Drake's ‘Push Ups' sparks AI concern in Kendrick Lamar feud

‘Push Ups’ — by Drake? — sparks AI speculation as more players join diss-track drama

Drake, in a light gray suit and black tie, smiles in front of a purple and red wall.

April 16, 2024 11:33 AM PT

Drake has finally dropped his Kendrick Lamar diss track. Or has he?

Over the weekend, a track titled “Push Ups (Drop and Give Me 50)” sent rap fans into a frenzy, thinking that Drizzy had taken his alleged rap beef with Lamar and recent collaborator Metro Boomin into his own hands. The song was reportedly leaked Saturday but not announced on any of Drake’s own official platforms, including his Instagram and Spotify pages.

“Push Ups (Drop and Give Me 50)” quickly went viral on X (formerly Twitter) as fans dissected lyrics seemingly about the “Like That” musicians. Over a freestyle trap beat, a voice that sounds like Drake‘s can be heard taking shots at Lamar’s exercise routine and his size (“How ... you big steppin’ with a Size 7 men’s on?”) and Metro Boomin (“Metro, shut your h— up and make some drums”). The track also took shots at the Weeknd, making mention of his birth name, which is Abel Tesfaye.

As pointed as the disses are, some fans in the hip-hop sphere have voiced concern that the new track might be generated by artificial intelligence. Former “Pump It Up” rapper and podcaster Joe Budden said, “There is not a Drake fan out there that could tell me that y’all didn’t think that was AI,” according to a video shared on X.

Budden continued, noting that in the “AI version, the beat don’t drop out, and it’s a little slower,” before mocking the track’s cadence and lyrics.

“Drake fans there’s a reason you ... was on Twitter all day saying, ‘That ain’t him,’” Budden added.

“Push Ups (Drop and Give Me 50)” has sparked conversation on X about AI’s place in the music industry and concern over how difficult it might be for listeners to distinguish AI-generated music.

“We’ve got a massive problem on our hands with music,” user @TheMSeries1 wrote.

Amid the AI speculation, Drake made it clear that he knew about the alleged diss track. In a Monday Instagram Story post, the Grammy winner, 37, shared a doctored snippet of the 2002 film “Drumline” The clip, a nod to the Metro Boomin lyric, saw the producer’s face superimposed on top of star Nick Cannon’s, as his character plays for a panel of judges.

As of Tuesday morning, “Push Ups (Drop and Give Me 50)” has yet to appear on Drake’s official streaming pages. A representative for Drake did not immediately confirm the track’s authenticity to The Times on Tuesday.

The “Certified Lover Boy” rapper allegedly released his diss track a week after his “First Person Shooter” collaborator J.Cole walked back his fiery “7 Minute Drill” against Lamar.

“I tried to jab [Lamar] back, and I try to keep it friendly, but at the end of the day when I listen to it, and when it comes out and I see the talk, that ... don’t sit right with my spirit,” Cole said during a headlining set of his Dreamville Festival in North Carolina. “That... disrupts my ... peace.”

The weeks-long public beef seemingly began when Compton native Lamar denied that Drake and Cole were on his level. In Future and Metro Boomin’s March album, “We Don’t Trust You,” Lamar lends his talents to a verse on “Like That.”

“Yeah get up with me, f— sneak dissing ‘First Person Shooter,’ I hope they came with three switches,” Lamar, 36, raps before adding “m— the big three ... it’s just big me.”

Since the March diss, multiple rappers have entered the fray. ASAP Rocky and Rick Ross are among the musicians who have most recently joined the mix with their own scathing lyrics against Drake.

On Monday, Ross announced his latest single, “Champagne Moments.” More than just a hint at Drake’s “champagnepapi” Instagram handle, Ross’ “Champagne Moments” finds material in Drake’s white heritage and rumors that he‘s undergone cosmetic surgery.

“Yeah, you had that surgery, that six-pack gone / That’s why you wearing that funny s— at your show,” Ross raps. “You can’t hide it.”