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8 of Kendrick Lamar’s Most Intricate Easter Eggs Throughout His Beef With Drake

The world has been engrossed in Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s continuing battle for nearly four months. The battle has been going since K-Dot made an appearance on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” back in March. Here is a look at all the detailed easter eggs from Kung Fu Kenny that fans could have missed with all the excitement surrounding the battle.

Fans eagerly awaited Kendrick’s next move when he called out Drake and J. Cole during his “Like That” verse. Soon after the dispute started, Cole bowed out. During his April Dreamville Festival, he expressed regret for previously mocking Kendrick on the song “7 Minute Drill.” Drake and K-Dot had a wild ride into that month and May shortly after. Nine diss recordings were released by the two, up to the release of “Not Like Us.” Since making its No. 1 debut on May 18, Kendrick Lamar’s smash hit song of the summer contender has been steadily in the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.

Kendrick then capitalized on the hype with The Pop Out – Ken & Friends Concert, running through a bunch of his hits and closing it out by performing “Not Like Us” a whopping five times. Throughout the all-consuming madness, Kendrick has also littered each diss track and each public appearance with a plethora of hidden Easter eggs. While some of these homages have been obvious, there are a handful of more complex Easter eggs that fans may have missed. As the beef appears to be simmering (for now), here are the most intricate easter eggs from the entire beef.

Kendrick Lamar’s Unique Timing

Kendrick Lamar dropped off “Euphoria” at 8:24 a.m. Pacific Time (11:24 a.m. Eastern Time), a move that was completely intentional. The numbers 8 and 24 are a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant, as they were his jersey numbers. K-Dot held Kobe Bryant in the highest regard.

The Initial Reversed Voice at the Start Has a Hidden Message

The opening backward voice on Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss “Euphoria” is actually of Richard Pryor from the 1978 film The Wiz. Pryor was the title character in the movie. When playing the voice forward, it says, “Everything they say about me’s true.” That line is a nod to  Kendrick affirming that everything the “culture” (in addition to K-Dot himself) thinks about Drizzy is true.

Additionally, the late music icon Michael Jackson also stars in the movie as the Scarecrow. Scarecrow joins Dorothy on her journey to meet the Wiz so he can get a brain, seemingly implying Drizzy lacks smarts. On Drake’s “Push Ups” diss track aimed at K-Dot, Drizzy referred to Kendrick as Prince and himself as MJ.

Kendrick Gives a Nod to Kanye West

Kendrick closes out his “Euphoria” diss with the words: “We don’t wanna hear you say n***a no more.” That catchy line is actually an homage to Ye’s 2004 song “Get Em High,” on which Ye croons, “’Cause we don’t wanna hear that weak sh*t no mo’.” K-Dot closing out his diss with a line inspired by Ye appeared to be intentional due to Ye’s longstanding issues with Drake. Ye also tried to get into the ring by hopping on an unofficial “Like That” remix and jumping into the entire saga of “20-v-one” against Drake.

Kendrick Lamar’s “Meet the Grahams” Diss Track Cover Art

As people were shocked by the shots Kendrick was firing at Drake on “Meet the Grahams,” the song artwork itself contained a lot of interesting details that also added to the war. Kendrick’s artwork includes a larger photo of the artwork he used for “6:16 in LA,” which consists of a bulldog-decorated shirt from Artic’s Shortee Collection.

The photo also includes the black Maybach gloves used on the “6:16 in LA” cover art, jewelry receipts, a jeweler’s business card, prescription pills and a box of Ozempic with Drizzy’s name on it. All of these items allegedly belonged to Drake and were reportedly stolen from a suitcase belonging to his father, Dennis Graham. However, that information is not verified.

Kendrick Lamar Wears Outfit Similar to One Worn by Tupac Shakur

During The Pop Out concert on Juneteenth (July 19), K-Dot paid homage to the late Tupac Shakur by wearing a similar outfit to the one that ’Pac wore to the 1994 Source Awards when he performed “Out on Bail.” Wearing a red hat, a red hoodie with a white T-shirt underneath it and baggy jeans, the only difference between K-Dot and ’Pac’s outfit was the latter performed in a University of Georgia sweatshirt. Both of the rappers donned diamond crosses, with Kendrick’s glistening $600,000 piece being made by jeweler Ben Baller.

Kendrick Lamar Changes Lyrics to “Euphoria”

K-Dot started his set at The Pop Out concert by performing his Drake diss song “Euphoria.” However, he changed some lyrics in the song to diss Drizzy again.

