“Bro Been the GOAT”: DeAndre Hopkins Requests Fans to Stop With the “Drake Slander” in 2025

One of the biggest storylines of 2024 in American pop culture was the rap beef between two of the most famous MCs in the game today: Kendrick Lamar and Drake. They fired multiple diss tracks at each other in the spring and summer, and the animosity has grown exponentially between their respective online fanbases. While Lamar appears to be receiving the lion’s share of support, DeAndre Hopkins is making it clear where his loyalty lies — with Drake.

While the quality of the diss tracks can be debated, the winner of the beef in the public’s perception was, without a doubt, Kendrick Lamar. For that reason, there has been a lot more “slander” of Drake than usual over the last few months. In response, Kansas City Chiefs star wideout, DeAndre Hopkins, is calling for an end to the Drake hate as we enter the new year.

“2025 no more @Drake slander please! Bro been the goat since he dropped successful with Wayne,” Hopkins wrote in a now-deleted tweet.

Hopkins called Drizzy “the goat” going all the way back to one of his first and most beloved hits, “Successful” featuring R&B artist Trey Songz. That song came out in 2009, so Hopkins, who was 17 at the time, has been a Drake fan since his formative years.

Hopkins’ love for the rapper is clearly genuine, but fans on social media didn’t seem to care. While a few supported Hopkins’ view, most of them made fun of him for his support of Drake. As usual, some were pretty clever, including one that said Hopkins was attempting to take LeBron’s spot as Drake’s resident athlete friend after Drake and the King’s recent estrangement.

The most recent developments within the beef surround Drake more so than Kendrick Lamar. Drake has leveled a lawsuit against his label, AMG. While many view the move as a cowardly one—essentially seeing it as Drake suing because he lost a beef—Drake insists this is not as much about the beef as it is about musical artists’ rights and fair treatment from record labels.

“The Boy” tried to explain it by comparing his situation with AMG to “Nike funding a campaign about LeBron cheating on his wife.” The argument is that Drake believes a company (AMG) for which he is the face, much like LeBron and Nike, was actively campaigning against his interests. He claims that AMG violated the RICO act by using illegal means to boost streams for Lamar’s “Not Like Us” Drake diss track.

In a recently released freestyle, “Fighting Irish”, Drake also appeared to take shots at LeBron James. The pair have been buddies for over a decade, and Drake even has a LeBron-inspired tattoo. However, James attending a Lamar pop-up concert at the height of the beef last summer while also talking up “Not Like Us” at the Olympics (in a clip in which Steph Curry, another athlete friend of Drake’s, says he’s sick of the song) led to the relationship fraying.

While this beef seems like it’s ongoing, both rappers continue to have success. Kendrick Lamar’s recently released album, GNX, was well-received critically and commercially. He’s also set to headline the Super Bowl 59 halftime show. Drake, meanwhile, was just named the most streamed rapper for the 10th straight year.