Kendrick Lamar’s “Euphoria” Diss Sparks Actor Haley Joel Osment’s ‘Sixth Sense’
Kendrick Lamar’s new track, “Euphoria,” has piqued the interest of none other than actor Haley Joel Osment, who liked the West Coast rapper’s post on X sharing a link to the song.
Released on Tuesday (April 30), “Euphoria,” Lamar’s latest diss targeting rap rival Drake, contains lyrics referencing Osment and two of his most popular films, the 1999 thriller The Sixth Sense and the 2001 sci-fi flick A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
“Am I battling ghosts or AI?/ Ni**a feeling like Joel Hale Osteen/ Funny, he was in a film called A.I./ And my sixth sense tellin’ me to off him,” the lyricist raps on the nearly 7-minute-long track.
Fans were, and continue to be, divided on whether Lamar’s merge of Osment and Houston pastor Joel Osteen was conceptual brilliance or an unintended blunder. However, Osment doesn’t appear to mind either way, as the reference has brought the former child star’s name back into the headlines.
“Euphoria” marks the latest dart thrown in the ongoing rhyme war between Lamar and Drake, as the two hitmakers’ underlying feud has come to the forefront in recent months. In March, Kendrick appeared on Metro Boomin and Future’s hit single “Like That,” on which he sent several shots at both Drake and his “First Person Shooter” collaborator J. Cole.
On the chart-topping track’s second verse, Lamar lyrically perches himself atop the rap throne while shunning the idea of being part of rap’s “Big Three,” as proposed by J. Cole on “First Person Shooter,” which was released as part of Drake’s For All the Dogs album last fall.
Drake would later return fire with a pair of diss tracks, “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made,” the latter of which has since been removed from streaming services due to a cease and desist resulting from the Canadian’s usage of A.I.-generated 2Pac vocals.
On “Euphoria,” the Pulitzer Prize Award winner jabs at Drake’s perceived insecurities pertaining to his racial identity, as well as his lack of authenticity. The song has received commercial and critical acclaim, as it currently holds the top spot on several streaming charts and reportedly broke the record for most streams in a singular day by a rap release in 2024, thus far.
Listen to Kendrick Lamar “Euphoria” below.
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