Drake's best diss tracks, ranked

Drake has been involved in his share of rap beefs over the years. Most recently, he fired shots at Kendrick Lamar on the April 19 diss track "Push Ups," and Lamar responded with his lengthy retort "Euphoria" on April 30, dragging Drake's parenting skills, his Canadianness and more. The pair's on-again, off-again feud was first reignited in March, when Lamar declared himself the best rapper and dissed Drake and J. Cole in a verse on the track "Like That."

However, Lamar is only one of Drake's musical foes, as Drake has also feuded with Kanye West, Pusha T and more. Luckily for hip-hop fans, these disputes have resulted in many scorching diss tracks, with Drake spitting lyrics that range from comical to cutting. 

While Drake has also dissed his enemies on collaborations (such as "Circo Loco" with 21 Savage) and as a featured artist (his verse on "Stay Schemin'"), we've ranked his best solo diss tracks below. 

21. 'The Heart Part 6' (2024)

"The Heart Part 6" is Drake's fourth anti-Lamar diss track of 2024, and on it he sounds like he's thrown in the towel. Some of his claims, such as that his team fed Lamar's fake information, fall flat. He also denies being a predator in some of the most dreadful bars he's ever rapped, including "This Epstein angle was the shit I expected" and "If I was f--king young girls, I promise I'd have been arrested/ I'm way too famous for this shit you just suggested."

20. 'Taylor Made Freestyle' (2024)

On April 19, Drake released two diss tracks aimed at Kendrick Lamar: "Push Ups" and "Taylor Made Freestyle." He forays into AI with the latter, using the voices of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg to bait Lamar into responding: "Now's a time to really make a power move/ 'cause right now it's looking like you writing out the game plan on how to lose," he raps as an ersatz Snoop. Since Drake doesn't rap in his own voice until the last verse — and didn't release the song on streaming platforms — it seems the track is meant to provoke a reaction rather than showcase any lyrical prowess. 

19. 'Away From Home' (2023)

Drake revealed he isn't over losing the Grammy for best new artist to jazz musician Esperanza Spalding back in 2011 on "Away From Home." Although he's won several Grammys since then, he sounds very pressed about the incident more than a decade later: "Four Grammys to my name, a hundred nominations/ Esperanza Spalding was gettin' all the praises/ I'm tryna keep it humble, I'm tryna keep it gracious/ who give a f--k Michelle Obama put you on her playlist?"

18. 'Fear of Heights' (2023)

Drake and Rihanna were on and off for years, and even though she's moved on with A$AP Rocky, Drake couldn't resist mentioning their expired romance on "Fear of Heights." The Toronto rapper spends a few bars declaring he's over his ex ("Why they make it sound like I'm still hung up on you?"), but the song falls short when he raps about how boring her new man is and how much better his new love interests are, proving he's stuck in the past.

17. 'Middle of the Ocean,' (2022)

"Middle of the Ocean" contains a gorgeous sample of "Cry Together" by the O'Jays, making it one of Her Loss's more distinct tracks. While the beginning of the song is tame, Drake takes a moment to call Alexis Ohanian, the husband of his rumoured ex, Serena Williams, a groupie: "Sidebar, Serena, your husband a groupie/ he claim we don't got a problem but/ no, boo, it is like you comin' for sushi." Unfortunately for Drake, it's a diss that doesn't quite land because it's a label Ohanian is proud of: "The reason I stay winning is because I'm relentless about being the absolute best at whatever I do — including being the best groupie for my wife and daughter," Ohanian tweeted following the song's release.

16. 'Virginia Beach' (2023)

Drake mourned his relationship with Rihanna on another For All the Dogs track with the haunting "Virginia Beach": "Drawin' conclusions like you got a Parsons degree or something/ I coulda treated you better, that's crazy." Calling out his ex while insisting he treated her well isn't Drake at his most cunning or memorable. Hearing him reflect on their failed relationship over a melancholy sample of Frank Ocean's "Wise Man" makes him seem sad more than anything else.

15. 'Red Button' (2023)

Kanye West and Drake have had their ups and downs, going from friends and collaborators to adversaries — and now they're embroiled in another feud. On "Red Button," Drake addresses their turbulent relationship: "Every time that Yeezy called a truce, he had my head inflated," he rapped, later adding that "this is not a graduation," referring to West's third studio album. Drake favours taking subliminal shots at his enemies on most of his songs, so calling West out explicitly makes "Red Button" one of the louder disses in his catalogue.