“I’m knowin’ they call you The Boy, but where is a man?/’Cause I ain’t see him yet/Give me Tupac ring back and I might give you a lil’ respect,” Kendrick raps, referencing Drake buying one of Tupac’s old rings.

The original lyric was: “I’m knowin’ they call you The Boy, but where is a man?/’Cause I ain’t see him yet/Matter of fact I ain’t even bleed him yet, can I bleed him?”

Kendrick Lamar Does Drake’s “Hotline Bling” Dance

It was clear that Kendrick Lamar was having a good time at The Pop Out concert. At one point, K-Dot did a little dance in the middle of the stage. Eagle-eyed fans pointed out that the moves were similar to the dance Drake does in his “Hotline Bling” video, marking another dig at The Boy.

Kendrick Lamar Sneaks a J. Cole Ad-Lib Into the Show

When Kendrick Lamar performed his hit song “Alright” at The Pop Out show, he used the backing track for J. Cole’s “Alright (Remix).” Fans noticed this subtle difference and close listeners heard J. Cole saying the word “Yeah” before K-Dot launched into the track. This seemingly implies it’s all good between Cole and K-Dot, after the former apologized back in April.

See a Rundown of All the Rap Beefs in 2024

Record producer Benzino attends the 47th NAACP Image Awards presented by TV One at Pasadena Civic Auditorium on February 5, 2016 in Pasadena, California. Eminem attends the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony for Dr. Dre on March 19, 2024 in Hollywood, California.

Metro Boomin and Demar Hamlin attend GQ Sports And ESPN Celebrate NBA Finals at Artspace at Public Hotel on June 06, 2024 in New York City. Rapper Drake leaves Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round between the Toronto Raptors and the Philadelphia 76ers at Scotiabank Arena on April 28, 2022 in Toronto, Canada.

Ice Spice performs at the Sahara Tent during the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at Empire Polo Club on April 20, 2024 in Indio, California. Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins of TLC performs onstage with Latto during the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre on April 01, 2024 in Hollywood, California.

Rapper Drake and his son Adonis Graham watch as the Raptors mascot goofs around in front of them during a timeout in the first half of the NBA game between the Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Lakers at Scotiabank Arena on December 7, 2022 in Toronto, Canada. Rapper Future walks the runway of the Boss Fashion Show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2023 on September 22, 2022 in Milan, Italy. Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye attends “The Idol” photocall at the 76th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 23, 2023 in Cannes, France.

Rapper, songwriter, and icon Drake attends a game between the Houston Rockets and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Toyota Center on March 16, 2024 in Houston, Texas.

Megan Thee Stallion attends the 2024 Planned Parenthood Of Greater New York Gala on April 16, 2024 in New York City.

Recording artist Kendrick Lamar performs onstage during the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. J. Cole performs onstage during the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena on September 22, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Rapper, songwriter, and icon Drake attends a game between the Houston Rockets and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Toyota Center on March 16, 2024 in Houston, Texas. Kendrick Lamar performs onstage with SZA during the 2018 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Field on April 13, 2018 in Indio, California.

Recording artist Quavo enjoys a laugh during the third quarter between the Atlanta Hawks and the Charlotte Hornets at State Farm Arena on April 10, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Metro Boomin attends the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at Prudential Center on September 12, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. Soulja Boy attends the BET Awards 2023 at Microsoft Theater on June 25, 2023 in Los Angeles, California

21 Savage attends the 2024 TIME100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 25, 2024 in New York City. Soulja Boy performs onstage during the BET Awards 2023 at Microsoft Theater on June 25, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Sukihana attends the BET Hip-Hop Awards 2023 on October 03, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Yung Miami and JT of City Girls accept The Future is Female Award presented by Motown Records onstage during Variety’s Hitmakers Brunch presented by Peacock | Girls5eva on December 04, 2021 in Downtown Los Angeles.

JT of City Girls attends the BET Awards 2021 at Microsoft Theater on June 27, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. GloRilla performs at Target Center on May 14, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Cardi B performs onstage during the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at Prudential Center on September 12, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. BIA performs at the Heineken House at the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Saturday, April 13th in Indio, California.

JT and Yung Miami of City Girls attend REVOLVE Festival 2023, Thermal, CA – Day 2 on April 16, 2023 in Thermal, California.

Rapper Rick Ross walks the grid prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on July 10, 2022 in Hampton, Georgia. The Game.

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