21 Savage Predicts: How Drake Could Have Avoided the L In Feud with Kendrick Lamar

21 Savage Predicts: How Drake Could Have Avoided the L In Feud with Kendrick Lamar and Still Delivered His Best Work Later in 2024 

 In the annals of hip-hop history, few rivalries have captured the cultural zeitgeist quite like the 2024 beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. What began as subtle jabs escalated into a full-blown lyrical war, culminating in tracks that dominated charts, memes, and conversations. But what if Drake had taken a page from J. Cole's playbook? What if he had ignored Kendrick's incendiary verse on "Like That" and understood the wisdom behind Cole's public apology? In this alternate timeline, we might have seen Drake preserve his untouchable aura while strategically dropping bangers like "No Face," "What Did I Miss," "Family Matters," and "Push Ups" later in the year—repackaged, refined, and free from the shadow of defeat. Let's break down how this hypothetical scenario could have unfolded, drawing on the real events of the feud and its aftermath. ## The Spark: Kendrick's "Like That" and the Big Three Myth The feud's ignition point came in March 2024 with the release of Future and Metro Boomin's album *We Don't Trust You*, featuring Kendrick Lamar's verse on "Like That." Kendrick directly dismantled the notion of a "Big Three" in rap—himself, Drake, and J. Cole—declaring, "Motherf--- the big three, n---a, it's just big me." 0 This wasn't just a diss; it was a challenge to Drake's commercial dominance and Cole's lyrical positioning. At the time, Drake was riding high off his 2023 album *For All the Dogs*, while Kendrick had been relatively quiet since *Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers* in 2022. In reality, J. Cole responded first with "7 Minute Drill" on April 5, 2024, taking shots at Kendrick's output and relevance. But just two days later, at his Dreamville Festival, Cole retracted it all. He called the track "the lamest s--- I ever did," admitting it disrupted his inner peace and wasn't worth the negativity. 2 Cole's apology was a masterclass in humility and self-preservation—he bowed out gracefully, avoiding escalation and preserving his reputation as the introspective everyman of rap. Drake, however, chose the opposite path. On April 19, he dropped "Push Ups," a direct retort mocking Kendrick's height, deals, and artistry. 1 This set off a chain reaction: Kendrick's "Euphoria" (April 30), "6:16 in LA" (May 3), Drake's "Family Matters" (May 3), Kendrick's "Meet the Grahams" (May 3) and "Not Like Us" (May 4), and finally Drake's "The Heart Part 6" (May 5). 3 The exchange was brutal, with accusations flying from pedophilia claims to domestic abuse allegations. By the end, public opinion largely sided with Kendrick, especially after "Not Like Us" became a cultural phenomenon, amassing billions of streams and even soundtracking the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show. 5 ## Understanding J. Cole's Apology: A Lesson in Strategic Silence J. Cole's decision to apologize wasn't weakness—it was wisdom born from experience. Cole, who has navigated his own share of rap politics, recognized that engaging in a beef with Kendrick, a Pulitzer Prize-winning lyricist revered for his depth, was a no-win scenario. As 21 Savage later advised Drake in a 2025 interview, the matchup pitted Drake's hit-making machine against Kendrick's street-cred and poetic prowess, creating an uneven perception battle. 4 Even if Drake landed punches lyrically, the narrative would frame him as the commercial giant bullying the underdog. If Drake had heeded this logic and stayed silent after "Like That," the feud might have fizzled out as a one-sided jab. Kendrick, known for his reclusive nature, might not have pursued further without provocation. Future and Metro Boomin's album would have run its course, and the "Big Three" discourse could have been dismissed as industry chatter. More importantly, Drake could have channeled his energy into his music without the urgency of battle rap. In this scenario, tracks like "Push Ups" and "Family Matters"—originally crafted as disses—could have been reworked into standalone singles or album cuts, stripping away the personal barbs and focusing on their infectious beats and clever wordplay. "Push Ups," with its gym-ready hook and braggadocious flow, could have evolved into a motivational anthem rather than a targeted attack. Similarly, "Family Matters," a seven-minute epic blending introspection with boasts, might have been segmented or refined for broader appeal, avoiding the controversial family allegations that backfired in the real beef. 13 By holding back, Drake avoids the reputational hit from Kendrick's "Not Like Us," which painted him as a cultural outsider and predator—claims that lingered into 2025. ## The Payoff: A Stronger 2024 Rollout with "No Face," "What Did I Miss," and More In our hypothetical, a non-responsive Drake emerges from the spring unscathed, his mystique intact. Instead of rushing diss tracks, he takes time to curate a late-2024 drop, building anticipation through subtle teases and collaborations. This aligns with his real post-beef strategy: In August 2024, Drake surprise-released a batch of tracks via his "100 Gigs" data dump, including "No Face" featuring Playboi Carti, "Circadian Rhythm," "It's Up," and "Supersoak (SOD)." 14 These songs showcased a refreshed Drake—experimental, collaborative, and fun—racking up streams without the beef's baggage. But imagine folding in the essence of "Push Ups" and "Family Matters" here. "No Face," with its trap-infused energy and Carti's ad-libs, could have been the lead single for a late-2024 project, perhaps an EP or mixtape. Without the feud's fallout, these tracks land as triumphant returns rather than damage control. And then there's "What Did I Miss," which in reality dropped in July 2025 as a reflective single pondering time away from the spotlight. 23 In this alternate reality, Drake accelerates its release to late 2024, using it to slyly address the ignored "Like That" without direct confrontation—turning potential vulnerability into clever narrative control. The result? A cohesive rollout that dominates the latter half of 2024. Drake's streams soar without the divided fanbase, collaborations with artists like Carti and Benny the Butcher feel organic, and he avoids the perception of "losing" the beef. Tracks like these could have formed the backbone of a surprise album, blending the raw edge of his diss material with the polish of his post-beef experiments. In total, Drake dropped over a dozen new songs in 2024 after the feud, 15 but in this scenario, they're amplified by untarnished momentum. ## Why Silence Could Have Been Golden: Lessons from 21 Savage and Beyond As 21 Savage pointed out in his 2025 interview, Drake's position as rap's commercial king made the beef inherently lopsided. 6 By not responding, Drake mirrors successful strategies from other artists: Think Jay-Z ignoring early shots from Nas until he was ready, or even Kendrick himself biding time before exploding. J. Cole's apology showed that stepping back isn't defeat—it's prioritization of peace and legacy. In hindsight, the real 2024 beef left scars: Drake's music post-May struggled to recapture pre-feud hype, with some critics noting a dip in cultural impact. 19 But if he'd understood Cole's move, we might have gotten a version of Drake unbound by rivalry—delivering "No Face," a reimagined "What Did I Miss," "Family Matters," and "Push Ups" as late-2024 gems that reinforced his throne rather than defending it. Hip-hop thrives on conflict, but sometimes, the greatest bars are the ones left unsaid.