14. 'Do Not Disturb' (2017) 

On this lengthy track, Drake reflected on fame, money, fake friends and more, while also getting a few jabs in at Tory Lanez, whose first name is Daystar: "You overnight celebrity, you one day star," he rapped. The diss is a footnote rather than the song's focus, but it's a clever lyric nonetheless.

13. 'Stories About My Brother' (2023)

Drake hasn't liked rapper-turned-podcaster Joe Budden since 2016, when he called Drake's album Views "uninspired." The two have gone back and forth on social media since then, and on "Stories About My Brother," Drake revealed he doesn't care for Budden's criticism: "Imagine us gettin' our validation from an ex-musician searchin' for recognition," he rapped. Although the production from Conductor Williams and Jimmy Q on the track is top-notch, "Stories About My Brother" is not one of Drake's most resonant disses.

12. '7am on Bridle Path' (2021)

On this Certified Lover Boy track, Drake pulled no punches and continued his feud with Kanye West. Drake joked about West's followers, fashion design career ("I could give a f--k about who designing your sneakers and tees"), failed presidential campaign and more. Even though the song doesn't have a catchy hook, it sounds like a lyrical stream of consciousness that showcases a version of Drake who is hungry for vengeance and dominance.

11. 'Two Birds, One Stone' (2016)

Kid Cudi, Pusha T and Meek Mill were not spared on "Two Birds, One Stone," a moody track that spotlights sharp, diaristic lyricism. While Drake spends a chunk of the song stating that he doesn't believe the extent of Pusha's drug-dealing past, it was Cudi who received the harshest words, with Drake bringing up Cudi's struggles with mental health: "You were the Man on the Moon/ now you just go through your phases." Cudi, who was in rehab the month of the song's release, responded furiously on X, formerly known as Twitter, and many Drake fans called out the diss on social media for crossing a line. It's one of Drake's darker disses, but in the years following the song's release Cudi and Drake have mended their relationship.

10. 'Push Ups' (2024)

After weeks of addressing his ongoing beef with Kendrick Lamar, Future and Metro Boomin through Instagram stories and memes, Drake finally released "Push Ups," an amusing diss that hits back at the three artists. Although he primarily targets Lamar, he also takes shots at the Weeknd and Rick Ross, the latter of whom recently dropped his Drake diss "Champagne Moments." Most of the lyrics chide Lamar for being a "pipsqueak" — "How the f--k you big steppin' with a size 7 men's on?" — while also poking fun at his pop collaborations: "Maroon 5 need a verse, you better make it witty." Drake's humour shines through in spades, which makes it entertaining and, more importantly, memorable. Even though the beat is a tad lacklustre, the song is effective for its comical lyrics and Drake's sassy delivery.

9. 'Draft Day' (2014)

On the surface, "Draft Day" celebrates Drake's wins and shouts out his friend and former NFL player Johnny Manziel. A slowed and looped sample of Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)" makes it an infectious track that has all the markings of a classic early Drake song: he tells listeners to watch out for him, gloats about making hits and shoots his shot with a woman — in this case, it's Jennifer Lawrence. But it's the digs at Jay Z and Chance the Rapper that make the song stick. He responds to Jay Z's diss on "We Made It (Freestyle)" with an amusing bar: "Just hits, no misses, that's for the married folk," and near the end of the track he snappily slights Chance the Rapper: "And if I left this shit to chance I would've picked a name like Chance the Rapper/ yeah, no offence 'cause I don't know that n---a." A decade later, both insults remain humorous.

8. 'Charged Up' (2015)

"Charged Up" was Drake's first response to Meek Mill when the two beefed in 2015, after Mill alleged Drake used a ghostwriter on their collaboration "R.I.C.O." Over slow instrumentals, Drake explains that his appearance on the song was no more than him doing charity work, while also taunting Mill about his lack of money from being signed to Maybach Music Group: "Come live all your dreams out at OVO/ we gon' make sure you get your bread and you know the ropes." It was a warning of what was to come in their feud, and demonstrated Drake's knack for pointed lyricism and thirst for victory.

7. '4PM in Calabasas' (2016)

There are a few speculated targets in "4PM in Calabasas," however it's Sean (Diddy) Combs who gets the most smoke. Drake raps, "Certain shit is just too wild to reconcile/ take that, take that" and "Don't push me 'cause I'm way too uneasy nowadays," referencing Combs's hook on "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down." The catchy instrumentals are reminiscent of early Drake songs and that, coupled with his energized and confident delivery, makes it a noteworthy diss.

