XXXTentacion, Drake & Kendrick Lamar | Timeline *(Jan ‘17 - Mar ‘25)
Why was Drake subpoenaed in the murder trial of XXXTentacion?
Why did Drake diss XXXTentacion after his death?
Why was Kodak Black on ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’?
Why is Kendrick Lamar wearing an enormous ‘X’ chain on tour?
Why was the Superbowl Halftime stage shaped like a Playstation?
Why did Drake diss XXXTentacion after his death, again, and again, and again?
If you’ve ever asked any of these questions, this post should hopefully give you some answers, or at least point you in the right direction of where they can be found. This timeline exhaustively covers the events of their conflict, as well as the aftermath of his death & its place in the back-and-forth between Kendrick & Drake.
If you have any suggestions for anything that has been missed - or you feel should be expanded on, please leave feedback in the comments. We will update with any developments or extra information that needs to be added.
Thank you,
Annie
*There are two versions of this timeline. This version, hosted on Reddit, is missing links due to Reddit’s spam filter (turns out a 6500+ word document full of random hyperlinks is ‘suspicious’ …) The enormous length of the post also cannot fit inside a single post (hence the timeline ending in March 2025).
In order to circumvent this, a full version of this timeline has been hosted externally here. I will update this ‘full’ version in line with this thread.
Last Update: 15/08/25
----------
2017
January
January 28th 2017 - Drake previews his song 'KMT' whilst XXXTentacion is in jail. The internet explodes with people pointing out the similarities between the track & XXXTentacion’s ‘Look at Me’.
February
February 18th 2017 - Drake speaks in an interview with DJ Semtex, leading up to the release of 'More Life' (where ‘KMT’ would feature), claiming that he had no idea who X was.
This was later proven untrue, as Drake had reportedly previously followed the Floridian on Twitter.
February 20th 2017 - X speaks about the situation in a series of tweets: "I'm not gonna say no names but it's funny how one of my niggas hit me up saying "drake watched ur interview and fucks with you." Now this pussy nigga trying to play it save and play it innocent.."
March
March 18th 2017 - More Life is released, featuring ‘KMT’.
March 29th 2017 - XXXTentacion is released from jail
March 30th 2017 - XXXTentacion immediately speaks about the situation in an interview: "He is not a man...he's a bitch, that's a bitch move...Especially when I was in jail facing life... If Drake would've came to my bond hearing...If he had showed that he's a hospitable person and that he's really in this shit for the culture.."
Later that day, X tweets: "Drake mom kinda cute, she could get it" & changes his profile picture to that of a childhood photo of Drake, replacing his father with a picture of his face. X also tweets: "time to make them hate us some more"
April
April 2nd 2017 - Offset speaks on the situation on Instagram live, he doesn't name XXX, but X’s interview is playing in the background: “How you unheard of talking about a nigga stole your swag? We ain’t even heard of you, shorty. Get your ass out of jail and run that shit up. Whatever your name is. You tripping”
April 7th 2017 - XXX hosts his first show after being released from jail, it explodes into a riot of people chanting "fuck Drake".
April 9th 2017 - 600breezy calls out XXX publicly after featuring on More Life: "Motherfuckers don't understand how my voice ended up on this nigga's album. Cause Drake really fuck with me like that ... He make me wanna care about the rap shit. Every time I ask my homie can I get on somebody ass, he always say no. This time he just gave me shrug cause he tweaking. That’s all I need,"
April ??? 2017 - 600Breezy travels to Florida to confront X in person
April 26th 2017 - Breezy tweets about X, claiming to have been in Florida looking for him.
He also shares DMs sent by XXXTentacion: “I aint on that postin s**t so ima say this to you once. You aint even know I had n****s in the club callin me bout ya dub, u got spared walk light.”
April 28th 2017 - 600Breezy posts a video where he claims: "I’m in Miami though. I’m all over, in every f*****g county,” Breezo said. “If a n***a is f*****g looking for me, and you talking that gangster s**t, n***a. And I’m blicked up."
May
31st May 2017 - XXXTentacion’s first & last tour: ‘The Revenge Tour’ kicks off in Houston, Texas.
XXXTentacion collaborator Wifisfuneral is attacked by a group of men in Houston after attempting to crowd-surf. The incident is caught clearly on camera by fans.
June
7th June 2017 - XXXTentacion is jumped on stage in San Diego. Drake likes comments laughing at the incident on Instagram.
13th June 2017: XXXTentacion is featured on the cover of XXL’s 2017 Freshman Class (the “10th spot,” fan-voted). His inclusion draws controversy in light of his pending abuse case.
