Drake slams ‘fake friends’ who ‘switch up’ their allegiances amid Kendrick Lamar beef during impromptu rant at Toronto nightclub
Drake spotlights so-called ‘fake friends’ by warning about people you think have your back in life, only to end up ‘stabbing you in the back’.
The 37-year-old rapper, who is in the middle of a feud with Kendrick Lamar, made the comments during an impromptu rant at Canadian broadcaster Tyrone Edwards’ Nostalgia Party at his nightclub in Drake’s hometown of Toronto on Saturday evening.
Between songs, the Canadian actor turned rapper (born Aubrey Drake Graham) took the microphone and took shots at anyone who opposes him or those who talk trash about him, while encouraging others to put themselves first, according to Page six.
“I’m going to tell you one thing about nostalgia, one thing about nostalgia with this party here. My real friends are definitely in the building,” the Family Matter star began.
“But I’m going to tell you that you’re going to come to a point in your life where people you thought were friends, or people you thought were close to you, may move on. Maybe they’re trying to get weird with you.’
Drake offered fans a message about “fake friends” who will “stab you in the back” at Tyrone Edwards’ Nostalgia Party in Toronto, Canada Saturday night, amid his escalated feud with Kenrick Lamar dating back years
The feud between the rappers escalated earlier this year with dueling diss tracks, culminating in May with Lamar’s brutal Not Like Us, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart; Lamar seen in May 2023 in New York
He added: “They might stab you in the back. They can do many things to you. You will come to that realization.’
It’s at this point in the tirade that Drake started to shift from bashing all those “fake friends” to urging people in the audience to take ownership of our lives as individuals.
“Wherever you are in your life, you’ve probably been there and you’ll be there again. That’s life,” he said, before adding, “But look, sometimes it’s you and it’s just you. Sometimes you are alone with your thoughts.’
Drake then stopped mid-sentence and said, “You know what this is,” and abruptly ended his speech to play more music.
The Canadian star then took to his Instagram page to share some images from his night at the club.
‘@mr1loveto Nostalgia 2024 was incredible!!! Where to now? @marioworldwide said America should experience it…,” the five-time Grammy Award winner wrote in the caption.
The One Dance hitmaker’s speech comes after he reportedly unfollowed a number of celebrities on Instagram after they showed their support for Lamar, including NBA stars LeBron James and DeMar DeRozan, as well as rapper Playboi Carti and media personality and former rapper Joe Budden .
Lamar and Drake were initially friends and colleagues dating back to the early 2010s, beginning with their collaboration on the song Buried Alive Interlude.
The Toronto native snapped photos of fair-weather friends while encouraging everyone to put themselves first in this life
Drake grabbed a microphone between songs at the nightclub and ranted: “My real friends are definitely in the building,” the Family Matter star began
But then things escalated last March when Lamar dissed J. Cole and Drake on Like That in response to Drake and J. Cole’s 2023 song First Person Shooter, in which Cole claims he, Drake and Lamar are the “big three” in the series. modern rap music.
In early April, Cole responded by offering up the diss track 7 Minute Drill, but within a week he apologized for the song and removed it from streaming services.
Drake jumped into the mix by releasing the songs Push Ups and Taylor Made Freestyle later in April, which led to this kind of back-and-forth between the two stars, while also making personal comments to each other.
With more than 170 million copies sold, Drake is among the best-selling music artists in the world, while also being the highest certified digital singles artist in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Last month, Lamar released his first song in four months, a follow-up to May 4’s Not Like Us, which saw him emerge victorious in his rap run with Drake.
The 37-year-old Compton native — who will headline Super Bowl LIX in February 2025 — shared the self-titled song via Instagram on Wednesday and it is not available to stream.
Lamar’s latest effort doesn’t explicitly mention the Toronto-born artist, also 37, but hints at the musical feud, starting with the lines: “I think it’s time to let the party die / This s**t done got too bad to apologize / it’s different, let him be flogged and disqualified.’
Elsewhere in the new music, Kendrick raps about themes of hedonism, spirituality and the pitfalls of fame.
Earlier this week, the Loyalty hitmaker announced his upcoming NFL appearance, writing in a social media caption: “Super Bowl LIX. New Orleans. February 2025. #AppleMusicHalftime.”
The post featured a single close-up photo of a pair of worn-out black Air Force 1 sneakers and has racked up more than two million likes from his 16.4 million followers to date.
Fans quickly flocked to the comments to unpack the cryptic post, with the top note: ‘Bro just confirmed the villain era and into the postmodern [world] that makes him the hero.’
“I’m going to tell you that you’re going to come to a point in your life where people you thought were friends, or people you thought were close to you, may move on. Maybe they’re trying to be funny with you,” he said
‘Maybe they’ll stab you in the back. They can do many things to you. You will come to that realization,” Drake added
Another commenter referenced Kendrick’s ongoing tension with DJ Akademiks, a noted Drake fan.
“Akademiks hitting ghosts rn,” weighed in a social media user with the handle @thermalvision_.
Some have interpreted some rap bars in particular as targeting the media personality: “Influencers talk down because I’m not dealing with the fundamentals / But they don’t hate me, they hate the man I represent / The type of man that never drives because I want a favor.’
If there was any doubt about who the entertainer was talking to, he added another hint: “The radio personality pushing propaganda for paychecks / Let me know when they pop up as a victim.”
Someone else suspected that the new song is a response to the music industry as a whole.
“This isn’t even about Drake, it’s about the entire industry and its effects on the next generation. It’s making him sick,” @johnsdayoff wrote.
And someone else joked about Kendrick: “He wrote this with a sword.”
Along with his Super Bowl halftime announcement, Kendrick shared a separate post with a promotional video.
In the clip he said: ‘Are you going to stop? I hope so. You know there’s only one chance to win a championship. No round two. Let’s get it, boom! I wouldn’t want you to miss it. Meet me in New Orleans on February 9, 2025.”
He added: “Also, wear your best dressed, even if you’re watching from home. Let’s go, yeah! That’s what I’m talking about, dude. Now we can really get to work on it.’
In the clip, Kendrick wielded a football passer on the field in front of a huge American flag.
Last month, Lamar released his first song in four months, a follow-up to May 4’s Not Like Us, which saw him emerge victorious in his rap run with Drake; pictured in July 2023 in Paris
Drake has quietly moved on from his rap conversation with Kendrick, which many saw as a concession.
In early August, he surprised fans with the release of 100 gigabytes of never-before-seen footage from his personal archives.
The dump contained behind-the-scenes content from studio sessions for some of his biggest hits.
Among the outtakes was a revealing moment that confirmed his 2016 Rihanna-assisted song Too Good was written about tennis icon Serena Williams.