During the 2024 ESPY Awards on Thursday (July 11) night, Serena Williams made a playful nod to Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s rap beef.
“If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that none of us, not a single one of us, not even me, should ever pick a fight with Kendrick Lamar,” Williams said, prompting cheers as she danced to Lamar’s hit “Not Like Us.“
“He will make your hometown not like you. The next time Drake sits courtside at a Raptors game, they’re going to Forrest Gump him. Seats taken,” the Olympic gold medalist continued.
Check out the clip below.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Compton lyricist referenced Williams in the smash that settled the beef. “I’m glad DeRoz’ came home; y’all didn’t deserve him neither/ From Alondra down to Central, n**ga better not speak on Serena,” Lamar spat over DJ Mustard’s production.
For her part, Williams has seemingly spent the season championing Lamar’s now ubiquitous anti-Drake anthem. She dubbed it the “hit of the summer” during a recent panel discussion with Cari Champion at the 2024 ESSENCE Festival. “When they play that jam, I’m jamming. That jam is jamming.”
same serena, same #essencefest #beautycon #serenawilliams #kendricklamar #notlikeus
In 2015, Williams and Drake were rumored to be dating, two years after the rapper referenced her on “Worst Behavior.”
“I’m with my whole set, tennis matches at the crib/ I swear I could beat Serena when she playin’ with her left,” the Toronto native said. Their relationship evidently soured, as Drake’s next mention of Williams aimed at her husband Alexis Ohanian on “Middle of the Ocean.”
“Sidebar, Serena, your husband a groupie/ He claim we don’t got a problem but/ No, boo, it is like you comin’ for sushi/ We might pop up on ’em at will like Suzuki,” the rapper says on the 2022 track.
The music video for “Not Like Us” arrived on July 4 and has garnered over 48 million YouTube views to date.