Drake has lost a lot of things in the last year: He lost the battle with Kendrick Lamar, which basically ended once the Compton rapper dropped “Not Like Us”. He lost the internet, which had a blast making the Toronto rapper the butt of every joke and meme.
But, perhaos most importantly, he lost some celebrity friends.
People who appeared to be cool with Drake have celebrated and enjoyed Lamar’s success in their battle in a way he didn’t even expect. The Root will explore the celebrity friends Drake has lost in the nine months since his rap battle with Lamar ended. (Excluding people he had problems with before the feud).
SZA
Before Drake and Lamar were releasing diss tracks towards each other, SZA and the Toronto rapper were pretty cordial. She was featured on “Slime You Out” and “Rich Baby Daddy” from Drake’s 2023 studio album, “For All the Dogs.”
He also named SZA in his first diss track aimed at Lamar, “Push Ups,” rapping on the song, “You ain’t in no big three SZA got you wiped down, Travis got you wiped down, Savage got you wiped down / Like your label bot in a scope right now.”
This all backfired on the 6-God once SZA was seen at Lamar’s Pop Out Concert in June 2024 and was featured on his studio album, “GNX.”
She’s now Lamar’s biggest supporter as she just performed with him at the Super Bowl and is set to go on tour with him later this year.
DeMar DeRozan
Since he was drafted by the Toronto Raptors in 2009, DeMar DeRozan has been open about his close relationship with Drake. The two could often be seen dapping each other up after games and could be seen out in public hanging out.
But things changed when Drake got into a beef with DeRozan’s childhood friend, Lamar. Although he was named in “Not Like Us,” the star guard did not take a side in the beef.
At least not until The Pop Out concert. Not only was Derozan present at the show, but he also hopped on stage and danced with Lamar and several other Los Angeles celebrities as they performed the popular diss track. Weeks later, he also appeared in the music video for the song.
Things boiled over between the two sides in November, when DeRozan’s Sacramento Kings played a game against the Raptors in Toronto.
During the game, Drake was being interviewed by the local broadcast, discussing the game and Vince Carter’s jersey retirement when he seemingly said out of nowhere, “If you ever put up a DeRozan banner, I’ll go up there & pull it down myself.”
When the game was ending, Drake could also be seen staring intensely at DeRozan and mouthing the words, “F**k outta here, p*ssy.”
LeBron James
This is the relationship that might hurt Drake the most since he has a tattoo of the man on his arm.
LeBron James has been a fan of both Lamar and Drake for a long time, but once it was clear that the kid from Compton came out on top, James has been championing K. Dot like few other celebs.
He was also present at Lamar’s Pop Out concert, dancing to “Not Like Us” in the crowd.
In January, Drake dropped “Fighting Irish” a freestyle where he calls out those who switched up on him. Many figured this was about James since the name of the track is a reference to the NBA player’s high school mascot.