Drake and Charlamagne tha God’s off-kilter relationship has had its ups and downs over the years. Their long-standing feud has regularly caught social media’s attention, with Charlamagne’s “goof” antics toward the rapper often leaving him with no choice but to respond. Charlamagne admitted that the two have a “love/hate relationship,” and they continue to take jabs at each other to this day.
Many could label the Brilliant Idiots co-host as a “Drake hater” due to his endless negative remarks about the rapper. Upon the release of Billboard and Vibe’s 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time list in 2023, Charlamagne disagreed with Drake’s top 10 placement as well as Kendrick Lamar’s. “I feel like it’s too early for Drake and Kendrick to be saying stuff like that. Of all time? God damn! Penis is a form of transportation for y’all,” he told DJ Envy, per Hiphopdx.
The 45-year-old media personnel seemingly recognizes Drake’s rap skills, but is regularly vocal about his disdain toward Drake’s other sonic ventures, like his dance album Honestly, Nevermind and single “Toosie Slide.” But their beef ultimately goes all the way back to 2013, when Charlamagne gave his brutal opinion on Drizzy’s pop record, “Hold On, We’re Going Home,” suggesting that he should stick to rapping instead of singing. Although the two called a truce back in 2016, it seems to be nonexistent thanks to recent exchanges.
In September, Charlamagne grilled the Canadian artist over the release of his newest single, “Slime You Out,” featuring SZA. “Drake put out a song last Friday, and…nobody cared,” he blatantly stated. Drake clapped back at the radio host with multiple IG posts, calling him an “Off-brand Morris Chestnut” and sending social media into a frenzy.
Here is a full timeline of their once-friendly relationship that’s since transitioned into a decade-long feud.
Charlamagne slams Drake’s single “Hold On, We’re Going Home”
Date: September 2013
In an interview with VladTV, Charlamagne shared his distaste for Drake’s newest single. “I hate that sh*t,” he bluntly shared, referring to the track. “Sonically, it’s a great record. If it was Miguel, I would probably love it. Trey Songz singing it, I’d probably love it,” he continued. He then asked, “If you could be the next Jay-Z, why would you want to be the next Miguel?”
Drake sends Charlamagne a luxurious gift with a note
Date: July 2015
After rapping, “You gonna make me buy bottles for Charlamagne,” on his track “Back to Back,” Drake saw his promise through and gifted the Black Privilege author six bottles of 2004 Dom Perignon. The gift also came with a note reading, “Let’s be friends,” in an attempt to squash the beef.
In an Instagram post, the co-host showed off his present. “‘You’re going to make me buy bottles for Charlamagne’ Drake living his raps,” he captioned the video.
Drake and Charlamagne pop bottles backstage at the Summer Sixteen tour
Date: August 2016
The musician and Breakfast Club co-host’s friendship blossomed since Drake’s expensive gift. The “Faithful” MC took to his Instagram to share his and Charlamagne’s backstage activities, posting a candid picture of the two popping bottles, laughing, and enjoying themselves. “Pretty much sums it up @ctagod New York night four. Thank you to everyone who came out,” the artist wrote, per HipHopWired.
Drake takes a stab at the radio host on Scorpion track “Sandra’s Rose”
Date: July 2018
Drake took a shot at Charlamagne’s alleged skin bleaching rumor in “Sandra’s Rose,” a track off his fifth studio album. “Backstabbed so many times, I started walkin' backwards/Like Charlamagne, I see the light and see the darkest patches,” he rapped. Charlamagne denied the rumors on multiple occasions.
Charlamagne discusses his feud with Drake on Andy Cohen
Date: July 2018
Days after the release of “Sandra’s Rose,” Charlamagne openly discussed his relationship with Drake on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. Cohen asked what happened between them after their 2016 truce, with Charlamagne responding, “I feel like me and Drake will always have a love/hate relationship. Like Skip Bayless and LeBron James. Even though he is great, I will never have anything too good to say about him.”
Charlamagne disses “Toosie Slide”
Date: April 2020
Upon the release of Drake’s widely known TikTok jam, “Toosie Slide,” Charlamagne had a few words to say. In an episode of his podcast Brilliant Idiots, he stated, “I think that when you’re the biggest artist in the world, when you’re the biggest rapper in the world, I don’t like to see you chasing trends. It’s like, why be a surfer when you’re a fucking wave? I just didn’t respect it.”
