People Drake Absolutely Cannot Stand

The following article includes references to domestic violence.

Drake is easily one of the most successful artists on the globe these days, so he's often given praise from fans, peers, and music critics alike. But that adulation shares the same space with criticism, oftentimes from other rappers. Meek Mill was one of those naysayers, and he infamously had a bitter back-and-forth with the Canadian artist in 2015. But if you ask the internet, Drake arguably won the battle after delivering not one, but two diss songs — the second one being the much-talked-about "Back to Back," in which it's been said that Drake destroyed the Philadelphia rapper by using a bunch of well-worded insults and punchlines.

But who else has Drake defended himself against? Better yet, who are the people that he doesn't seem to like all that much? There are probably more foes than one might think, considering a lot of folks have had something negative to say either about Drake's music or him as an artist over the years. One said person was Florida rapper Denzel Curry, who once claimed on Twitter that Drake's 2021 album "Certified Lover Boy" wasn't up to snuff even though he has the money to hire the best studio musicians. Ouch. Curry also tweeted that he hated the record's artwork. Drake never responded to him, as of this writing, but it wouldn't be very surprising if he didn't care for Curry all that much, or at least for Curry's opinions. 

For now, let's take a look at the people it seems Drake absolutely can't stand.

The relationship between Kanye West and Drake has been through a lot. At first, Drake was a huge fan of the Chicago rapper. Plus, it was once said they were working on a joint album together. The album never surfaced ... but a major crack in the rappers' relationship did. It happened in November 2016 at the Sacramento stop of West's "Saint Pablo Tour," when Ye seemed to complain about radio always playing Drake songs. And so, the "God's Plan" rapper responded.

"I went from being like working on a project with him, to him sorta publicly s****ing on me and DJ Khaled for being on the radio too much," Drake told DJ Semtex in 2017. Once Pusha T released "The Story of Adidon" the following year, Drake and West's relationship was essentially caput. The "Degrassi" alum later accused West of leaking the secret child info to Pusha after playing Ye "March 14," a song about fatherhood. (Pusha, by the way, used to be the president of West's G.O.O.D. Music record label.)

"I'm in Wyoming, I play him 'March 14,'" Drake claimed on LeBron James' HBO show "The Shop" that October. "I send him a picture of my son. I tell him I'm having trouble with my son's mother." However, West previously denied the allegation while speaking to Chicago's 107.5 WGCI. While Rap-A-Lot Records co-founder J. Prince managed to get the rappers together in 2021 at the Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert, Drake and West still don't seem to be friendly with each other these days.

In 2015, DRAM had a hit song on his hands with "Cha Cha," but he'd probably say its success was bittersweet. That has to do with the Virginia singer publicly accusing Drake of stealing the song to make his cut "Hotline Bling," due to the admitted similarities between the two tunes. "Yeah, I feel I got jacked for my record...But I'm GOOD," tweeted DRAM that October. For his part, Drake told Fader he'd simply been inspired by "Cha Cha's" beat. However, DRAM later claimed to "The Breakfast Club" that the success of "Hotline Bling" hurt "Cha Cha" from taking off even more.

Now, let's fast forward to 2017, because something major went down between the two when they saw each other at Coachella: DRAM was allegedly assaulted by Drake's crew. Drake was silent about the supposed altercation in the beginning, but he mentioned the claims in his 2022 collaboration with Lil Yachty. "Tried to bring the drama to me / He ain't know how we cha-cha slide," Drake stated on "BackOutsideBoyz."

DRAM was undoubtedly miffed after hearing the line and responded on Twitter, claiming in part, "His bodyguards went to town on the kid. ... He ain't touch me, he's a b***h, you know that." Later that day, DRAM spoke to TMZ and gave more details of the alleged Coachella incident, recalling, "He was DJing at a party, [and] I approached him. Like, 'Hey bro, we need to talk.' ... We stepped outside, it was like a whole army of ... 15-something guys."

In December 2022, Canadian rapper Tory Lanez was convicted of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence, as reported by AP News. These three felony charges, for which Lanez faces over 20 years behind bars, are related to an incident in which the rapper shot Megan Thee Stallion in her feet in July 2020. As of this writing, Lanez's sentencing is scheduled for June 2023.

While Lanez was ultimately found guilty, there were some — particularly in the rap game — who didn't believe Megan Thee Stallion's accusation. Based on a couple of lines delivered on the November 2022 song "Circo Loc" from his "Her Loss" album with 21 Savage, one of those people seemed to be Drake. "This b***h lie 'bout gettin' shots, but she still a stallion / She don't even get the joke, but she still smiling," Drake rapped. He appeared to come down on her music, as well: "Shorty say she graduated, she ain't learn enough / Play your album, track one, 'kay, I heard enough." 

While Drake was blasted by many for these "Circo Loc" lines, Megan Thee Stallion also responded to the apparent digs in a series of tweets, writing in part, "Stop using my shooting for clout ... Since when tf is it cool to joke abt women getting shot! ... Ready to boycott bout shoes and clothes but dog pile on a black woman when she say one of y'all homeboys abused her."

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

As of this writing, Drake hasn't flat-out said that he dislikes Kendrick Lamar — but for years, it's been rumored that these fan-favorite rappers don't care all that much for each other. That's despite the two collaborating on Lamar's 2012 song "Poetic Justice." Much of the beef talk started the following year, after people heard Lamar's verse on Big Sean's "Control," a song in which the California native called out several rappers, saying he'll destroy them at the rap game. Drake, as you may have guessed, was one of the artists mentioned, and he was accused of responding on his 2013 song "The Language." 

When the Canadian wordsmith spoke about the cut with Vibe, however, he explained that it was only partially inspired by "Control." "'The Language' is just energy. What it was inspired by, I'm sure that, and other things," said Drake (via HipHopDX). "It's just me talking my s***. I never once felt the need to respond to that record. The sentiment he was putting forth is what he should have. Of course, you wanna be the best. Where it became an issue is that I was rolling out an album while that verse was still bubbling, so my album rollout became about this thing. ... I also stood my ground as I should." 

Despite Drake calling Lamar a "king" at his OVO Fest in 2014, per MTV News, the two have since been accused of sending more subliminal shots at each other in their lyrics, with talk of their apparent beef continuing.