Kendrick Lamar releases new diss track ‘Euphoria’: What did he say about Drake?

The simmering rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake was brought to a boil again on Tuesday with the latest release. Kendrick dropped a new track, ‘Euphoria’, on social media and appears to have included some very pointed lyrics.

In recent weeks the two iconic rappers have gone back and forth with a series of diss tracks. Most recently Drake released ‘Push Ups’ and ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’. Kendrick’s ‘Euphoria’ includes a number of potential Drake references, including this at the end of the first verse.

“Know you a master manipulator and habitual liar, too/But don’t tell no lie ‘bout me, and I won’t tell truths ‘bout you.”

The track art includes a definition for the word ‘euphoria’, describing it as a feeling of well-being or elation. It’s not clear exactly what is meant by this but, with some hard-hitting lyrics included in the track, it looks like the battle between Kendrick and Drake is going to run and run.

Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Euphoria’ lyrics: Drake diss

The new track, Kendrick’s first solo release since 2022, is 6 minutes and 23 seconds of fast flow and rapid lyrics. It’s a laundry list of all that he believes is wrong in the rap industry, with special attention paid to Drake.

Here’s a taste of the lyrics that make, or at least seem to make, reference to Drake:

“A pathetic master manipulator, I can smell the tales on you now

You not a rap artist, you a scam artist with the hopes of being accepted”

Throughout the Kendrick-Drake beef, this has been a theme that has kept cropping up. While acknowledging Drake’s huge commercial success, Kendrick questions his musical credentials and dismisses claims that he could be considered one of the best rappers of the current generation.

“Yeah, Cole and Aubrey know I’m a selfish nigga

The crown is heavy, huh

I pray they my real friends, if not, I’m YNW Melly”

This one’s a little more pointed. Last year Drake was one of a number of rappers mentioned in the double-murder trial of YNW Melly, an American rapper. Melly was charged with the killings of his friends YNW Juvy (Chris Thomas) and YNW Sakchaser (Anthony Williams), hence the rather dark reference. The trial has been caught up in series of judicial appeals which leave the case on indefinite hold.