August
25th August 2017 - XXXTentacion releases '17'
25th August 2017 - Kendrick Lamar praises '17' on Twitter
October
27th October 2017: In an Instagram Story, XXXTentacion declares he will “not be making or releasing any music” for now, saying he’s “tired” of “being mentally abused”
Oct 29, 2017: XXXTentacion posts another Instagram Story asking Ski Mask the Slump God to be friends again as a condition for his return to music. Ski Mask later explains he distanced himself due to threats against his family and XXX’s erratic behaviour
November
13th November 2017 - X is jumped and stabbed, he accuses the Migos of being the perpetrators
14th November 2017 - X posts surveillance footage of the incident, indicating that the perpetrators were wearing 'Migo gang' pendants
15th November 2017 - X clarifies that the two assailants weren't actually the Migos members: "From the bottom of my heart I apologize to you, you only caught in the crossfire of your bloodline, blessings."
2018
January
January 22nd 2018 - XXXTentacion launches the Helping Hand Challenge via a YouTube video.
The challenge sees the Floridian visiting a school & handing out expensive gifts, notably including a number of PS4 consoles. In the video, X urges his fans to go out and perform good deeds, promising personal rewards (like free show tickets, meet-ups, merch etc) to those who make the biggest impact.
February
February 16th 2018 - Drake releases the 'God's Plan' video.
The MV sees the Canadian visit XXXTentacion’s home state of Florida, distributing gifts & money to people in need. In a post promoting the video on Instagram, Drake pointedly references X’s ‘Helping Hand Challenge’, which had launched less than a month prior.
February 17th 2018 - X calls out Drake on the comments he made following the release of the 'God's Plan' music video
Processing img kuito4tnbrmf1...
February 24th 2018 - X posts an indecent image of a Drake look-a-like to Twitter.
According to attorney Mauricio Padilla, X also reached out to DJ Akademiks to share the image, who declined, and warned the young rapper to be careful: “Akademiks cautioned Onfroy that while he wasn’t a “gangster,” he might provoke a dangerous reaction from Drake.”
XXXTentacion posts two stories implying that Drake would be responsible if he is killed, but later claims that his account had been ‘hacked’ & apologises. At the time, this was scarcely believable, but we now know this to be 100% untrue due to Akademiks’ conversation with the Floridian.
May
May 26th 2018 - Drake releases 'I'm Upset’.
The track features the line: “SMS, triple X / That's the only time I ever shoot below the neck (skrr)”. The song also has a repeating motif of someone attempting to put a bounty on the Canadian’s head: “I'm upset / 50 thousand on my head, it's disrespect / So offended that I had to double-check”.
The line ‘SMS, triple X’ is commonly mistakenly attributed to being about X’s death. Whilst other songs from ‘Scorpion’ were recorded the week of the album’s release, this track was obviously released ahead of the Floridian’s passing. It is more likely that the shot “below the neck” is referring to a threatening ‘SMS’ message sent to the young rapper. We know that this is something Drake is capable of doing, as we saw him threaten violence against ‘Julian’ via text message several years later in 2025.
Furthermore, the single’s artwork features a red ‘blood moon’, an image of which was famously sported by XXXTentacion as a social media profile picture. Notably, the moon is flipped upside-down in the cover artwork.
June
June 1st 2018 - TDE confirms the label threatened to remove their artist's catalogues from Spotify after the service proposed their 'Hateful Conduct Policy', a change that would've seen XXXTentacion's music removed from editorial playlists.
June 14th 2018 - Drake releases the ‘I'm Upset’ music video
The lighthearted video sees Drake reuniting with his ‘Degrassi’ cast mates, and has a markedly different tone to the lyrics of the song & its messaging.
Just like ‘God’s Plan’, the ‘I’m Upset’ music video was directed by Karena Evans, who would later direct Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Luther’ music video seven years later.
June 18th 2018 - XXXTentacion is shot & killed in Deerfield Beach, Florida. He was twenty years old, may he rest in peace.
At approximately 3:30 pm XXXTentacion arrives at RIVA Motorsports, looking to buy a quadbike. He is accompanied by his step-uncle, Leonard Kerr.
Shortly after, two of the perpetrators, Dedrick 'Chucky' Williams and Robert Allen, follow XXXTentacion into the store and walk past him as he browses.
Approximately 3:56 pm XXXTentacion leaves the dealership and gets into his black BMW i8.
Immediately, a blue Dodge Journey SUV, containing Williams, Allen, Michael Boatwright, and Trayvon Newsome, pulls in front of the BMW, blocking it from exiting the parking lot.
