First, Drake responds directly to Kendrick's threat about “snatchin' chains and burnin’ tattoos” on “Like That” by claiming, “You won't ever take no chain off of us.” Then he pokes fun at Kendrick’s short stature, asking, “How the f*ck you big steppin’ with a size 7 men’s on?” (Sidebar: How did Drake find out Kendrick’s shoe size? Did he estimate based on Kendrick’s height? According to research from the Complex Sneakers team, Kendrick’s real shoe size is actually 8.5 or 9.)
Next, Drake raps, “Extortion baby, whole career you been shook up/’Cause Top told you drop and give me 50 like some push-ups (huhh).” He makes a point to repeat this “drop and give me 50” lyric throughout the song, which pokes fun at a recent Instagram post of Kendrick doing push-ups, while playing into rumors that Dot is stuck in unfavorable record label deals. By rapping “drop and give me 50,” Drake is alluding to the idea of TDE CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith taking 50% of Kendrick's publishing splits and "extorting" him throughout his career.
Drake goes on to say that Mr. Morales and the Big Steppers “bricked” and that rap fans “make excuses for you because they hate to see me lit.” Then he references Kendrick’s contract again and blasts Dot’s collaborations with pop stars like Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift:“Pull your contract ‘cause we gotta see the split, aye/The way you doing splits, bitch, your pants might rip/You better do that muthaf*ckin' show inside the bitty/Maroon 5 need a verse, you better make it witty/ Then we need a verse for the Swifties/Top says drop, you better drop and give him 50.” For years, people have been trying to discredit Drake as a rapper by labeling him as a “pop star,” so he's cleverly pointing out that Kendrick isn’t immune from the same criticism. Despite being known as a lyrical rapper, Kendrick has made multiple off-brand pop hits with the likes of Taylor Swift and Maroon 5, possibly at the encouragement of his label.
A few bars later, Drake digs at Kendrick with some Big 3 lyrics, rapping, “Pipsqueak, pipe down/You ain't in no Big 3, SZA got you wiped down/Travis got you wiped down/Savage got you wiped down.” Here, he’s implying that major artists like SZA, Travis Scott, and 21 Savage have been more successful recently and should all be counted in the “Big 3” ahead of Kendrick.
Drake comes after Kendrick’s financial situation again on the next bar, rapping, “Like your label, boy, you in the scope right now/And you gon' feel the aftermath of what I write down.” The first line is a double entendre about Kendrick being in Drake’s scope now that they're exchanging shots, while also making fun of Dot’s allegedly unfavorable situation with Interscope Records. Then Drake references Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Records, an Interscope-distributed label that Kendrick signed to early in his career, while simultaneously boasting about the effects of his own disses on Dot’s career.
Two bars later, Drake delivers a sharp response to Kendrick’s “Prince outlived Mike Jack” line by rapping, “Big difference between Mike then and the Mike now [...] What’s a Prince to a King, he a son nigg*?” Pointing out that a prince is literally the son of a king might feel obvious, but Prince Jackson is also the name of Michael Jackson’s literal son, which gives the bar extra significance. Drake also claims that he “gets more love in the city that you from, nigg*,” arguing that he receives more respect in LA than Kendrick does.
Later in the song, Drake responds to Kendrick’s "Like That" line about him and Cole bringing “three switches” by rapping, “Hugs and kisses, man, don't tell me 'bout no switches/I be rockin' every f*ckin' chain I own next visit,” before referencing Whitney Houston’s The Bodyguard (“I be with some bodyguards like Whitney”) in a line that doubles as a namedrop of Kendrick’s wife, Whitney Alford. (Did Drake not learn anything from his Pusha-T beef and the “Virginia Williams” line?!) Then he calls Kendrick a “midget” and falls back on his “I’m richer than you” tactics by bragging: “Numbers-wise, I'm out of here, you not f*ckin' creepin' up/Money-wise, I'm out of here, you not f*ckin' sneakin' up.”
Drake finishes his jabs at Kendrick by calling “Like That” “weak as f*ck” and clarifying that the song didn’t “start the beef with us,” pointing out that “this sh*t been brewin' in a pot, now I'm heatin' up.” Clearly, the animosity between Dot and Drake has been bubbling for years now.
