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It has now been over a year since Drake and Kendrick Lamar clashed in what is referred to as one of the most historic rap battles of all time.
Looking back, the OVO CEO's supposed issues with producer Pharrell Williams played an impactful role in the diss tracks released in 2024, with several bars alluding to their seemingly upspoken beef.
Pharrell, now the creative director for Louis Vuitton Mens, sat down for an exclusive cover story with GQ Magazine last year, sharing his opinion of being referenced in the 2024 Rap Beef.
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Regarding the mention of his iconic chains, which Drake flexed in the music video for Family Matters, Williams stated:
"I think beyond all of the on-goings, at the heart of all of it, he’s a fan of music. He’s a fan of the history of what it is, and I happen to be a part of that, and those artifacts are a part of it."
Drake's targeting of Pharrell Williams and his iconic set of chains during the 2024 Rap Beef appeared to many as a diss aimed at the hip-hop era when fashion and music merged.
During this period, Pharrell was seemingly at the center of it all and was captured several times sporting his iconic jewelry set.
From Birdman to 'Family Matters': A complete history of Drake and Pharrell Williams beef
Drake and Pharrell Williams' beef with each other seemingly stems back to the early 2000s, when the OVO CEO was just starting out in the hip-hop scene.
Fan theories allege that Drizzy had joined several "Star Trak" forums, fan communities dedicated to discussions regarding Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo's The Neptunes collective.
Speculations suggest that the OVO CEO would interact with fans, supposedly seeking recognition for his talent and art, but would often get mocked when sharing snippets of records he was working on.
While Pharrell was, at the time, seemingly unaware of Drake's presence in the hip-hop soundscape, he was working with rapper and record executive Birdman, who would later sign Drizzy to his Cash Money Records label.
Pharrell and Birdman allegedly beefed with each other over the 2002 release of a record titled What Happened to That Boy. While The Neptunes were credited as producers, the duo were supposedly never compensated for their work.
Several years later, Lil Wayne, who was signed to the Cash Money roster, would seemingly reach out to Pharrell for a clothing sponsorship.
Wayne's supposed intention was to sport merchandise from Williams' "Billionaire Boys Club" fashion collection, but he was allegedly denied. Weezy would later be seen sporting BAPE, short for A Bathing Ape, apparel on the front cover of VIBE Magazine.
Pharrell's close friends and collaborators, The Clipse, who were known for wearing BAPE in several music videos and public appearances, seemingly took shots at Lil Wayne on the 2006 record titled Mr. Me Too, rapping:
"N****s bite the style from the shoes to the watches"
The Clipse was an active hip-hop brother duo comprised of rappers Pusha T and No Malice. Lil Wayne would reportedly respond to the diss during an exclusive interview with Complex magazine, the same year, stating:
"I don’t see no f**kin’ Clipse. Come on man. Weezy, man. They had to do a song with us to get hot, B. “What Happened To That Boy?” C’mon B. Don’t do that, dog. This is a f**king legend you’re talking to right here. 14 years, B. How many years them n****s been around?"
Wayne also appeared to throw shots at Pharrell Williams, suggesting that BAPE apparel suited him better than the former Neptunes member.
"Who the f**k is Pharrell? Do you really respect him? That n***a wore BAPEs and y’all thought he was weird. I wore it and y’all thought it was hot. C’mon man. C’mon now. The n***a walked around with n****s that looked like you, y’all thought he was crazy. If I did it, y’all gonna think these n****s are killers." Wayne stated.
After years of sneak disses and callouts, with many believing Pusha T's beef with Lil Wayne had ended, the former Clipse member seemingly took shots at Weezy and his newly signed artist - Drake, on his 2012 record titled Exodus 23:1.
On the record, Pusha calls out Drizzy for being signed under multiple record labels, suggesting the OVO CEO was making less of a cut.
"Contract all f**ked up / I guess that means you all f**ked up / You signed to one n***a that signed to another n***a / That's signed to three n****s, now that's bad luck / Damn that sh*t even the odds now / You better off selling this hard now / You call it living out your dreams / You can't fly without your wings / You get it," Pusha T raps on 'Exodus 23:1'.
Pusha T and Drake would go on to have a massive rap beef, peaking in 2018 with the release of a highly aggressive diss track The Story Of Adidon. On the record, Pusha T seemingly revealed the existence of Drizzy's son Adonis to the world.
A few years later, while appearing as a feature on Travis Scott's Meltdown, included on the Houston rapper's Utopia album, Drake appeared to take shots at Pusha T and Pharrell Williams, rapping:
"Man, f**k all that spinnin' the narrative sh*t / I melt down the chains that I bought from yo' boss / Give a f**k about all of that heritage sh*t / Since V not around, the members done hung up the Louis, they not even wearing that sh*t"
While the verse appeared to call out Pusha T over his appearance at Pharrell Williams' Louis Vuitton show, Drake also seemingly dissed the former Neptunes member when suggesting that he'd destroy his chains.
Drizzy reportedly purchased multiple pieces of expensive jewelry that were once owned by Pharrell Williams during an auction in 2022, spending over $3 million on the entire acquisition.
The jewelry collection, now owned by Drake, includes a 14K three-tone N.E.R.D pendant chain, a white gold brain pendant chain, a diamond BBC pendant, a golden skateboard chain, and an iced-out pair of Oakley sunglasses.
The OVO CEO was seen repping each piece of his new jewelry set in the music video for Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin, which was uploaded to YouTube on January 17, 2023.
During the 2024 Rap Beef, Kendrick dropped his first diss track against the OVO CEO titled Euphoria. On the record, Lamar claims he intends on "inheriting" the beef from Pharrell, seemingly siding with the creative director and producer.
"I don't like you poppin' sh*t at Pharrell, for him, I inherit the beef / Yeah, f**k all that pushin' P, let me see you push a T / You better off spinnin' again on him, you think about pushin' me," Kendrick Lamar rapped on 'Euphoria'.
Drizzy would then respond to Kendrick on his blockbuster record Family Matters, where he didn't just call out Lamar but seemingly dissed every other rapper who had taken shots at him on Metro Boomin and Future's We Don't Trust You album.
Interestingly, toward the end of the music video, Drake can be seen seated at the New Ho King restaurant, sporting all of the jewelry he had acquired from Pharrell Williams.
"Kendrick just opened his mouth, someone go hand him a Grammy right now / Where is your uncle at? 'Cause I wanna talk to the man of the house / West Coast n****s do fades, right? Come get this a** whoopin', I'm handin' 'em out / You wanna take up for Pharrell? Then come get his legacy out of my house," Drake rapped on 'Family Matters'.
During Pharrell Williams' cover story with GQ Magazine in 2024, the creative director of Louis Vuitton Mens explained that Drake's disses during the rap beef never "struck" him.
Pharrell explained why he auctioned off his expensive chains by suggesting it was his method of "disconnecting" from the value of those items, stating:
"When you let things go, a huge part of it is actually letting go. Not just of the physical item, but letting go of your connection to what it’s supposed to mean, or the memory. You’re literally letting them go. That was the purpose."
Drake is reportedly working on a new album as of May 2025, which will act as the official follow-up to his collaborative project with PartyNextDoor - $ome $exy $ongs 4 U.
Drake and PartyNextDoor's $ome $exy $ongs 4 U debuted at No.1 on Billboard 200 and spawned the now viral single - Nokia. HipHopDX recently reported that during the filming of Nokia's music video, Drizzy was recording tracks for his upcoming album.