Boatwright and Newsome exit the SUV, armed with guns, and approach XXXTentacion's car. They demand his chain. A brief struggle ensues, during which XXXTentacion is punched several times. His step-uncle, Leonard Kerr, manages to flee the car.
The struggle continued with a confused XXXTentacion yelling “What is this for?”. After failing to snatch the chain, Newsome runs to the passenger side, and steals a Louis Vuitton chest bag containing $50,000. After retrieving the bag, Newsome runs back to the Dodge SUV.
Despite the robbery being over, Boatwright, remaining on XXXTentacion’s side of the vehicle, steps back, before raising his rifle at XXXTentacion, and fires multiple shots - murdering him.
XXXTentacion was pronounced dead at 4:51 pm.
June 20th 2018 - Dedrick 'Chucky' Williams is arrested in connection to X's murder
June 27th 2018 - A public, open-casket memorial for XXXTentacion is held at the BB&T Center (now Amerant Bank Arena) in Florida. A private memorial for family and friends is held ahead of time.
Lil Yachty's attendance & behaviour is flagged as suspicious. Multiple sources indicate that he went to visit the casket twice, and allegedly took a photo of X’s body (despite mobile phones & camera equipment being banned).
June 28th 2018 - A private funeral service is held for XXXTentacion in Florida, attended by his family and close friends. Cameras and cell phones are not allowed.
June 29th 2018 - Drake releases his album 'Scorpion'.
The first half of the album sees the Canadian posturing as some type of mafioso figure on tracks like ‘Mob Ties’, ‘Sandra Rose’ & ‘Nonstop’.
A recurring theme across the album is someone attempting to threaten the Canadian, with Drake supposedly responding with coordinated violence in return. This theme starts with the album’s lead single: ‘I’m Upset’, but can be found across the project.
On ‘Mob Ties’, Drake raps: "Ayy, sick of these niggas (Sick) / Sick of these niggas (Sick, sick) / Hire some help (Help), get rid of these niggas (Skrr)" and “Louis bags in exchange for body bags, yeah". This directly implies Drake has paid others to ‘get rid’ of someone, with Louis Vuitton bags being swapped for body bags. XXXTentacion famously had a Louis Vuitton bag filled with $50,000 stolen from him before he was shot & killed.
Later on ‘Mob Ties’, Drake raps: "I do not forget a thing, I'm patient, it's a gift (yeah) / Try to tell 'em they ain't got to do it, they insist (they insist)". This lines up with 600Breezy’s entrance into the Canadian’s feud with XXXTentacion just over a year earlier, with the Chicago rapper travelling to Broward County to confront X on Drake’s behalf, telling his IG live: "Every time I ask my homie (Drake) can I get on somebody ass, he always say no. This time he just gave me shrug cause he (XXXTentacion) tweaking. That’s all I need,"
On ‘Is There More’ Drake says: "Only lyin' I do is lyin' out in the tropics / Only cryin' I do is cryin' from laughin' 'bout it / Only lackin' I can do is my lack of responses". This lines up neatly with his relationship to XXXTentacion. When X was killed, Drake was in Turks & Caicos, something he would allude to years later on ‘Knife Talk’: “Voodoo curse, it got him while I flew to Turks”.
Whilst tributes for XXXTentacion poured in from all sides of the rap world, Drake was notably silent, not “cryin’” like everyone else. Furthermore, Drake was notably silent in his publicly one-sided feud with XXXTentacion, offering no direct public response to the young artist following his initial attacks at the start of 2017.
On the track featuring Jay-Z, ‘Talk Up’, Drake raps: "Niggas provoke, this shit ain't a joke, man, nobody playin' / "He's at the top," and "he's at the top," but nobody stayin' / These niggas around, but they ain't around /You know what I'm sayin'?". This once again lines up with XXXTentacion’s feud with the Canadian, with the young rapper continually provoking Drake via memes & social media antics. Following X’s death, he would break the all-time single-day streaming record on Spotify, with ‘Sad!’ accumulating over 10.4 million streams in the United States alone. Whilst the achievement is impressive, it is naturally bittersweet. Whilst X was at the top, he isn’t around to witness it.
Later on the track, Hov raps: “Y'all killed X and let Zimmerman live, shhh, s-streets is done”.
July
July 9th 2018 - Ski Mask the Slump God posts a picture with Drake to Instagram captioned: “Positivity Is What He Wanted, We Chopped It Up, He Actually Liked Jahseh Music A lot To Come To Light Soon”. He would later delete the post after receiving backlash from fans.
July 10th 2018 - Michael Boatwright is arrested in connection to X's murder
July 13th 2018 - 9lockkNine speaks about XXXTentacion's murder in an interview with DJ Vlad, and reveals he was in proximity of the event when it occurred, with the rapper being pulled over by traffic police twice as he fled the location of the X’s death.
