EXCLUSIVE: Kendrick Lamar and Drake‘s beef nearly broke the internet earlier this year and Channel 4 is now delving deep via a single doc.
Public Enemies: Kendrick vs Drake will use archive and interviews with those who’ve known and worked with the megastar rappers, charting both of their ascents. It will explore how and why Lamar, the visionary and poet from Compton, and Drake, the former child actor from Toronto, came to be so universally acclaimed, while contextualizing their careers through the contemporary history and culture which created them.
Produced by Acme Films and GroupM Motion Entertainment, Public Enemies will also examine the beef that reached new heights earlier this year due to a string of diss tracks the rappers shared, ending with Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’, which subtly accused Drake of pedophilia and of disrespecting the rap scene, before Drake responded with denials in ‘The Heart Part 6’. Several music publications have since described Lamar as the winner of the feud.
Channel 4 has explored rapper beef before via the same strand in 2017’s Public Enemies: Jay-Z v Kanye, which was also produced by Acme.
Shaminder Nahal, Head of Specialist Factual for Channel 4, said: “Public Enemies: Kendrick vs Drake is not just a biography; it’s a cultural exploration of two of the most influential voices in modern music. This documentary will delve into the unique journeys of Kendrick and Drake, examining how their backgrounds, talents, and visions have made them global icons.”
Acme Creative Director Jaimie D’Cruz added: “It’s only a few years since our previous Public Enemies film for Channel 4 explored the rivalry between Jay Z vs Kanye, but Public Enemies: Kendrick vs Drake feels like a story that takes place in a time when all the rules have changed, and beef is all around us.”
