Drake has never been one to hold his tongue, and on his new single “What Did I Miss?” the rap superstar is aiming straight at those he feels have done him wrong. Dropped as a surprise over the holiday weekend, “What Did I Miss?” is Drake’s first solo release of 2025 – and it arrives loaded with subliminal shots tied to the fallout from his feud with Kendrick Lamar. In the track, Drake calls out onetime friends who he says didn’t stand by him during his high-profile beef with Lamar, effectively drawing battle lines in the sand. The result is a blistering three-minute tear-down that has the hip-hop world buzzing.
The Toronto MC premiered “What Did I Miss?” in dramatic fashion on July 4 via a cryptic livestream event titled Iceman: Episode 1. Thousands of fans tuned in as Drake drove a branded ice-blue truck around the streets of Toronto – a cinematic stunt with nods to his upcoming album, Iceman. At the end of the stream, Drake finally blasted the new song through the speakers, treating fans to an impromptu first listen. Within hours, the track was officially released on streaming platforms, marking the kickoff to Drake’s next era and stirring up immediate conversation due to its lyrical content.
On “What Did I Miss?,” Drake is in full call-out mode, addressing unnamed figures who he believes switched sides during his spat with Lamar. “Love for my brothers – and death to a traitor,” he declares coldly on one verse, making no secret of his feelings. He pointedly references a June 2024 incident in which Kendrick Lamar held a “The Pop Out” concert in Los Angeles and performed a well-publicized diss track aimed at Drake. “I saw bro went to Pop Out with them, but been d— riding gang since ‘Headlines’,” Drake raps in the second verse, alluding to a certain longtime friend who attended Lamar’s show despite having been in Drake’s corner since his 2011 hit “Headlines.” (Fans were quick to note that Drake’s pal LeBron James was spotted enthusiastically watching Kendrick’s set that night – a possible target of Drake’s ire.) In another bristling line, Drake vents, “Last time I looked to my right, you n—– was standing beside me / How can some people I love hang around p—– who try me?” The edited expletives barely soften the blow – it’s clear Drake feels betrayed, and he’s not afraid to air it out in rhyme.
The new single comes after a period of relative peace following the Drake vs. Kendrick showdown that dominated hip-hop chatter last year. Their feud escalated in 2024 when Lamar’s Grammy-sweeping track “Not Like Us” took unmistakable aim at Drake, even going so far as to imply unsavory rumors about the Canadian rapper. Drake fired back with his own lyrical responses and, notably, a lawsuit against Kendrick’s label (Universal Music Group) alleging defamation – a case still tied up in legal wrangling. By early 2025 the dust seemed to be settling, with Drake releasing a collaborative mixtape ($OME $EXY $ONGS 4 U) and staying relatively quiet about Lamar. But “What Did I Miss?” indicates the bad blood is far from over. Rather than diss Kendrick directly on the track, Drake zeroes in on the “fake friends” he lost amid the melee – a move that adds a new layer to the beef. It’s an aggressive loyalty check set to a moody, hard-hitting beat, blending Drake’s melodic hooks with searing verses.
Reception to “What Did I Miss?” has been swift and divided. Many fans on social media are hyped about Drake returning to a more abrasive, hungry flow, applauding the song’s confrontational energy. Others have expressed fatigue, wondering if rehashing the Kendrick drama is the right move. Either way, the single has undeniably reinserted Drake into hip-hop’s center stage and sparked fresh debate over his long-running rivalry with Lamar. It also tees up Drake’s forthcoming ninth studio album, Iceman, which the rapper has been teasing for months with cryptic posts and the new “Iceman” livestream series. No release date has been announced yet for the album, but if this lead single is any indication, Drake is gearing up for a no-holds-barred era.
In true Drake fashion, he’s turning personal vendettas into chart-topping art – and ensuring everyone knows exactly where his loyalties lie. “What Did I Miss?” is both a warning shot to those who crossed him and a tantalizing preview of the intensity to come on Iceman. As the OVO hitmaker raps on the track with a sly ferocity, “Y’all been on that type of timing for too long” – and now it appears time’s up. Drake is back in attack mode, and no traitor (or rapper) is safe from the fallout.
