The Toronto rapper rolls out an elaborate promo campaign for his upcoming album. Still, it seems he’s preoccupied with an old grudge.
Gearing up
Drake’s rollout includes games, text generators, and puzzles, and builds an Iceman sculpture with a booklet frozen inside. The content of it, though, will not remain a mystery for anyone, as his loyal culture commentator diligently reviewed it online, page by page.
One of those pages has drawn the most attention as it shows that Drake is not over his feud with Kendrick and with the chair of the label Drake himself is signed to.
Old grudge
The famous 2024 diss war between Drake and Kendrick Lamar has ended with one internationally hit from Kendrick and a lawsuit against his own label from Drake. Drizzy’s lawyers alleged that UMG chief executive Lucian Grainge had a “role in and knowledge of the scheme to defame and harass” him by assisting Kendrick Lamar.
The case was dismissed in October 2025, ruling that “Not Like Us,” the song’s lyrics, constitute protected opinion within a “rap beef” rather than actionable defamation. As for the UMG part, the judge ruled that it was not liable for promoting the song.
As expected, Drake did not accept the defeat and has filed an appeal, seeking to overturn the decision and claiming it sets a dangerous precedent. Now, it seems he’s circling back to the topic, showing what he might feel was proof of conspiracy.
New shots
One page of this booklet features a snapshot from the 2025 Grammys, when Kendrick swept the awards. Eventually, he took home five awards for “Not Like Us”: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video. Clearly, it hurt Drake. He included a moment when Dr. Dre high-fives Lucian Grainge, celebrating Kendrick’s win. The Grammys official YouTube account uploaded a video of this moment, where the whole venue is dancing to the tune of a winning song.
For many, this situation would look organic: Dre is KDot’s mentor and executive producer, who signed him to Aftermath/Interscope, and Lucian Grainge is the head of the corporation that includes these labels. It is natural to celebrate their artist’s win. Not in Drake’s opinion.
Not only does he see it as a sinister sign of powerful players conspiring against him, but he also calls the wrath of god on Grainge’s head. Quite literally, placing over his head a picture of a church signboard that reads “Remember you are dust”.
As a matter of fact, during his career, Drake fired more subliminal shots than direct confrontations with other artists. While the direction and message of this particular collage are clear, it remains unclear whether Drake decides to continue with a direct diss. One way or another, he got the attention of the other camp, and this might be his serious victory even before the album dropped.