Fans didn’t expect Kendrick Lamar’s subtle response to Drake’s Taylor Swift lyrics—but they’re loving it.

Drake once rapped that Taylor Swift was the only artist he’s ever “rated” enough to push back an album release, now he’s using her name to diss Kendrick Lamar.

ICYMI: Drake, Lamar, and J.Cole are currently embroiled in a weeks-long heated rap battle, which only got more personal as Drake and Lamar each dropped back-to-back diss tracks on May 3. But with Lamar’s release of “6:16 in LA,” some fans are joking that the rappers are actually fighting over who is closer friends with 34-year-old pop star Taylor Swift. Yes, really.

“Hi, sorry, who’s gonna tell my ex from 2019 that his favorite rappers are fighting about who gets to be better friends with Taylor Swift and her team?” one TikTok user joked in a video on May 3, which was viewed over 305,000 times in under 24 hours and has received 51,000 likes so far.

Before we explain, here’s some important background information: Kendrick Lamar was featured in Swift’s “Bad Blood” music video back in 2015, and was tapped for the 1989 (Taylor’s Version) rerecording in October 2023. While Drake and Swift have never collaborated, he praised the “Anti-Hero” singer in his track “Red Button” in November 2023, claiming the pop star is the only artist who “could make me drop the album just a little later.” He continued, “Rest of y’all, I treat you like you never made it. Leave your label devastated.”

Ironically, Drake’s now critiquing Lamar for possibly doing the same thing. He first referenced Swift in his diss track “Push Ups,” poking fun at Lamar’s collaborative history with the pop star. “Maroon 5 need a verse you better make it witty,” he rapped in the track, which dropped on April 19. “You only need a verse for the Swifties.”

Drake then implied that Lamar and his company pgLang would be too afraid to drop new music so close to Swift’s own release of The Tortured Poets Department on April 19. He titled that track, “Taylor Made Freestyle.” Here are just some of the song’s lyrics:

The first one really only took me an hour or twoThe next one is really ’bout to bring out the coward in youBut now we gotta wait a fuckin’ week ’cause Taylor Swift is your new TopAnd if you ’bout to drop, she gotta approveThis girl really ’bout to make you act like you not in a feudShe tailor-made your schedule with Ant, you out of the loopHate all you corporate industry puppets, I’m not in the mood

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Once again, Drake praised Swift in the song’s outro, calling her the “biggest gangster in the music game right now.” He continued, “You know, I moved my album when she dropped, I said that already. You know, she ’bout to milli’ run through a Milly Rock on your head top. She got the whole pgLang on mute like that Beyoncé challenge, y’all boys quiet for the weekend.”

The floodgates officially opened when Lamar finally responded with his six-minute song “Euphoria” on April 30. After that, four tracks were dropped on May 3 alone, with Drake and Lamar both posting two new songs each.

Just in case you lost track…

3/22 – Kendrick Lamar, “Like That”
4/5 – J. Cole, “7 Minute Drill”
4/7 – J. Cole apologizes for “7 Minute Drill”
4/12 – J. Cole deletes “7 Minute Drill”
4/19 – Drake, “Push Ups”
4/19 – Drake, “Taylor Made Freestyle”
4/30 – Kendrick Lamar, “Euphoria”…

— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) May 4, 2024

Fans quickly noticed that Lamar’s track “6:16 in LA” was produced by Swift’s longtime collaborator and friend Jack Antonoff. “Drake said ‘Make another 1 for the Swifties’ and Kendrick drops another diss record produced by Taylor Swift’s producer,” one X.com user wrote. “It’s so many layers and levels to this shit. Only the slow class don’t get it.”

https://twitter.com/larryislegend/status/1786398391217336828Most Popular

“So this track literally is Taylor Made,” another user tweeted. “Okay Kendrick I see you.”

https://twitter.com/realalmightee/status/1786392805075566841https://twitter.com/KirkWrites79/status/1786392030413005207

Over on TikTok, user @agapethamar lip-synced to Lamar’s “Bad Blood” verse, writing, “Drake mentioned Taylor Swift and in the beef and Kendrick Lamar got Jack Antonoff to produce his second diss track to Drake you can’t make this up.”

Many fans in @agapethamar’s comment section said the rappers are officially fighting for Swift’s friendship and thanked Antonoff for being “messy.”

“Nahh cuz they actually be fighting to be Taylor’s best rapper friend,” one TikTok user replied to the video, while another joked, “[Kendrick Lamar] really said Taylor is MY friend.” That comment received over 10,000 likes.

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While Taylor Swift is unlikely to comment on this feud, here’s hoping Kendrick Lamar will make an Eras Tour cameo when the European leg of the tour kicks off on May 9. There’s never been a better time to bring him out for “Bad Blood.”