “Push Ups” diss track, he decided to release another song of his own aimed at the “Be Alright” rapper.

“Taylor Made Freestyle,” a second diss track directed at Lamar, also controversially features AI verses from Snoop Dogg and the late Tupac Shakur. In the song — released April 19 on Instagram and seemingly named after Swift — Drake throws more jabs at Lamar, while alluding to what he says is the reason Lamar hasn’t responded yet: Swift.

“But now we gotta wait a f—ing week ’cause Taylor Swift is your new Top/And if you ’bout to drop, she gotta approve/This girl really ’bout to make you act like you not in a feud,” Drake raps, alluding to how long he’s waited for a response from Lamar. “She tailor-made your schedule with Ant, you out of the loop/Hate all you corporate industry puppets, I’m not in the mood.”

Swift released her album, The Tortured Poets Department, on the same day.

April 26, 2024: Drake removes ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’ from Instagram after Tupac’s estate threatened lawsuit

Drake, Tupac Shakur.KARWAI TANG/WIREIMAGE; RON GALELLA/RON GALELLA COLLECTION VIA GETTY

Drake’s “Taylor Made Freestyle” is no longer available following a threat of legal action from Tupac Shakur’s estate due to the song’s use of an AI-generated verse using the late rap icon’s voice.

After Drake shared the Lamar diss track to Instagram on April 19, Tupac’s estate took issue with the use of his voice and issued a cease-and-desist letter demanding the song be taken down. On April 26, Drake removed the song from social media.

“Taylor Made Freestyle” featured an AI verse portraying the “California Love” rapper as an ally of Lamar’s, encouraging the fellow West Coast musician to clap back at Drake.

The late rapper’s estate took issue with the song, as a letter sent by lawyer Howard King that’s been obtained by PEOPLE claimed that Drake’s use of his voice was a “flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights.”

King said “Taylor Made Freestyle” was a “blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time,” insisting the estate “would have never given its approval” regarding the use of vocals in Shakur’s likeness.

“You personally are well acquainted both with publicity rights and the laws that protect them, and with the harm that unauthorized AI impersonations can cause to artists, including yourself,” wrote King to Drake.

April 30, 2024: Kendrick Lamar responds to Drake on full-length diss track ‘Euphoria’

Kendrick Lamar at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards.ALBERTO E. RODRIGUEZ/GETTY

Over a month after his “Like That” verse set off the back-and-forth, Lamar officially responded in his own 6-minute track, “Euphoria,” featuring several direct shots at Drake — and a shoutout to a small business that helped attract a few more customers.

In the song, Lamar refers to Drake as “a master manipulator and a habitual liar” and takes aim at his rap skills: “You not a rap artist, you a scam artist with the hopes of bеing accepted.”

He also calls out Drake’s use of AI-generated Tupac vocals on “Taylor Made Freestyle.” The line, per Business Insider, also seemingly references Drake’s decision to purchase a ring once owned by Shakur. “Somebody had told that me you got a ring, on God, I’m ready to double the wage / I rather do that, than let a Canadian n—- make Pac turn in his grave,” raps Lamar.

Elsewhere in the song, Lamar claims that he makes music to “electrify” while Drake makes music to “pacify,” voices his dislike of Drake using the N-word and seemingly — and slyly — mentions Drake’s longtime ghostwriter allegations (“Ain’t 20 v. 1, it’s 1 v. 20”).

Lamar also references Drake’s 2018 feud with Pusha-T, in which Pusha revealed that Drake was father to now 6-year-old Adonis.

Taking his own jabs at Drake’s approach to fatherhood, Lamar raps: “I got a son to raise, but I can see you don’t know nothin’ ’bout that/Wakin’ him up, know nothin’ ’bout that/Then tell him to pray, know nothin’ ’bout that/Then givin’ him tools to walk through life like day by day, know nothin’ ’bout that.”

The song also garnered headlines for its shoutout of a Toronto restaurant and a mention of a “Joel (Hale) Osteen” — which listeners think was either an intentional or accidental fusion of the names Haley Joel Osment with Joel Osteen, as Lamar referenced two of Osment’s films in the lyrics.

“Am I battlin’ ghost or AI? N—- feelin’ like Joel (Hale) Osteen / Funny, he was in a film called A.I. / And my sixth sense tellin’ me to off him,” he raps.

May 3, 2024: Kendrick Lamar goes after Drake again with follow-up diss “6:16 in LA”

Kendrick Lamar performs in Madrid in June 2023.RICARDO RUBIO/EUROPA PRESS VIA GETTY

Within days, Lamar doubled-down on his Drake disses with a few new angles on track “6:16 in LA.”

Sharing the follow-up diss track on Instagram, the title of Lamar’s “6:16 in LA” appeared to be a nod at Drake’s similarly titled timestamp songs ( “6PM in New York,” “8am in Charlotte”). And the song itself questions Drake’s inner-circle, as Lamar teases seemingly being in cahoots with members of Drake’s crew.

“Have you ever thought that OVO was working for me? / Fake bully, I hate bullies / You must be a terrible person,” Lamar spews on the track, referencing Drake’s record label. “Everyone inside your team is whispering that you deserve it / Can’t Toosie Slide up outta this one / It’s just gon’ resurface.”

The song, produced by Sounwave and Jack Antonoff, also features Lamar claiming that media personality DJ Akademiks (who earlier gave a first look at Drake’s “Push Ups” diss on a live stream) was “lookin’ compromised,” and accuses Drake of “playing nerdy” with Zack Bia and Twitter bots.

“If you were street-smart, then you woulda caught that your entourage is only to hustle you/A hundred n—– that you got on salary/And twenty of ’em want you as a casualty/And one of them is actually next to you/And two of them is practically tired of your lifestyle/Just don’t got the audacity to tell you,” Lamar raps.

At the end of the song, Lamar claims that Drake’s “lil’ memes are losing steam” and that the public “figured” him out.

“The forced opinions is not convincin’, y’all need a new route/It’s time that you look around on who’s around you/Before you figure that you’re not alone, ask what Mike would do,” he rhymes, again comparing Drake to Michael Jackson in the Jackson-Prince equation and referencing Jackson’s hit song “You Are Not Alone.”