Pharrell's New 'Despicable Me 4' Track May Double as a Drake Diss

Pharrell allegedly dissed Drake on a song for a kids’ movie. Is the song called “Double Life” because it has a double meaning? Was it made for Despicable Me 4 because this is despicable work? Unpack it all below 👇️ 

In other news today:

• Billboard Hot 100 📈 

• Pharrell’s new Despicable Me track may be a Drake diss 😳 

• Lil Yachty & ian go viral for mixed reactions at Summer Smash ❗️ 

• Discover new music with the Rap Index 🎵 

• Industry Insights 🔎 

Billboard Hot 100

The above chart shows Billboard’s Hot 100 ranking for this week. The Hot 100 ranks songs based on streaming activity, radio airplay audience impressions, and sales data—all measured by Luminate.

Every rap song took a dip this week. Eminem’s “Houdini” went from #2 to #8. Tommy Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby” dropped to #5 after staying steady at #3 for a few weeks. Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” and Future’s “Like That” declined only by one spot, while GloRilla’s “Wanna Be” and Central Cee’s “BAND4BAND” dropped five spots.

Pharrell’s New ‘Despicable Me 4’ Track May Also Be a Drake Diss

Pharrell Williams’ newest track might not be as kid-friendly as the movie it appears in. The artist has been a part of the Despicable Me family since the first film was released in 2010, contributing to the film's scoring with production and original songs. 

But unlike the “Happy” earworm anthem from Despicable Me 2, Pharrell may have pulled off a crazy double entendre, making a song that’s a soundtrack and a diss for Despicable Me 4. 

What did Pharrell say?

On his new track, “Double Life,” fans think he is taking the opportunity to throw some jabs at rap’s current punching bag—Drizzy. 

He sings on the song, "Hey, what are you hiding? (Watch), What you do when you're gone? (Hey), Nothing wrong being private (Watch), Make sure it ain't wrong (Yeah), Your life double-sided (Watch), Two-faced like coins, What side do I get? (Watch), What side are you on?"

The sentiment of the lyrics could be playing into the accusations Kendrick Lamar made about Drake hiding everything from a daughter to his OVO crew’s inappropriate relationships with younger girls. 

In verse two, Pharrell says, “Lie detector time (Watch) / Do you feel bad when you lie? (Watch).” Since Drake’s beef with Kendrick simmered down, numerous claims he made on his diss tracks have proven false, further fueling the theory that Pharrell’s pen is pointed at him.

Sure, Pharrell could just be talking about the antics of the movie’s main character, Gru. Nevertheless, the timing and lyrics in the song seem a little too calculated, considering their history. Not to mention, “Double Life” is a slick title for a song that addresses two different people, Gru and Drake, at the same time. 

The beef between Pharrell and Drake 

Champagne Papi fired shots at Pharrell while featured on Travis Scott’s 2023 song “Meltdown.” While reigniting his beef with Pusha T, Drake says he melted down an auctioned-off chain from Pharrell and doesn’t fuck with Louis Vuitton anymore since Pharrell took over from the late Virgil Abloh. 

He spits on the song, “fuck all that spinnin' the narrative shit, I melt down the chains that I bought from yo' boss, Give a fuck about all of that heritage shit, Since V not around, the members done hung up the Louis, they not even wearing that shit.” 

Pharrell never publicly acknowledged the verse, and almost like clockwork at this point, Drake was caught lying. Chains that once belonged to Pharrell can be seen in his “Family Matters” music video, published in May. 

Kendrick, however, took issue with Drake’s “Meltdown” verse and addressed it on “euphoria,” rapping, “I don’t like you poppin’ shit at Pharrell, for him, I inherit the beef, / Yeah, fuck all that pushin’ P, let me see you push a T.” 

What fans are saying

Fans are shocked that Pharrell even went this route. X user ikepfanclub tweeted on June 15 that “Drake fans aren’t hip hop fans. You know how egregious you have to be to get PHARRELL to diss you. He’s like the nicest guy in the industry.” 

Nevertheless, others online are supporting the chaos.

