The Story of Drake and Puff Daddy's Rocky Relationship

Drake and Puff Daddy have overcome some major drama to get to where they are now.

Not Available Lead
Image via Complex Original
Not Available Lead

When Puff Daddy took the stage at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards this weekend to accept the Best Hip-Hop Video award on Drake's behalf, Twitter tried to gas up the situation, spinning it as more beef between the two. Reports later indicated that the rappers had long ago buried the hatchet and are now friends. Of course, this hasn't always been the case; the pair once had a major disagreement over ghostwriting and beat usage, which included a very public fight at a Miami nightclub in 2014. This timeline charts the ups and downs of Drake and Puffy's falling out and eventual reunion.

Dec. 8, 2014 - Puff Daddy and Drake brawl at DJ Khaled's birthday party in Miami.

Not Available Interstitial

Surprising news hits Twitter from Charlamagne tha God and DJ Sam Sneak that Drake and Puffy had a fight at a Club Liv in Miami during DJ Khaled's birthday party. 

Sneak claims that Drake ended up in the hospital with a dislocated shoulder. (This was later reported by TMZ as well.) Although some claim the fight was over Cassie, Sneak denies this.

Dec. 10, 2014 - Footage surfaces of Puff Daddy calling out Drake for "stealing" the beat to "0-100."

Not Available Interstitial

Footage of Puffy calling Drake out for allegedly stealing the "0-100" beat circulates online soon after their fight grabs headlines. (The footage is months old.) "I gave this shit to this nigga, and this nigga stole this shit," Puffy says before playing "0-100."

Drake later responds with an Instagram post. "They're either talking shit about you or stealing the shit you're talking...either way the name been poppin," he writes.

 

Feb. 12, 2015 - Rap-A-Lot CEO J. Prince defends Drake in Puff Daddy-directed rant.

Not Available Interstitial

Rap-A-Lot CEO J. Prince gets on record to throw shots at Puff Daddy for fighting with Drake. "Drake is family, and the weak shit from Puffy and Suge is on my radar. First of all Puffy feeling like he can put his hands on my family opens the doors for his family to be touched. You reap what you sew," he says. He also takes shots at Birdman and Lil Wayne.

May 18, 2015 - TMZ reports that Drake and Puff Daddy squashed their beef with phone call.

Not Available Interstitial

Aug. 17, 2015 - Puff Daddy addresses the drama during his 'Breakfast Club' appearance.

Not Available Interstitial

Puff Daddy stops by The Breakfast Club to address the drama directly. He claims that the rumors of beef were overblown and confirms that he originally sent Drake the beat for "0-100" for him to ghostwrite. “Yeah, '0-100' was initially a record that was my record and somehow it became a misunderstanding because he was working with the same producers," Puffy says. "Honestly, Drake is my favorite rapper as far as songwriting and albums… It wasn’t anything that was that big of a deal at the end of the day." Interestingly though, he denies hitting Drake. “I did not put hands on Drake, and I do not want any problems with Drake," he says.

He also speaks on the J. Prince diss, saying that he didn't take it that seriously to begin with. "J. Prince has been a long term friend of mine, so me and his conversation was almost like a funny conversation because I knew he didn’t mean it like that." 

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

 

June 4, 2016 - Drake releases "4PM in Calabasas."

Not Available Interstitial

Drake drops his song "4PM in Calabasas," and although Joe Budden sees himself as the primary target, Budden also claims that Drake is dissing Puffy. "He snapped just now, even if he dissed me and Puff the whole time," Budden writes on Twitter, and encourages Puff to answer Drake. "Can’t let a nigga grab the classic bad boy loop, then sing all your hits as he disses u & not fire back lol for HipHop!"

The supposed disses are subtle enough to not really be disses, although as Genius points out, there are some lines that clearly reference Puffy. One notable moment comes when Drake references Puffy's "Take that, take that" line. "Certain shit just too wild to reconcile/Take that, take that, no love in they heart so they fake that/DiCaprio level the way they play that/Damn nigga, what is that?" He also references Puffy's debut album No Way Out, imitating Puffy's laugh from the song "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down." "Even had the/OG’s tryna press me Ha-ha-ha-ha/No way out cause I’m already in it," Drake raps. Puffy declines to respond to any perceived shots on the song.

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

 

Aug. 23, 2016 - Puff Daddy shows up at Drake’s concert in North Carolina, but sits in the back.

Not Available Interstitial

Puff Daddy randomly shows up at Drake's "Summer Sixteen" concert in Greensboro, N.C. Although he seems to be enjoying himself, he sits in the back instead of the VIP section, and isn't photographed with Drake during the show. Many take his presence as a sign that they're all good, but it's hard to tell for sure.

Aug. 28, 2016 - Puff Daddy accepts Drake's VMA, says he's "stuck in traffic."

Not Available Interstitial

Puff Daddy takes the stage at the 2016 VMAs to present the award for Best Hip-Hop Video. After Drake wins for "Hotline Bling" but is nowhere to be found, Puffy accepts the award on his behalf. During his short speech, Puffy claims that Drake is "stuck in traffic," and tells Drake to come pick up the Moonman at his house.

Twitter runs wild with the situation by digging up the old issues between Drake and Diddy. Jokes are made.

Aug. 29, 2016 - Reports indicate that Drake and Puff Daddy have been good friends for a minute.

Not Available Interstitial

Latest in Music