July 25th 2018 - Robert Allen is arrested in connection to X's murder
August
August 3rd 2018 - 9lokkNine signs a record deal with Cash Money Records, the deal is reportedly worth $2,000,000.
9lokkNine’s phone number would later be found listed under Drake’s ‘Omerta’* LLC, despite the two artists having no public (or business) relationship.
Omerta is the oath of silence taken by members of the Mafia.
August 7th 2018 - Trayvon Newsome, the last of the four suspects, is arrested and charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery in connection with XXXTentacion's death.
October
October 19th 2018 - Robert Allen and Michael Boatwright appear in a Fort Lauderdale courtroom. During this appearance, Allen waives his right to a speedy trial, allowing more time for his legal team to prepare a defense.
October 15th 2018 - Glokknine releases “Front Door”, where he raps:
“I'm comin' through the front door, so ain't no need to lock the back
This ain't no strings attached, call me lil glizzy wit' a Mac
Bitch I get crank mode, I need them Franklins like pronto
You know I fuck wit' Drake but ain't no hoopers in Toronto”
It marks the first (and one of the only) connections to Drake in the public eye.
October 19th 2018 - Travis Scott's Sicko Mode music video is released.
During Drake’s verse, the video depicts an XXXTentacion look-a-like being crushed & killed by an asteroid. Naturally, this ignited theories surrounding Drake’s alleged involvement in the young rapper’s death, with the public questioning why the Canadian (& Travis) were mocking a dead man only a few months after his murder.
December
December 18th 2018 - Daylyt is interviewed on DJ Vlad's channel as 'Bradley', where he directly accuses Drake of being involved with X's murder.
2019
January
January 22nd 2019 - Drake announces the Assassination Nation tour
Some fans point out the insensitivity of the tour’s name & theme considering the events that unfolded only six months earlier, considering the rumours of Drake’s alleged involvement in XXXTentacion’s murder.
June
June 13th 2019 - Drake releases 'The Best in the World Pack'
The release features ‘Omerta’, where Drake raps: “Cosa Nostra, shady dealings / Racketeering, the syndicate got they hand in plenty things / The things that we've done to protect the name are unsettling”
October
October 17th 2019: A bond hearing is scheduled for Trayvon Newsome following his attorney's request.
2020
May
May 3rd 2020 - Kendrick Lamar & Dave Free unveil their new creative company, pgLang. Their output is best described by Dave Free: "If I give you something hollow, you don’t have anything else to look for. If we take our time and make you something that’s dense that you might not even understand when you first see it—when you rewatch it five or six years later, you’ll be like, 'Oh shit, damn!'"
pgLang aka ‘Programme Language’ is responsible for the release & execution of all releases/events/tours pertaining to Kendrick Lamar & Baby Keem following this point, with a heavy emphasis on detail & cryptic messaging.
2021
September
September 3rd 2021 - Drake releases 'Certified Loverboy'
Track 13, ‘Knife Talk’, would once again ignite a huge amount of speculation on Drake’s alleged involvement in XXXTentacion’s murder. With Drake rapping: “Type of nigga that can't look me in the eyes / I despise” … “Beef is live, spoiler alert, this nigga dies”. This can be read as a reference to XXXTentacion’s ‘Look at Me’. It was this track, XXXTentacion’s first hit, that Drake lifted the flow from for ‘KMT’, kicking off their feud at the start of 2017. Furthermore, the ‘beef is live’ continues this idea, with XXXTentacion originally going on rants calling out Drake on IG live when he was released from prison.
Following this, Drake raps: “I fuck with her, and fuck with her, and her / I hit up err and tell him do the err, for sure (gang) / Voodoo curse, it got him while I flew to Turks”. This line would send the internet into a frenzy of speculation, with people pointing out that Drake was in Turks & Caicos at the time of XXXTentacion’s murder.
September 10th 2021 - Baby Keem releases 'The Melodic Blue'
Only a week after ‘Certified Loverboy’ was released, Baby Keem drops his first album under pgLang.
Whilst the references would go over heads at the time of release, u/BalanceOtherwise4028 would point out some connections from TMB to later material released by pgLang, specifically ‘Silent Hill’ ft. Kodak Black (2022) and ‘Peekaboo’ ft. AzChike (2024).
On the album’s opening track: ‘Trademark USA’, there are a number of important references to XXXTentacion’s murder. Keem raps: “LLC the Glock and I LLC my bitch”, which can be interpreted as a reference to Drake’s ‘Omerta’ LLC, which featured Glokknine’s phone number as it’s main point of contact (despite the two having no known relationship or connection to one another).