He clarified that most of the time TikTok songs blow up organically, saying, “It’s a song people like, and somebody does something to it, and it goes.” But for him, “Toosie Slide” felt “too forced,” “too corporate,” and “too industry,” per Complex.
The radio host says the “Drake Era” is over
Date: December 2020
In another episode of Brilliant Idiots, the question as to whether or not music’s still in a Drake era was raised, with Charlamagne citing that although it still may feel like it because of the radio—the Drake era’s actually been over for years.
“Radio, they haven’t caught up to what’s actually going on in the streets yet,” he said. “They haven’t changed the temperature. So it still feels like we’re in a ‘Drake era’ — I don’t think we’ve been in the ‘Drake era’ for the last two or three years.”
Charlamagne jokes that Drizzy rigged the Billboard Hot 100
Date: March 2021
On The Breakfast Club, Charlamagne jokingly said that Drake “cheated” when three of the rapper’s songs debuted at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100. “Don’t let the heart cut in the head fool you. Aubrey Graham is a demon who doesn’t play fair. He cheated. I can’t prove it. This might be pure hate. … I’m not standing on nothing with this. I just think he cheated,” he stated, per Revolt.
Charlamagne critiques Drake’s Honestly, Nevermind album, calling it “elevator music”
Date: June 2022
In another Breakfast Club segment, “Rumor Report,” Angela Yee, DJ Envy, and Charlamagne doubled down on Drizzy’s dance album Honestly, Nevermind. “This is lobby, elevator music. This is the vibes when you sitting in the lobby of the SLS hotel having some drinks on a leather couch with the lights dimly lit,” Charlamagne stated. “I’m never going to revisit the album again, but if it comes on when I’m in the lobby of a luxury hotel, I’m not mad at it.” He went on and confessed that he “digs” a song on the album called “Sticky.”
Charlamagne disses Drake’s new single, “Slime You Out”
Date: September 2023
In an episode of Brilliant Idiots, the Young Money alum’s newest single, “Slime You Out” featuring SZA, was up for discussion. The podcaster had a lot to say about the track, ultimately dissing the rollout for Drake’s upcoming For All the Dogs album.
“What scares me—and it’s not a scare because Drake’s gonna be fine—Drake put out a song last Friday and…nobody cared,” he said. “It came out last Friday and people just started talking about the lyrics yesterday. I saw people posting about how he said something about, ‘Whipped and chained you like [American] slave.’”
He continued, “I’m in the group chat and I’m like, ‘Damn, Drake put out this record Friday and people just getting to the lyrics on Monday?’ That’s not Drake-like.”
The 45-year-old went on to question the rapper’s intentions behind his single of choice for his upcoming eighth studio album. “I just think that also when you look at the album cover and you hear the title, For All the Dogs, I think we were looking for something a little bit more harder, a little bit more aggressive. He came out with this slow joint with SZA.”
Drakes calls Charlamagne an “Off-brand Morris Chestnut”
Date: September 2023
Drizzy seemingly responded to Charlamagne’s comments via Instagram. The 36-year-old lyricist slammed the Hell of a Week host, writing a message toward him that said, “Are you ok Lenard?? You kinda weirding me out g. Like you really obsessed with me or something for years like you look in the mirror and wish you saw my reflection type sh*t.” Additionally, he said, “whatever you gotta do to let it out I’m sure your 435 loyal fans will stand by you ya f*cking goof.”
He continued to troll Charlamagne, referring to him as an “Off-brand Morris Chestnut.”
He also posted a throwback video of Charlamagne from 2013, saying, “It’s three sexual orientations out there: It’s gay, straight, and Drake—and Drake is just a whole different type of breed.”
Charlamagne addresses Drake’s Instagram messages toward him
Date: October 2023
The Shook One author spoke on the new drama during an episode of The Breakfast Club. “I want to tell y’all something, but you’re not gonna believe me because I’m lying, but Drake and I plan this out every time he drops an album,” he sarcastically said. “I’m part of the album rollout. He drops a record. I critique it. It brings more attention to the record, more attention to the project. I keep telling Drake he doesn’t need me to do that—he’s Drake. But for whatever reason, he wants me to do it so I oblige.”
He also recalled his past commentary aimed at the rapper, saying, “It wasn’t always like that though. Back in the day, I can honestly say I was hating Drake for fun. It was hilarious, at least to me.”
