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Meet the Grahams

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"Meet the Grahams"
A photo of belongings on top of a shirt depicting a bulldog urinating on a fire hydrant. The belongings are a glove, receipts, a visit card, and two pill bottles and a prescription box, the latter three labelled with the name Aubrey Graham.
Original cover from the YouTube video. The cover art on streaming services is a plain black square.
Single by Kendrick Lamar
ReleasedMay 3, 2024 (2024-05-03)
RecordedMay 2024
Genre
Length6:32
Label
Songwriter(s)Kendrick Duckworth
Producer(s)The Alchemist
Kendrick Lamar singles chronology
"Euphoria"
(2024) 		"Meet the Grahams"
(2024) 		"Not Like Us"
(2024)
Audio video
"Meet the Grahams" on YouTube

"Meet the Grahams" (stylized in lowercase) is a diss track by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on May 3, 2024, through Interscope Records, during his ongoing feud with Canadian rapper Drake.[1] It is Lamar's response to the release of Drake's "Family Matters," a diss track mainly aimed at Lamar.[2] "Meet the Grahams" premiered roughly in under an hour after the release of "Family Matters".

"Meet the Grahams" is written in the form of a letter, with each verse addressed to members of Drake's family, including his son Adonis, his parents Sandra and Dennis Graham, his alleged daughter, and Drake himself. In the song, Lamar accuses Drake of being an absent father, signing sex offenders to his OVO Sound record label, and being a sexual predator himself. He also alleges that Drake is running a sex trafficking ring out of his Toronto mansion, saying it will soon be raided by law enforcement. Lamar further accuses Drake of lying about his family, his OVO Sound labelmates, and Lamar himself.

Background

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Main article: Drake–Kendrick Lamar feud

Drake, born Aubrey Drake Graham, has an immediate family including his parents, Sandra and Dennis Graham, and Adonis, Drake's son with Sophie Brussaux. Adonis was initially kept from the public eye but was confirmed by Drake after rapper Pusha T alleged his existence on the diss track "The Story of Adidon".[3] The feud between Drake and Lamar, although long ongoing since the 2010s, rose to new heights in March 2024, with Lamar attacking Drake's persona and skill with his verse on the song "Like That". Drake followed up to Lamar's verse and other diss tracks by other artists such as Rick Ross, Future, and The Weeknd with his own diss track, "Push Ups". In response, Lamar released "Euphoria", calling Drake's heritage as a mixed-black man into question. The same week, he released another diss track, "6:16 in LA", claiming to have moles in Drake's label OVO Sound. Drake responded the same day with the track "Family Matters" in which he accused Lamar of domestic violence against longtime partner Whitney Alford.[4] Less than an hour later, Lamar released "Meet the Grahams".

Composition

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Produced by the Alchemist, "Meet the Grahams", unlike Lamar's previous responses, takes on an unsettling, haunting atmosphere, with an eerie piano-driven beat, sampled from Timothy Carpenter & Triunity's "I Want To Make It", accompanying critical lyrics accusing Drake of a number of wrongdoings including parental negligence, sexual exploitation, sexual grooming, sex trafficking, and another incident of child abandonment.[5][6]

The track's lyrics take the form of a letter with multiple verses addressed at members of Drake's family. The first verse is addressed to Drake's son Adonis, the second is addressed to Dennis and Sandra "Sandi" Graham, both of Drake's parents, the third is addressed to Drake's alleged daughter, and the last verse is addressed to Drake himself. In the song, Lamar alleges that Drake has a secret child, a daughter, accuses Drake of fathering further children aside from his alleged daughter, states that Drake has sex offenders on his record label OVO Sound, and calls him a sexual predator. Lamar also mentions that Drake is allegedly running a sex trafficking ring out of his Toronto mansion and states that his mansion known as "The Embassy" will be raided by law enforcement because of this, directly alluding to colleague Sean "Diddy" Combs' estate being raided amid his sexual abuse allegations.[7] Lamar also compares Drake's actions to those of former film producer and convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein.[4] Lamar, in the final section of the track addressing Drake, addresses the confusion that came out of the track releasing within an hour of Drake's "Family Matters" with the lines "Dear Aubrey / I know you're probably thinkin' I wanted to crash your party / But truthfully, I don't have a hatin' bone in my body / There's supposed to be a good exhibition within the game / But you fucked up the moment you called out my family's name".[8]