This is notable, as Glokknine admitted himself that he was speeding away from the location of X’s murder shortly after the murder, leading him to being pulled over twice by police. Keem references this later in ‘Trademark USA’, rapping: “Ayy, big .38, got pulled over twice / Had to go and switch plates”..
“You niggas impulsive, quick to make moves / You're biting your flows, a big appetite” can also be interpreted as a reference to Drake’s habit of copying other’s flows. It was the Canadian lifting XXXTentacion’s flow from ‘Look at Me’ back in 2017 that had originally started their feud.
Also found on the album’s first track is: “I’m going home with the loot / Mama going home with a coupe”. XXXTentacion was shot and killed in his BMW i8 coupe. X’s mother, Cleopatra Bernard, would later file to have the coupe returned from the possession of the State of Florida in 2019.
In the same interview that Glokknine admitted he was pulled over twice on the day of XXXTentacion’s murder, he implies that he was travelling between Broward County & Miami when this happened. Notably, the highway between the two locations is the 95. Added in the Deluxe edition of ‘The Melodic Blue’ is ‘Highway 95’, which becomes the penultimate track on the album.
2022
February
February 12th 2022 - Kodak Black is one of four men shot outside of an Hollywood after-party attended by Drake.
It is heavily rumoured that Toronto's Wass Gang members (who Drake is affiliated with) were allegedly involved in the confrontation.
February 13th 2022 - Kodak Black tweets that he will still be at the Superbowl (taking place that same day), with box seats gifted by Drake.
February 23rd 2022 - Kodak Black reveals Drake sent him $300,000 worth of BTC for the first time.
May
May 13th 2022 - Kendrick Lamar releases 'Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers'.
It features ‘Silent Hill’ ft. Kodak Black, with the Floridian’s verse appearing to reference the circumstances surrounding the murder of XXXTentacion: “Suicide coupe was a funeral, Trackhawk launch like a slingshot”* and Drake’s BTC gift: “I caught a bale off a Google app”.
XXXTentacion was shot and killed inside his BMW i8, a coupe with distinctive suicide doors. Whilst his assailants fled in a Dodge Journey SUV, not a Trackhawk, the mention of an SUV speeding away becomes very loaded when combined with the specificity of the ‘suicide coupe’.
A ‘bale’ refers to a large roll of cash. The ‘Google app’ is a sign of Kodak’s unfamiliarity with crypto. We know that he was previously not aware/involved with cryptocurrency, as he was asked to set up his accounts by Drake.
‘Silent Hill’ also marks Kendrick’s first use of the phrase ‘peek-a-boo’, where he sings ‘Peek-a-boo, can't hide behind your money, dawg’. This would be followed up on GNX, with ‘Peekaboo’, a song that makes pointed references to the ‘Helping Hand Challenge’ & to Dedrick ‘Chucky’ Williams. Interestingly, Williams was previously associated with Kodak Black.
June
June 17th 2022 - Drake releases 'Honestly, Nevermind'
It is notable that Drake chose to release this album on Kendrick Lamar’s birthday.
The album contains track seven, ‘Sticky’, which would later be parodied by Kendrick & Baby Keem on their collaborative track ‘The Hillbillies’.
August
August 22nd 2022 - Robert Allen pleads guilty and agrees to testify against the other three defendants
September
September 21st 2022 - Mauricio Padilla, on behalf of Dedrick 'Chucky' Williams, filed to subpoena records and video from Broward County jail that revealed his client and Kodak Black interacted with one another behind bars, believing that the footage would clear Williams' name.
November
4th November 2022 - Drake & 21 Savage release 'Her Loss'
The album contains ‘On BS’, which sees Drake once again make subliminal references to XXXTentacion’s death, and his alleged involvement.
Drake raps about being “in and out of court rooms” before delivering: "Damn, maybe I should do a 20, / maybe I should break that 20, do a ten / Maybe I should break that ten, do a five, then if it gets live, do a five again / If he held his tongue on that live, he'd be alive again, damn".
Drake’s sum (20 + 5 + 5) adds up to 30, which in Roman numerals, translates to ‘XXX’.
‘If he held his tongue on that live…’ likely refers to XXXTentacion’s social media antics, as this was the catalyst & fuel for his feud with the Canadian.
"I never put no prices on no beef until we end this shit / I pay a half a million for his soul, he my nemesis"
“Putting prices on beef" implies that money has been placed on someone’s head, a theme that appeared across ‘Scorpion’, specifically on ‘I’m Upset’. This insinuation is confirmed with the line “I pay half a million for his soul”.
