Kanye West confidently stated that he is the only person capable of defeating Kendrick Lamar in a rap battle.
In an extended conversation with Justin Laboy on his podcast The Download, Kanye explained that although most rappers would likely be easily outperformed by the Compton artist, he possesses a unique trait that would make him a tough competitor in a battle.
“If you rap against Kendrick, you will lose. This man does this. You know on Street Fighter, you get like a Chun-Li, you get a certain kick, and no matter what, you can’t beat that thing.
“Joe Budden said, ‘Never rap against Kendrick Lamar.’ If you rap against Kendrick Lamar, it’s a difficult task, but perhaps there’s something — I’m a psycho genius so it could be…”
Laboy responded: “There you have it: do not rap against Kendrick Lamar,” to which Kanye replied: “Unless you’re a psycho genius like me.”
Later in the conversation, Yeezy shared his perspective on Kendrick’s well-known feud with Drake that unfolded the previous year.
When discussing Kendrick’s victory, Kanye laughed and said: “[I was like], ‘Man, you killed my nemesis! Where’s the movies if it ain’t no Drake?’
“Or at least he took him down for a little bit. You know in superhero films where one of characters, like Wolverine or something, just goes away for a couple films?”
Even though Drake suffered a significant defeat and Kanye has had a rocky relationship with the Canadian rapper, Kanye still expressed faith that Drake would eventually bounce back.
When asked if Kendrick had “killed” Drake, the G.O.O.D. Music founder responded: “Yeah, for now. You can’t ever count out Steph Curry. That man might get 200 points in one song.”
Kanye briefly joined the battle himself last April, taking jabs at Drake on a remix of Future, Metro Boomin, and Kendrick’s hit “Like That.”
“Where’s Lucian? Serve your master, n-gga / You caught a little bag for your masters, didn’t ya? / Lifetime deal, I feel bad for n-ggas / Y’all so outta sight, outta mind / I can’t even think of a Drake line / Play J. Cole, get the pussy dry,” he rapped, also dissing Drizzy’s collaborator J. Cole.
In addition to highlighting his own skills as a battle rapper, Kanye expressed his joy at Kendrick’s success at the 2025 Grammy Awards.
After the ceremony on Sunday (February 2), Kanye shared an Instagram post of Kendrick holding his five trophies, captioning it: “Gemini season [goat emoji].”