While Drake is hiding away on his ranch (to appropriate country music next?), Pharrell and his allies are making big moves. K. Dot is hosting his Juneteenth concert this week, hopefully with the first live performance of “Not Like Us.” He is also pulling a Power Rangers team-up morph with Pharrell and starring in his LEGO life story Piece by Piece. 

You’ll Either Love or Hate Lil Yachty & ian’s Viral Moment at Summer Smash 

Lil Yachty brought out a surprise guest during his Summer Smash set on June 16, which evoked love-it-or-hate-it reactions. ian attempted to recreate Yachty’s iconic festival walkout from 2021’s Summer Smash when coming out to perform his hit song “Figure it Out.”

The performance received mixed reviews, with many people disliking the walkout (ian’s version) and others accusing Yachty of being a hypocrite for giving ian the co-sign. 

This isn’t the first time the duo has linked up—they were spotted in the studio together last month. That didn’t receive backlash, but fans see the performance as a step too far from Yachty. 

The tweet by Donte Thomas refers to Yachty’s opinion on the current state of hip-hop that he shared at a 2023 Musicians on Musicians event by Rolling Stone. 

“Hip-hop is in a terrible place…The state of hip-hop right now is a lot of imitation. It’s a lot of quick, low-quality music being put out. It’s a lot less risk-taking, it’s a lot less originality… People are too safe now. Everyone is so safe. I'd rather take the risk than take the L,” he said. 

Online critics have dubbed ian a “culture vulture” for his similarity to established artists like Yeat, Chief Keef, and Future. Fans like Donte think that Yachty embracing ian on such a public stage directly contradicts what he preached last year. 

Lil Yachty is a big supporter of rising talent 

Is Yachty a hypocrite, or did ian’s aura win him over? Boat has a track record of helping other underground artists get their spotlight. His recently launched label, Concrete Boys, has four up-and-coming rappers he has mentored since 2021, including Draft Day and Karrahbooo. 

“I love working with newer artists, up-and-coming artists…I just fuck with new talent. Not even like, ‘let me sign you, get under my wing…Just ‘hey, I’ve been in this spot before. I know what that’s like, bada bing, bada boom,’ ” he said in a 2021 interview with Rolling Stone. 

Ian still gets applause

Despite the hate, ian has a large army of supporters. “Is that ian’s first time entertaining that kinda crowd? great stage presence, he didn’t seem nervous at all,” X user ladidaix said in a June 16 tweet. 

While ian may not be able to beat the unoriginal allegations, you can’t deny his popularity. Adding Summer Smash to the many viral moments he’s had this year.

The Rap Index ft. Don Toliver, LUCKI, Lil Baby, BossMan Dlow & More

The Rap Index is a way to follow and discover new music. Divided into 4 categories describing rap subgenres, songs are placed according to their style and sound—giving you a better idea of what songs will appeal to your musical taste. Only releases from the previous New Music Friday are included to help keep you up to date.

RapTV’s Ranking of Rap Index Songs

1. “Tore Up” by Don Toliver (Listen on Spotify)

2. “Gerskiway” by LUCKI, Rylo Rodriguez, Veeze (Listen on Spotify)

3. “Choppa” by Byron Messia, Lil Baby (Listen on Spotify)

4. “Devil Is A Lie” by Tommy Richman (Listen on Spotify)

5. “LUV 4 YA” by Destroy Lonely (Listen on Spotify)

6. “SportsCenter” by BossMan Dlow (Listen on Spotify)

7. “Act bad twin!” by Chow Lee, Cash Cobain, Bay Swag (Listen on Spotify)

8. “Twisting Our Fingers” by Lil Gotit, Young Thug, Lil Keed (Listen on Spotify)

• Scooter Braun is stepping out of the game. After 23 years of managing superstars, including Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, he announced his retirement on June 17. 

• Nas is about to “Get Down” on Broadway. He is working on the musical stage adaptation of the 1984 hip-hop movie Beat Street.

• Diddy is facing further consequences for his actions. He returned his key to the city of New York after footage was released of him attacking his ex-girlfriend Cassie in 2016. 

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