Kendrick Lamar has broken the internet with his multilayered call-out of Drake, Euphoria.
Everyone is dissecting the lyrics and the meanings behind them, but one thing that sticks out is how much Lamar referenced movies and television to make his point about Drake’s career. Ranging from Drake’s teen drama past to sci-fi classics from the ’00s, here’s the full list of every film and TV reference Lamar made while ethering Drizzy.
Euphoria: The most overt reference is the name of the song, Euphoria. The reference is a double whammy: Drake is an executive producer of the series and, with the series being about teenagers doing ungodly things, the name brings to mind Drake’s interactions with younger girls, including interactions and texts with Millie Bobby Brown.
Interestingly enough, there are no Stranger Things reference in this song, but the opportunity had to have presented itself at some point.
The Wiz: One of the pop culture references is hiding in plain sight, right at the beginning of the song. The intro is a reverse sample of a line from Richard Pryor’s character in the 1978 musical The Wiz. Pryor said in the film, “Everything they say about me is true, I’m a phony…”
Clearly, the line is being used by Lamar to show how he feels Drake is a fake rapper in the game, but Genius also has an annotation that posits that perhaps Lamar used the line to also reference another connection to the film, Michael Jackson. According to Genius, Lamar’s use of the line “could tie into the fact that Kendrick compared himself to Prince while comparing Drake to Michael Jackson on March 2024’s ‘Like That’ by Future and Metro Boomin: ‘And your best work is a light pack, N—a, Prince outlived Mike Jack.'”
Degrassi: Prior to becoming a rapper and meme-lord, Drake was famous for acting on popular Canadian teen drama Degrassi. Lamar makes several references to Drake’s acting past with the lines, “The famous actor we once know is lookin’ paranoid and now is spiralin'” and “And I might do a show a day, once a lame, always a lame.”
The latter line references how Drake’s Degrassi character Jimmy–also an aspiring rapper–was shot and paralyzed during the show’s run. After his injury, Jimmy has to use a wheelchair. Nowadays, a word like “lame” to describe paralysis isn’t kosher, but within the context of the song, it’s clear Lamar is digging deep into Drake’s Degrassi lore.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence: Lamar’s line, “Am I battlin’ ghost or AI? N—a feelin’ like Joel Osteen” is probably the most controversial line of the entire song (an ironic development, seeing how the actual controversies of Drake’s alleged conduct with minors has seemingly become basic fodder for the internet gossip mill). The confusion over the line is because fans were left wondering if Lamar was referring to Haley Joel Osment, who starred in A.I. Artificial Intelligence in 2001, or megachurch pastor Joel Osteen. Some listeners online have written that the real transcription of Lamar’s reference is “Joel (Hale) Osteen,” showing more of Lamar’s wordplay. Genius backs this up in their annotation.
Regardless, Genius wrote in its annotation that the line refers to Drake’s diss track against Lamar, “Taylor Made Freestyle.” Released in April, the track contains AI performances of 2Pac–Lamar’s idol–and Snoop Dogg. Lamar’s line is making fun of Drake using AI, “going on to ask if he is battling either ghosts or robots.”
“Kendrick’s implying that, when rap-battling Drake, he’s either coming up against artificial intelligence or Drake’s alleged ghostwriters, not Drake himself,” Genius continued. The site also wrote that Lamar raps “Joel (Hale) Osteen” deliberately, writing, “confusing Joel Osteen and Haley Joel Osment to play on the idea that he does not know who he is battling.” The Osteen reference also alludes to more AI impersonation, since Genius stated that Osteen has been impersonated before, including by AI, and “has also been accused of using a ghostwriter.”
The Sixth Sense: Another line, “And my sixth sense tellin’ me to off him,” pulls Osment back into the mix. Osment not only starred in A.I. Artificial Intelligence, but also 1999’s The Sixth Sense, in which his character could see and speak to ghosts. The reference brings it back full circle to Lamar feeling like he is battling “ghosts” when he’s battling Drake because Drake, by Lamar’s estimation, is not only not a real rapper, but he also hasn’t authentically entrenched himself in African American culture.
What do you think about Lamar’s diss track?
