Young Thug criticizes Kendrick Lamar in leaked jail call while praising Drake

Young Thug blasts Kendrick Lamar and praises Drake in leaked jail call, questioning Lamar’s refusal to collaborate.

A newly surfaced jail call featuring Young Thug has stirred conversation across the hip-hop community after the rapper criticized Kendrick Lamar while praising Drake.

In the leaked audio, Young Thug, 34, appeared frustrated that Lamar allegedly turned down his request to collaborate on his 2023 album Business Is Business. The rapper questioned Lamar’s approach to features, noting his selective appearances on songs, particularly with his cousin Baby Keem. Thug suggested that Lamar should be more open to working with established artists.

Young Thug Goes Off on Kendrick Lamar after Kendrick couldn’t give him a feature for his album “Business is Business”😂

“you supposed to be a nigga blessing niggas, that’s why these niggas will never be bigger than drake, EVER in life..” pic.twitter.com/fIUUaECkA3

— GUNNA DAILY💙 (@Gunnnaupdates) September 2, 2025

“Why wouldn’t you wanna do a feature for a superstar?” Thug said in the call. He compared Lamar’s reluctance to the willingness of artists like Lil Durk and Lil Baby, pointing out that collaborations with him could also lead to chart-topping success.

Later in the conversation, Thug shifted to praising Drake, highlighting how the Toronto rapper contributed two verses to Business Is Business despite Thug’s legal situation. He credited Drake with helping numerous artists advance their careers and contrasted that with Lamar’s reputation.

“That’s why they’ll never be bigger than Drake,” Thug said. “Buddy f*** with everybody. You know how many lives Drake changed?”

The leaked call is the latest in a series of recordings from Young Thug’s time in jail that have spread online in recent days. As of now, neither Thug, Kendrick Lamar, nor Drake have publicly responded to the comments.