Cover art

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The cover art used in the original YouTube release shows an uncropped version of the photo that accompanied Lamar's previous song, "6:16 in LA". In addition to the glove, it shows a shirt, jewelry receipts, a visit card and three prescription medicines with the name "Aubrey Graham" (Drake's real name) on them, later revealed to be one for Ozempic, one for Adderall, and one for Zolpidem.[9] According to DJ Akademiks, these items were stolen from a suitcase belonging to Drake's father, Dennis Graham.[10] A week later, an unknown X (formerly Twitter) user posted a video playing the song on a Panasonic Toughbook and showing the original photo items hanging at a balcony, requiring Drake and Akademiks to retract their theft accusation.[9]

The song was released to streaming platforms the next day with the artwork being replaced with a black square, possibly due to Apple Music and Spotify guidelines prohibiting the sharing of personal information with the inclusion of the pill bottles.[11]

Credits and personnel

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Charts

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Chart performance for "Meet the Grahams"
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[12] 42
Australia Hip Hop/R&B (ARIA)[13] 10
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[14] 16
Global 200 (Billboard)[15] 17
Ireland (IRMA)[16] 26
Lithuania (AGATA)[17] 26
MENA (IFPI)[18] 17
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[19] 22
Portugal (AFP)[20] 54
South Africa (Billboard)[21] 19
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 93
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 68
UK Singles (OCC)[24] 28
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[25] 5
US Billboard Hot 100[26] 12
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[27] 6

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Horowitz, Steven J. (May 4, 2024). "Drake and Kendrick Lamar Get Personal on Simultaneously Released Diss Tracks 'Family Matters' and 'Meet the Grahams'". Variety. Archived from the original on May 4, 2024. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
  2. ^ Savage, Mark (May 4, 2024). "Drake and Kendrick Lamar get personal on simultaneously released diss tracks". BBC News. Archived from the original on May 5, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  3. ^ Baxter-Wright, Dusty (June 29, 2018). "Drake confirms he has a son on new album, Scorpion". Cosmopolitan.
  4. ^ a b "Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar: the juiciest moments in their beef". CBC Music. May 4, 2024. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  5. ^ Cline, Georgette ClineGeorgette (May 4, 2024). "Kendrick Lamar Annihilates Drake With 'Meet the Grahams' Diss Letter to Adonis, Drake's Mom, Dad and Alleged Secret Daughter". XXL Mag. Archived from the original on May 4, 2024. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
  6. ^ Saponara, Michael (May 4, 2024). "Kendrick Lamar Quickly Replies to Drake With Blistering 'Meet the Grahams' Diss Track: Listen". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 4, 2024. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
  7. ^ Kreps, Daniel (May 4, 2024). "Kendrick Lamar and Drake Trade Diss Tracks as Rap War Rages On". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 4, 2024. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
  8. ^ Lyrics for "Meet the Grahams" via Genius
  9. ^ a b Fitzgerald, Trent FitzgeraldTrent (May 11, 2024). "Mysterious Video of Kendrick Lamar's 'Meet the Grahams' Cover Art Surfaces, Perplexes Fans". XXL Mag. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  10. ^ Rose, Jordan. "Breaking Down Everything Kendrick Said About Drake on "Meet the Grahams"". Complex. Archived from the original on May 4, 2024. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
  11. ^ Blake, Cole (May 6, 2024). "Kendrick Lamar Changes "Meet The Grahams" Cover Art For Streaming Release, Fans Debate Why". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  12. ^ "Kendrick Lamar – Meet the Grahams". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  13. ^ "ARIA Top 40 Hip Hop/R&B Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. May 13, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  14. ^ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  15. ^ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  16. ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  17. ^ "2024 19-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  18. ^ "The Official Mena Chart - This Week's Official MENA Chart Top 20 from 03/05/2024 to 09/05/2024". theofficialmenachart.com. International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  19. ^ "Kendrick Lamar – Meet the Grahams". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  20. ^ "Kendrick Lamar – Meet the Grahams". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  21. ^ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (South Africa Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  22. ^ "Kendrick Lamar – Meet the Grahams". Singles Top 100. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  23. ^ "Kendrick Lamar – Meet the Grahams". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  24. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  25. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  26. ^ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  27. ^ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
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