Drake specifically references the person in question as his ‘nemesis’. XXXTentacion notably referred to Drake as his ‘nemesis’ in the follow-up story to “If anyone kills me it was u/champagnepapi I’m snitching right now”, writing ”Peace, love and positivity, but I seen that pic in my tags and had to post that bih, that boi my nemesis.”
December
December 2022 - Drake is subpoenaed in relation to X's murder trial by Dedrick 'Chucky' Williams' lawyer Mauricio Padilla. He is asked to face deposition by Zoom call.
2023
January
January 27th 2023 - Drake skips the court ordered deposition. His lawyers reference fears about the security of the Zoom call.
February
February 7th 2023 - The trial of Michael Boatwright, Trayvon Newsome, and Dedrick Williams begins
February 7th 2023 - Drake & X's public feud is invoked by Dedrick 'Chucky' Williams' lawyer Mauricio Padilla
February 9th 2023 - Drake is summoned to court for February 27th 2023, and is warned by the Judge that he could be held in contempt of court if he does not appear
February 14th 2023 - Armed security guards at Drake's home refuse to accept the subpoena, kicking it down the driveway and stating: "Nope, no one is expecting anything. Whatever is left we are trashing it,”
February 15th 2023 - Judge Michael A. Usan performs a complete u-turn, and grants Drake’s motion to avoid giving a deposition in XXXTentacion’s murder trial.
He will no longer be ordered to appear in court on February 27, 2023. Usan cited Drake’s celebrity status* in the ruling: “You are now just trying to drag somebody in who is a celebrity who does to want to be associated with this and the harm to that individual is not inconsequential.”
It should be noted that this is a case surrounding the murder of the creator of the most streamed rap album of all time, ‘celebrity’ is unavoidable. The explanation offers little clarification on this baffling u-turn, especially considering the Judge’s anger & previous threats to hold Drake in contempt of court for dodging the original deposition less than a week earlier.
March
March 20th 2023 - Jury convicts Boatwright, Newsome, and Williams of first-degree murder and armed robbery after 7 days of deliberation.
April
April 6th 2023 - Boatwright, Newsome, and Williams are sentenced to life in prison.
May
May 17th 2023 - Robert Allen is sentenced to 7 years and 20 years’ probation
May 23rd 2023 - Kendrick Lamar & Baby Keem release "The Hillbillies".
The track parodies Drake’s song 2022 song ‘Sticky’, with the music video doing the same. It also teases ‘The Hillbillies’ headlining that year’s Camp Flog Gnaw festival - with Tyler, the Creator making a cameo in the video. This is notable, as Drake had previously performed at the festival in 2019, only to be booed off the stage after less than 20 minutes.
July
July 22nd 2023 - Kodak Black performs at Rolling Loud Miami.
During his set, he shouts out 1090 Jake, who is known for exposing rappers with alleged paperwork.
Following this, he once again shouts out Drake for sending him BTC (it is not clear if this is a second transaction, or if Yak is referring to the original gift he was sent a year prior).
July 28th 2023 - Drake features on 'Meltdown' from Travis Scott's 'Utopia'.
The track notably sees him send shots at Pusha T & Pharrell.
As well as this, shots are sent towards Kodak Black: "I would've been with the Wassas in Paris and shit" references Kodak Black's performance at Nahmias' show at Paris Fashion week - which Kodak performed at. Sitting front-row at the show were Wass Gang affiliates Pressa & WhyG, who filmed the Florida rapper, mocking him.
August
August 15th 2023 - Kodak Black falls asleep on Instagram live, sparking public concern & quickly going viral.
Following this, Drake posts this picture to his Instagram story, likely in reference to: "Suicide coupe was a funeral, Trackhawk launch like a slingshot / Big ol' ruby diamond on my pinky finger, that bitch look like a Ring Pop" from Kendrick & Kodak's 'Silent Hill'
October
October 6th 2023 - Drake releases ‘For All The Dogs.’
It features even more mafioso posturing from the Canadian, specifically on ‘8am in Charlotte’, ‘Rich Baby Daddy’, ‘Slime You Out’ & ‘Daylight’.
‘Daylight’ sees Drake rap: “I'm tryna fuck all the bitches that look like my ex / I'm makin' her vex*, I'm too complex”* the triplet of ‘X’ has a clear insinuation, especially when combined with the chorus that follows: “Shot him in daylight / Shot him in daylight / Shot him in daylight”.
