Rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar continue to trade verbal blows in their ongoing feud. In one recent diss track, Drake enlisted the help of a computer-generated Tupac Shakur to goad Lamar into a response. However, the “God’s Plan” rapper has apparently removed “Taylor Made Freestyle” after the late rapper’s estate threatened legal action.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Taylor Made Freestyle” Is No Longer Available On Instagram
Pitchfork reported Friday (April 26) that Drake had taken down “Taylor Made Freestyle” in the face of legal threats from Tupac’s estate.
The track was one of two Drizzy responses to Lamar’s verse on “Like That” by Metro Boomin and Future.
A cease and desist letter from Tupac’s estate gave Drake 24 hours to take the song down before they “pursue all of its legal remedies” against him. In the letter, lawyer Howard King informed Drake that Tupac’s estate “would never have given its approval for this use.”
Further compounding the insult, according to the letter, is the “DNA” rapper’s “ethereal bond” with Tupac. The letter called Lamar “a good friend to the Estate who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately.”
Kendrick Lamar Responds to Drake Diss
At the time Drake dropped “Taylor Made Freestyle,” Lamar had yet to acknowledge his initial diss on “Push Ups.” Recently, however, Lamar fired back at the “Hotline Bling” rapper with the blistering track “Euphoria.”
Never one for “sneak dissing,” the “Backseat Freestyle rapper makes the song’s subject clear upfront. The track takes its title from the HBO series of the same name, on which Drake is a producer.
The beef started in March when Lamar called out both Drake and J. Cole on his “Like That” verse. The Oscar nominee directly responded to the pair’s 2023 collab “First Person Shooter,” off Drake’s album For All the Dogs. On J. Cole’s verse, the “No Role Modelz” artist referred to himself, Drake and Lamar as “the big three” of 2010s hip-hop.
Lamar used his “Like That” airspace to shoot down that comparison: “it’s just big me.”
[RELATED: Metro Boomin Takes Break from Drake Feud to Make Pitch to Eminem]
Drake countered that with first “Push Ups” and later “Taylor Made Freestyle.” Lamar referenced the Tupac controversy on “Euphoria,” declaring that the AI vocals caused the “Keep Ya Head Up” artist to “turn in his grave.”
