‘Public Enemies’ documentary to explore Kendrick Lamar and Drake feud
The film, from Acme Films and GroupM Motion Entertainment, will air on Channel 4
By Emily Zemler
The ongoing beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar will be the subject of a new documentary, Public Enemies: Kendrick vs Drake. The doc will air on Channel 4 in the UK, with US broadcast plans not announced.
According to Deadline, Public Enemies will incorporate archive and interviews with those who’ve known and worked with the rappers, and will explore how and why Lamar and Drake “came to be so universally acclaimed, while contextualising their careers through the contemporary history and culture which created them.”
The film is being produced by Acme Films and GroupM Motion Entertainment, and will follow in the same vein as 2017’s doc Public Enemies: Jay-Z v Kanye, which was also produced by Acme.
“Public Enemies: Kendrick vs Drake is not just a biography,” Shaminder Nahal, Head of Specialist Factual for Channel 4, said in a statement. “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.”
“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,” Acme Creative Director Jaimie D’Cruz added.
The feud between Lamar and Drake kicked off in March when Lamar took aim at Drake with his verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s ‘Like That’. Since then, the Compton and Canadian rappers have traded dozens of songs and verses, including on Drake’s hard-hitting ‘Family Matters’ and Lamar’s ‘Meet the Grahams’, which claimed Drake has an unclaimed 11-year-old daughter. In May, Lamar dropped hit single ‘Not Like Us’, which included disturbing allegations that Drake and his crew are sexually violent, calling them “certified paedophiles.”
More recently, the NFL announced that Lamar would headline the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show, leading to speculation that the choice had upset Drake. Last month, music manager Wack 100 went viral over the weekend accusing Drake of sending a cease and desist letter to Lamar to restrict the rapper’s performance at the big game. However, Drake’s rep told Rolling Stone that the rumour was “not true,” with another source clarifying that “there was never any intention or plan to send a cease and desist to anyone.”