Drake closes the track by saying “I wasn't there when they caught the body…Internet swear that I bought the body”. This is likely referring to XXXTentacion’s death and the rumours surrounding the Canadian’s alleged involvement. Drake was in Turks & Caicos at the time of his murder, seemingly referencing this trip on 2021’s ‘Knife Talk’: “I hit up err and tell him do the err, for sure (gang) / Voodoo curse, it got him while I flew to Turks”
October 26th 2023 - Robert Allen is released from prison
November
November 15th 2023 - Drake & J Cole release the 'First Person Shooter' MV
2024
March
March 22nd 2024 - ‘Like That’ is released, with Kendrick Lamar sending shots at Drake & J.Cole
April
April 13th 2024 - Drake’s response, ‘Push Ups’, is leaked
April 19th 2024 - Drake releases ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’
April 30th 2024 - Kendrick Lamar releases ‘Euphoria’
Released ‘17’ days after ‘Push Ups’. It ends a drawn-out period of silence that saw the public beginning to question if Kendrick would even respond to Drake following the shots he sent on ‘Like That’ over a month earlier.
It’s opening verse contains the lyrics: “Tommy Hilfiger stood out, but FUBU never had been your collection / I make music that electrify 'em, you make music that pacify 'em / I can double down on that line, but spare you this time, that's random acts of kindness*”* - with fans later speculating that the lyrics reference Dedrick Williams’ interrogation (pictured below) & the conflict between XXXTentacion’s ‘Helping Hand Challenge’ & the ‘God’s Plan’ music video
May
May 3rd 2024 - Kendrick releases ‘6:16 in LA’
May 3rd 2024 - Drake releases ‘Family Matters’
May 3rd 2024 - Kendrick releases ‘Meet the Grahams’
May 4th 2024 - Kendrick releases ‘Not Like Us’
May 5th 2024 - Drake releases ‘The Heart Part 6’ (White Flag Version)
May 7th 2024 - A security guard is shot outside of Drake's home
May 7th 2024 - r/DarkKenny is created
June
June 19th 2024 - The Pop Out is held in Inglewood, California
June 21st 2024 - Boxer Ryan Garcia tweets: “Fuck it, Drake killed X”. before later apologising and writing “I’m sorry Drake my bad it’s love”.
Ski Mask the Slump God would call out the athlete, tweeting: "Whoever believe this stupid sh*t, too deep in the YouTube conspiracy rabbit hole. "Go outside touch grass my nigga."
June 24th 2024 - Close friend of XXXTentacion, DJ Scheme, tweets: “My Only Issue Is That After My Brother Died All Drake Did Was Throw Shots To Look More Gangster. So To Wrap Things Up It's Still F**k Drake.”
July
July 4th 2024 - ‘Not Like Us’ MV is released
September
September 8th 2024 - Kendrick Lamar is announced as the headliner for the 2025 Superbowl Halftime Show
September 11th 2024 - Kendrick Lamar releases ‘Watch the Party Die’
November
November 22nd 2024 - Kendrick Lamar releases his new album 'GNX'.
The album features ‘Peekaboo’ ft. AzChike which, in combination with its performance at the Superbowl Halftime, makes several pointed references to XXXTentacion & his death.
Peekaboo’s intro samples Little Beaver’s 1972 track ‘Give a Helping Hand’. This is likely a reference to the ‘Helping Hand Challenge’.
12 lines after the intro ends, Kendrick raps: “Peekaboo, 80 pointers, like a Kobe game”, referencing Kobe’s famous 81 pt game against the Toronto Raptors on the 22nd January 2006. This is notable not just for it’s reference to Kendrick & Drake’s respective hometown teams, but because of the date. 12 years after that game, on the 22nd of January 2018, XXXTentacion would launch The Helping Hand Challenge.
“Peekaboo, 7.62s I'll make 'em plank” references 7.62 caliber bullets, which are notably used by rifles in the ‘AK’ family (i.e DJ Akademiks, who was an important figure in Drake & X’s feud, specifically in relation to the Helping Hand v.s God’s Plan situation). As pointed out by Cole Cuchna of ‘Dissect’, 7, 6, 2 is also Kobe’s offensive stat line from that game in 2006.
“Peekaboo, why you actin' tough on IG Live? / Peekaboo, you know my lil' – off they rocker” can be interpreted as a play on Drake’s line: “If he held his tongue on that live, he'd be alive again, damn" from 2022’s ‘On BS’.
