Drake has officially responded to his ongoing feud with Kendrick Lamar—but not in the way fans might have expected. On February 14, 2025, he dropped a new album, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, a collaboration with longtime friend and fellow artist PartyNextDoor. This marks Drake’s ninth studio album and PartyNextDoor’s fifth, as reported by ScreenRant.
Unlike what some might have anticipated, the album isn’t packed with diss tracks aimed at Kendrick Lamar. Instead, it largely sticks to Drake’s signature themes—love songs and club anthems. However, he couldn’t resist addressing the elephant in the room. On the album’s tenth track, GIMME A HUG, Drake takes a moment to fire back at his critics and rivals, including Lamar.
In the second verse, he raps:
“They be dropping s** but we dropping harder s*** / F*** a rap beef, I’m tryna get the party lit / Tryna get the party lit for the b***es.”
This seems to be Drake’s way of shrugging off the feud, making it clear that he’s more focused on living his best life rather than engaging in lyrical warfare.
His response comes months after Kendrick Lamar’s viral Super Bowl Halftime performance, where Lamar performed Not Like Us—a diss track aimed directly at Drake. The song had already dominated the charts and played a major role in damaging Drake’s public image. Many saw Lamar’s Super Bowl moment as the ultimate mic drop in their beef.
Rather than reigniting the war, Drake chose to keep things light. While GIMME A HUG subtly addresses the controversy, the overall vibe of $ome $exy $ongs 4 U leans more toward partying and relationships. However, this approach left some fans disappointed, as they were hoping for a more direct clapback.
The album itself received mixed reviews. Critics argued that it lacked the quality and standout tracks that made Drake’s earlier work so impactful. This softer response to Lamar’s diss also marked a contrast to how Drake has handled rap battles in the past. Back in 2018, when Pusha T exposed Drake’s secret son, he simply brushed it off with a dismissive line in Life is Good:
“N**** caught me slippin’ once, okay, so what?”*
That song went on to be a massive hit, but this time, the backlash has been harder to shake. Some fans have distanced themselves from Drake due to the allegations Kendrick Lamar raised in his diss tracks, particularly those suggesting inappropriate behavior.
To make matters worse, Drake’s feud with Lamar even escalated into legal territory. He reportedly took legal action against Universal Music Group over the release of Not Like Us, a move that some fans saw as a sign of weakness. He seems to reference this on GIMME A HUG, rapping:
“Using you for promotion, truer words had never been spoken.”
Adding to the controversy, both Drake and PartyNextDoor faced accusations of copying Freddie Gibbs’s 2022 album $ouls $old $eparately, as some pointed out the similarities in the album’s title format and rabbit-themed artwork.
All in all, while $ome $exy $ongs 4 U might be a fun, laid-back album, it hasn’t done much to restore Drake’s dominance in the rap game. His attempt to sidestep the feud with Kendrick Lamar may have helped him avoid further damage—but for many fans, it also felt like a missed opportunity to reclaim his throne.