In the midst of a rap beef between the industry’s biggest artists, Kendrick Lamar released a diss track targeted towards Drake that is as good as other iconic disses like “Hit Em Up” by Tupac and “Ether” by Nas.
To start, the instrumental is a simple piano piece with four notes. It is ominous and eerie, and it sounds like it should have been in an episode of the “Twilight Zone.” There are minor keys used in the song, hinting toward some of Lamar’s accusations of calling Drake a pedophile. Made by producer The Alchemist, this instrumental is a perfect fit for this track.
However, the best part about the song is not the beat, cover art, or vocals, it is the lyrics and shade Lamar throws at Drake. The song starts with Lamar talking to Drake’s son Adonis. Lamar talks about how Drake is a terrible father. Lamar then starts to act as a parent by giving Adonis life advice. Going after another person is another thing, but telling their kid how much of a failure their parent is, is on a whole other level.
The next verse is aimed at Drake’s parents. The first part of the verse is talking to Sandra, Drake’s mother. Lamar talks about how her son is a terrible person, and that he is using women, and then tells her that people like Drake should be locked up for life. The next part of the verse is addressed to Dennis, Drake’s father. Lamar claims that Drake was using his father, who lived in Memphis, to boost his “street cred” and shames Dennis for raising a horrible person.
The third verse claims that Drake has been hiding an 11-year-old daughter from the world and has not been taking good care of her. Lamar also takes this opportunity to throw some shots at Drake, calling him a narcissist, misogynist, and a home wrecker. This is not the first time that someone has called out Drake for hiding his kids and not taking proper care of them. Pusha T also called out Drake back in 2018 about his kids and not taking care of them in “The Story of Adidion.” Lamar then continues and criticizes Drake for lying about various things like his religious views, his ghostwriters who help him write his songs, and his son and his daughter.
Review:
“meet the grahams” is unlike any other diss track that I have heard. With the piano looping through the same four notes, the scary invasion of Drake’s private life, the verses being structured as letters to Drake and his family, the original album cover of some of Drake’s father’s belongings, and the uncanny calm manner in which Lamar speaks, this track serves as the knockout punch for this beef between the two.
“meet the grahams” gets a 5/5 rating from me.