‘Peekaboo’ would be performed at the Superbowl Halftime Show in February 2025, with the performance taking place inside of the ‘X’ shaped stage. Interestingly, the ‘X’ stage sat on the 30 yard line. As previously mentioned, ‘30’ translates to ‘XXX’ in Roman numerals. Drake previously made a similar reference to ‘30’ on ‘On BS’: "Damn, maybe I should do a 20, / maybe I should break that 20, do a ten / Maybe I should break that ten, do a five, then if it gets live, do a five again / If he held his tongue on that live, he'd be alive again, damn". (20 + 5 + 5 = 30, 30 = XXX)
As previously mentioned, this is the second time Kendrick has used the phrase “peek-a-boo” in his entire discography, with the first time being on 2022’s ‘Silent Hill’ ft. Kodak Black, with Yak’s verse likely referencing the events surrounding XXXTentacion’s murder. This becomes incredibly important with Kendrick performing an edited version of AzChike’s verse at the Halftime Show, rapping: “Peekaboo, it’s that nigga, Chuck E. Cheese” - referencing Dedrick ‘Chucky’ Williams. ‘Chucky’ had previously been affiliated with Kodak, and had tattooed the Floridian rapper before he was sentenced to life in prison. Back in August 2022, Mauricio Padilla, attorney for Dedrick ‘Chucky’ Williams would file to subpoena video footage of an interaction between ‘Chucky’ and Kodak in Broward County Jail, claiming that this interaction would clear his client of any wrongdoing.
The phrase ‘Peek-a-boo’ is also used ‘17’ times in total across the song, 16 times in the verses, and one final time as the song ends. This can be seen as a nod to XXXTentacion’s debut album, ‘17’, which Kendrick co-signed on Twitter upon its release
November 25th 2024 - ‘Squabble Up’ music video is released
The video explicitly makes reference to The Roots’ ‘The Next Movement’ music video from 1999, and begins an unofficial trilogy of similar sets, as seen in Clipse’ video for ‘Chains and Whips’ ft. Kendrick Lamar & Tyler, The Creator’s video for ‘Stop Playing With Me’ (which features a cameo from Clipse).
It also features a very curious chandelier.
November 25th 2024 - Drake’s Frozen Moments LLC filed a petition in New York court alleging UMG artificially inflated Spotify streams of Lamar’s “Not Like Us”.
November 26th 2024 - Drake’s lawyers filed a second petition against record label Universal Music Group in Texas court, alleging the label paid iHeartRadio to boost airplay of Lamar’s “Not Like Us”
November 30th 2024 - Dedrick ‘Chucky’ Williams files an appeal in the XXXTentacion murder case, again implicating Drake via the 2018 Instagram post.
December
December 3rd 2024 - Kendrick Lamar & SZA announce The Grand National Tour
2025
January
January 14th 2025 - Drake sues Universal Music Group in federal court for defamation, harassment and deceptive practices for distributing and promoting Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,”
January 23rd 2025 - SZA is announced to be performing at the Superbowl.
The trailer sees Kendrick pacing towards the 30 yard line (where the 'X' shaped stage would be placed a month later), before approximately reaching the 27th line and turning back - only to be covered in Gatorade by SZA.
The video was released on XXXTentacion’s birthday. He would’ve turned 27 years old.
The video is also exactly 30 seconds long, this ties into the ‘X’ stage being placed on the 30 yard line, with ‘30’ translating to ‘XXX’ in Roman numerals.
February
February 9th 2025 - Kendrick Lamar & SZA perform at the Superbowl Halftime Show.
The performance sees Uncle Sam, played by Samuel L Jackson, declare ‘Scorekeeper, deduct one life’ over Little Beaver’s ‘Helping Hand’, before leading into ‘Peekaboo’.
Kendrick performs the track inside of a large ‘X’ shaped stage, which sits directly on the 30 yard line. This is notable, as 30, translated into Roman numerals, is ‘XXX’.
In a surprising turn, Kendrick performs not only his own verse, but part of AzChike’s feature as well. Interestingly, Lamar makes a slight edit to Chike’s verse, rapping: “Peekaboo, surprise, bitch it's that nigga Chuck E. Cheese” instead of Az’s “Peekaboo, surprise, bitch, it's that nigga checkin' cheese”.
This is likely a reference to Dedrick ‘Chucky’ Williams, one of XXXTentacion’s killers, and the individual who filed a brief attempting to pull Drake back into the case just a week after ‘GNX’ was released.
As previously mentioned ‘Chucky’ was a former associate with Kodak Black, who previously featured on ‘Silent Hill’. Williams’ attorney, Mauricio Padilla, had previously sought to retrieve CCTV footage from Broward County jail, arguing that an interaction between ‘Chucky’ and Kodak would prove his client’s innocence.
Processing img 48ctcmanfrmf1...
March
March 14th 2025 - Coyote & longterm Kendrick collaborator Ab-Soul release 'Running Fades', where Ab-Soul raps: “Be that as it may, we could squabble up / But this ain't pgLang / It's rated XXX, me & em’ we at yo neck”
Posted Sep 2, 2025, 2:21 PM UTC