6. '6 PM in New York' (2015)

One of Drake's most underrated songs, "6 PM in New York" is often remembered for its sincerity due to these lyrics: "Some nights I wish I could go back in life/ not to change shit, just to feel a couple things twice." However, after Tyga called Drake "fake" in an interview with Vibe magazine, Drake dragged him on the song and stated he "should've kept it inside." "Oh, you tried? It's so childish calling my name on the world stage/ you need to act your age and not your girl's age," he rapped, calling out Tyga's eight-year age gap with his then-girlfriend, Kylie Jenner. It's a straightforward diss, which makes it effective, and reminds listeners that Drake excels at storytelling when he wants to.

5. 'Family Matters' (2024)

After getting skewered by Kendrick Lamar on "Euphoria" and "6:16 in LA," Drake responded with the explosive track "Family Matters." The pressure Lamar applied with his disses elicited some of the most invigorating and ferocious rapping from Drake in years. Clocking in at over seven minutes and featuring several beat switches, many moments in the song are downright shocking: Drake spits allegations that Lamar abuses his wife ("They hired a crisis management team to clean up the fact that you beat up your queen") and claims that his wife cheated on him ("I heard that one of 'em little kids might be Dave Free"). 

4. 'Summer Sixteen' (2016)

Drake made it clear he was "looking for revenge" when referencing how he played his diss track "Back to Back" on repeat while his then-foe, Meek Mill, was staying at the same hotel: "I let the diss record drop, you was staying right below me, n---a/ we must have played it a hundred times, you was going to bed." It's a hilarious choice to reference the real-life incident, especially after winning his feud with Mill the year prior. After a beat switch, Drake changes up his flow but keeps the heat on high, focusing his attention on fellow Toronto rapper Tory Lanez while bragging, "All you boys in the new Toronto want to be me a little." While not as cutting as some of his other disses, "Summer Sixteen" is Drake in his villain era, challenging his enemies with a smirk.

3. '5AM in Toronto' (2013)

For years, Drake fans have speculated that "5AM in Toronto" took implicit shots at the Weeknd, after the pop star decided against signing to Drake's OVO label. "A couple albums dropped, those are still on the shelf/ I bet them shits would have popped if I was willin' to help," he raps, hinting that the Weeknd's full-length 2013 debut, Kiss Land, would have been more successful under Drake. "5AM in Toronto" gets points for being a passionately, fiercely articulated diss, although it would have been even more delicious had the Weeknd not gone on to find superstardom. There's still bad blood between the two Toronto musicians, as the Weeknd recently dissed Drake on the 2024 track "All to Myself," singing, "I thank God that I never signed my life away."

2. 'Duppy Freestyle' (2018)

"I'm in shock/ the nerve, the audacity," Drake begins on "Duppy Freestyle," his dramatic attempt to fend off allegations of using ghostwriters once again, this time courtesy of Pusha T. Drake released the song only hours after Pusha's song "Infared" dropped, as a musical retort to Pusha and his producer, Kanye West. Drake's quick response time, impassioned delivery and an earwormy sample of Tata Vega's "Ever So Lovingly" earned him some points in the beef, and he topped it off by sending an invoice to Pusha and West's then-label for "promotional assistance and career reviving." However, mentioning Pusha's then-fiancée — "I told you keep playin' with my name/ and I'ma let it ring on you like Virginia Williams" — ultimately backfired when Pusha responded with "The Story of Adidon," which was merciless for revealing Drake had a secret son. Still, "Duppy Freestyle" was a momentous diss at the time, despite Pusha winning the beef later.

1. 'Back to Back' (2015)

Drake followed up "Charged Up" with his most iconic diss, "Back to Back," and emerged triumphant from his feud with Meek Mill. It's braggadocious, delightfully spiteful and razor-sharp — all the things a good diss should be. It is peak Drake, flaunting his success and being humorous yet scathing at the same time. With a punchy flow, he energetically delivers unforgettable bars including "Is that a world tour or your girl's tour?" referencing Mill being the opening act for then-girlfriend Nicki Minaj, and "Yeah, trigger fingers turn to Twitter fingers," about Mill airing his frustrations with Drake on social media. At his OVO festival a few weeks after dropping the song, Drake basked in his win and performed the track twice. A few months later, "Back to Back" earned a Grammy nomination for best rap performance.