Joe Budden claims that Drake and Kendrick Lamar had a conversation right before their rap battle started.
Joe Budden Says Drake and Kendrick Lamar Spoke
On Wednesday (Sept. 11), Joe Budden spoke on his Joe Budden Podcast about Kendrick Lamar being tapped for the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show. During that dialogue, Budden also said he heard a rumor that Drizzy and K-Dot hopped on the phone together before diving into their vicious rap battle earlier this year.
“I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I heard they spoke,” Budden said. “It went like the Teddy Pendergrass part of the sh*t. ‘Hey, how do you want this to go? What we doin’? Are we rappin’?’…It’s only tea cause to say it to him on the phone, like, I know what that’s like. Like, when you about to tear a ni**a, like, let me call him and make sure first. ‘Hey, man we doin’ this for real? You deada*s?'”
While it’s unclear if this is true, Kendrick Lamar just dropped a new song on Instagram on Wednesday (Sept. 11), appearing to criticize the industry. This all comes after Drake hinted on his recent song “No Face” that there could be a round two of the beef coming, though K-Dot seemed to push back on this claim.
“You know there’s only one opportunity to win the championship,” Kendrick said in a video announcing his Super Bowl halftime performance. “No round two’s.”
Read More: There’s Been a Lot of Hip-Hop Beef This Year, Here Are All the Diss Songs That Have Come From It
Joe Budden and Drake Have Rocky Past
While it’s unclear if there is any truth to this, Budden has a long history of criticizing Drake. The pair traded shots on songs like Drake’s “4PM in Calabasas,” Joe Budden’s “Making a Murderer Pt. 1” and others. Drake most recently came for Budden after the latter criticized Aubrey’s album For All the Dogs. In June, Budden claimed partial responsibility for taking Drake down a notch over the years.
“I don’t think any one man takes down Drake. I think I passed the baton to Pusha. I think Push passed the baton to Kendrick. And the job is done now,” Budden said during a conversation on X Spaces at the time.
Read More: Drake Roasts Joe Budden for Doing a “Double Gun Finger” Pose in Old Photo
See Joe Budden speak on Kendrick and Drake below.
