The Ball Is in Kendrick Lamar’s Court, What’s He Going to Do Now?

Kendrick Lamar is ready for war. Or is he?

The Compton, Calif. rapper set the rap world on fire in March with his show-stealing verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That,” which found him dissing J. Cole and Drake. Cole swung back on the since-deleted track “7 Minute Drill” before gracefully (or disgracefully, depending on who you ask) bowing out of the beef. That left Drake.

After some time to simmer, Aubrey tagged himself in when his diss track “Push Ups” leaked on April 13. On the now-confirmed diss, the 6 God goes at Future, The Weeknd, Metro Boomin, Rick Ross, and of course Kendrick, who got it the worst.

“Your last one bricked, you really not on s**t/They make excuses for you ’cause they hate to see me lit,” Drake snaps. “Pull your contract ’cause we gotta see the split/The way you doin’ splits, b***h, your pants might rip/ You better do that muthaf**kin’ show inside the bitty/Maroon 5 need a verse, you better make it witty/Then we need a verse for the Swifties/Top say drop, you better drop and give ’em 50.”

“Pipsqueak, pipe down/You ain’t in no Big 3, SZA got you wiped down/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/I’m at the top of the mountain, so you tight now/Just to have this talk with yo’ a*s, I had to hike down/Big difference between Mike then and Mike now/What the f**k is this, a twenty-V-one, n***a?/What’s a prince to a king? He a son, n***a.”

Drizzy has since doubled down, releasing the song “Taylor Made” freestyle on April 19. With the use of A.I., Drake uses vocals from Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur to taunt K-Dot. It’s starting to get ugly. Ye has even entered the chat, debuting his remix verse to “Like That” where he disses Drake and curiously J. Cole.

So, now, Kendrick has to respond, right? RIGHT??

The Pump Fake Kendrick Lamar Diss

On April 15, the rap world thought they had gotten the response they were looking for when an alleged “Kendrick Lamar diss song” leaked online. The song found “Kendrick” sniping at J. Cole and Drake.

“One rap n***a dead, laid on the floor/And I didn’t have to throw bullets for him to go/Now that we got that out of the way, it’s one more to go,” the lyrics go. “Stop wasting time, let’s get the show on the road/N***as was ignoring with deep disses, and when they get, that’s why they entertained it as sneak disses/And now that it’s direct, it’s leaked disses from burner pages and all/Insecure behavior from n***as y’all call gods/I know that you were sensitive, an emphasis on lame/Seeking validation from rap critics slandering names/Legacy forever cemented, I will reign/The next move make your best move, it’s detrimental.”

It turns out, the track was totally fake. An artist named Sy The Rapper later took responsibility for the song. However, not everyone believes him.

Will Kendrick Lamar Return Fire? The Rap World Is Waiting

While K-Dot has remained silent, there have been rumblings that he has something big in store. Back on April 10, Joe Budden claimed both Drake and Kung-Fu Kenny had disses in the works that are going to be mammoth.

“I have it on good information that both sides went in the booth and came out,” Joe explained on an episode of The Joe Budden Podcast. “What I’m hearing about both sides is that it’s nuclear. It’s up-up. I’m hearing this from people that can rap. So, I want to come in here and say that speculation time is over. Debate time is over.”

Drake’s “Push Ups” leaked a few days later. So there is a chance Joe’s sources are accurate about K-Dot as well.

On an April 18 episode of TJBP, cohost Ish also talked about an impending Kendrick response.

“Some people that have heard the Kendrick track, I heard that his energy is just something that’s going to be hard for Drake to match. They said he’s coming on some ’Pac ‘Hit Em Up’ energy,” Ish explained.

As one of the most reclusive artists in the game, K-Dot is being tight-lipped. Even in the midst of more taunts from Champagne Papi. Is this the calm before the rap prodigy delivers the storm? Hip-hop is in wait-and-see mode.