Drake was waiting. It’s obvious from the opening seconds of “Family Matters” that he had the beat and the song concept locked. The instrumental that played during the outro of his previous diss, “Push Ups,” kicks back in, and he skates like he never left. He addresses the things Kendrick Lamar said about his parenting skills, and tells him that now he has to deal with Adonis’ dad. Drake had to deal with multiple targets on “Push Ups,” but he doesn’t waste time here. He goes right after Lamar’s credibility as a “set banger” and an activist.
“Always rapping like you ’bout to get the slaves freed,” Drake asserts. “You just acting like a activist, it’s make believe. Don’t even go back to your hood and plant no money trees. You say you hate the girls I f*ck, but what you really mean?” The density of these bars tells you pretty much everything you need to know about “Family Matters.” It’s a great diss, and one that had a lot of thought put into it. Drake not only references Kendrick Lamar’s 2012 hit “Money Trees,” but pokes holes in the concept of Lamar as a good role model for Compton kids. It gets more aggressive from there.
It’s the final verse that really ups the ante. Drake addresses Lamar’s relationship with his wife, Whitney Alford. Lamar admitted to cheating on his wife on his album Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, but Drake claims their marital situation is worse than fans realize. “You know I mean,” he raps. “They hired a crisis management team to clean up the fact that you beat on your queen.” An absolutely withering comment to end on.
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