Chanel Got Beef
Kendrick Lamar just turned a diss track into a fashion moment. What happens when hip hop beef walks down the runway?
Lil Kim dressed Chanel from head to toe showing how logomania works along hip-hop culture. Via BuzzFeed © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Psst, I see dead people. That’s the opening line of the track Kendrick Lamar used to seal Drake’s coffin. Metaphorically, of course. Mic drop alert: you’re about to enter the amusing and chaotic world of diss tracks and hip hop feuds, where lyrical jabs carry the weight of cultural commentary.
Hip hop beefs are nothing new, they are practically a subgenre. Nicki Minaj has been trading shady bars for years, clashing with Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Remy Ma… you name it. 90’s rap fans might remember the feud between 50 Cent and Ja Rule. More recently, Eminem went head-to-head with Machine Gun Kelly. But let’s be real: nothing will ever top Mariah Carey’s ‘Obsessed’, lyrics and video included. Chances are, your favorite rapper has a diss track aimed at someone else in the game.
A diss track, simply put, is a song that calls someone out. Things get juicy when it turns into a lyrical ping-pong match, with verses flying back and forth between artists. Recently, we all witnessed the showdown between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Yes, even Chanel entered the chat. Buckle up, I’ll explain how luxury branding ended up walking side-by-side with one of rap’s latest rivalries.
Known to fans as the 2024 Rap Civil War, the tension between both artists started in 2023 and (allegedly) ended in 2025 with Kendrick’s final word in ‘Not Like Us’. There are more names tangled in this mess including J. Cole, Kanye West, and Rick Ross. A lot happened and a lot was said, or should I say recorded?, but at its core, it’s mostly men fighting over who’s the best rapper, throwing around all sorts of accusations, some of them pretty dark. What began as a lyrical feud quickly morphed into a cultural spectacle, dissected both by fans and media.
Things escalated fast. It even reached a point where Drake filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group for defamation over Lamar’s lyrics. Still, K-Dot came out on top. Singing “Say Drake” while staring straight into the Super Bowl Halftime Show camera this year was just one of many Easter eggs in his iconic performance. A week later, he swept the Grammys, walking away with seven awards, five of them for ‘Not Like Us’. I wouldn’t want to be in Drake’s shoes right now. Symbolically and publicly, he kind of lost it.
But here comes the punchline: just a few days after the Grammys, Drake released ‘CRYIN IN CHANEL’. The timing? Comic. Only a week later, The Business of Fashion broke the news: Kendrick Lamar had become one of Chanel’s brand ambassadors. The internet lit up. Were the two of them taking their feud to the runway?
The timing, again, feels ironically funny but it’s important to note that talks around the Chanel deal could have been ongoing for a while. Still, was the high fashion PR team into something? Chanel is known for avoiding polemics. Sure, the brand has a very controversial past, aligned with nazism during World War II, but in modern times, it tries to lay low and leave that history behind.
So why Lamar? Why now? That’s where things get interesting. What’s fascinating about this clash is how well Lamar fits and lifts Chanel’s aesthetic, blending together legacy and precision. The label might not have a men’s line yet but that does not stop the rapper from rocking in the classical tweed fabric and using styling elements like logo bandanas, rings, big pearl necklaces and Chanel glasses in his public appearances.
Kendrick Lamar attending Chanel’s show at Fall 2023 Paris Couture Week. via Kolor Magazine © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
The deeper we go, the more this connection makes sense. Hip hop and luxury fashion have always shared a complicated love affair. Whether or not the elite wants to admit it, rappers have long influenced what’s hot in high fashion. Take for example the introduction of big brands in mainstream daily aesthetics: yes, we’re talking about logomania.
“Quiet luxury” might be a trending topic, but a quick scroll through your favorite rapper’s Instagram tells a louder story. For many artists, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, performative wealth is more than flash, it’s a declaration: I made it. I’m here, whether you like it or not.
In that context, name-dropping big brands in the tracks is almost a rap culture rite of passage. Showing their rich status can also be a display of survival, pride, and visibility in a world that often denies all three. The gold chains, the designer fits, the private jets, they’re all part of the language of success in hip hop.
And it’s not one-sided. Since the 90’s, big personas in fashion have been name-dropping the artists right back. Adidas’ groundbreaking deal with Run-D.M.C marked the first major step in what would become a long-standing relationship. Back then, luxury labels distanced themselves from hip hop, dismissing it as violent, sexist, or vulgar. But the tables have turned. It should be no surprise to see A$AP Rocky as a regular front row guest in so many fashion shows, Anna Wintour sitting next to Cardi B at Alexander Wang’s show in 2018 or Kendrick becoming a Chanel ambassador.
That conservative view it’s retrograde. Hip hop is one of the richest cultural expressions of our time. With many lyrics reaching beyond individual issues but offering social critique and collective reflection. With more women and queer artists like Doechii, Lil Nas X, Ice Spice, and Tyler, The Creator making waves, the genre is evolving and becoming more inclusive.
Luxury brands see this, and they’re leaning in. The growing overlap between high fashion and hip hop, both in lyrics and in campaigns, is no accident. What was once considered marginal is now mainstream. Rap is all over Twitter, TikTok and Instagram over discussions, captions and lip sync videos. These partnerships become specially strategic moves with Gen Z’s attention increasingly focused on authenticity and cultural relevance. They are social media's biggest heavy users. This generation of consumers seeks uniqueness and identification rather than stiffness and aspiration and that’s a path some brands want to pursue to earn their likes and money.
In the end, Kendrick Lamar’s Chanel moment isn’t just a flex, it’s a reflection of how far hip hop has come, and where high fashion is headed. What was once considered too loud, too political, or too “street” is now shaping global style narratives. As the lines between music, branding, and identity continue to blur, one thing is clear: luxury isn’t just about legacy anymore, it’s about who’s writing the next verse. Call it loud, call it performative but you can’t say one thing about this movement: it’s not fresh.
