Baby Keem Weighs In
Baby Keem described the Kendrick Lamar–Drake feud as something that "felt like a sport," summing up how peers experienced the back-and-forth. (complex.com) Separately, a livestream claim surfaced this week that new Kendrick music is coming soon, though that report remains unconfirmed. (hotnewhiphop.com)
Baby Keem has broken his public silence on the Kendrick Lamar-Drake feud, saying the 2024 exchange “felt like a sport” in a New York Times interview published April 16. (nytimes.com) Complex, which highlighted the interview on April 16, reported that Keem described the battle as a sport-like competition and said he felt so confident during it that “sometimes you forget to be proud.” (complex.com) Keem’s comments landed as he promotes *Ca$ino*, his second studio album, which Complex said was released in February through pgLang and Columbia. The New York Times profile centered on Keem’s return to the spotlight and his relationship with Lamar, who is his cousin and collaborator. (complex.com) (nytimes.com) The timing matters because the Lamar-Drake fight never stayed inside rap lyrics. Kendrick’s diss track “Not Like Us,” released on May 4, 2024, became the commercial center of the feud and later set a Billboard Hot Rap Songs record with a 21st week at No. 1. (billboard.com) By February 9, 2025, Lamar was still carrying that run into the biggest TV stage in American music. Billboard reported that his Super Bowl LIX halftime show in New Orleans included “Not Like Us” one week after the song won five Grammys on February 2, 2025. (billboard.com) The feud also moved into court. Drake filed an amended defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group on April 16, 2025, and the complaint argued that “Not Like Us” was pushed to a wider audience through the Super Bowl performance and other promotion. (digitalmusicnews.com) A second thread of speculation surfaced this week around Kendrick’s next release, but it remains just that. HotNewHipHop’s homepage listed “New Kendrick Lamar Music Is On The Way” among its top music items on April 17, though the site material available in search results ties that chatter to fan reaction and livestream talk rather than an announced release date. (hotnewhiphop.com) (yahoo.com) So Keem’s quote lands in a moment when the feud is still producing chart records, legal filings and release rumors nearly two years after the sharpest songs arrived. His description was simple, but it fit a battle that turned rap records into scorekeeping. (complex.com) (billboard.com)
