Drake ended a decade-long relationship with his booking agent amid the Kendrick Lamar feud and the success of “Not Like Us.”
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Drake has severed professional ties with his longtime booking agent, a move that appears to be directly related to his explosive feud with Kendrick Lamar.
Earlier this year, the Toronto star quietly ended his working relationship with Wasserman Music’s Brent Smith. The breakup comes after more than a decade together, with Smith previously working at WME before moving to Wasserman Music in 2020.
According to Billboard, the pair’s separation largely stems from last year’s rap battle with Kendrick Lamar, especially after the huge success of Lamar’s diss song “Not Like Us,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100.
Drake and Kendrick’s rivalry dates back more than a decade but came to a head in 2024.
The feud started to heat up again in March of that year when Lamar appeared on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” show and made subtle attacks on Drake and J. Cole. Drake responded in April with a “push-up,” an aggressive barbell aimed directly at Lamar.
Lamar then delivered a devastating one-two punch with “Euphoria” and “6:16 in LA,” and their conflict escalated dramatically when Lamar released “Not Like Us.” Drake tried to fight back with tracks like “Family Matters” and “The Heart Part 6,” but failed to match the cultural momentum Lamar generated.
The Toronto artist’s response was widely seen as more defensive than offensive, a rare public defeat for someone accustomed to dominating rap battles. “Not Like Us” made devastating accusations against Drake, leading Universal Music Group to file a lawsuit over the song’s lyrics, claiming they contained false and defamatory statements.
However, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit last month, and Drake’s attorneys have since appealed.
The Canadian rapper will now be represented by Creative Artists Agency, and Drake is reportedly gearing up for a major tour in 2026 through an exclusive global partnership with Live Nation.
