The 2025 World Series pits two of MLB's most popular sides against one another, with the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers set to clash over four (or more) games in pursuit of the Commissioner's Trophy.
For two of rap's most notable wordsmiths, there's more than just bragging rights on the line, too.
Drake and Kendrick Lamar are apt mascots for the AL-winning Blue Jays and NL champion Dodgers, with both displaying a passion for the sides throughout their glittering musical careers. And although they're not central to the on-field results, rest assured their dueling affiliations will have the sports and pop cultural worlds talking throughout the Fall Classic.
As the world's most notorious bandwagon fan, it's easy to see why some would be hesitant to label Drake a Blue Jays supporter. However, if there is one thing the platinum-selling artist shows love for, it's his hometown.
Drake was a regular presence at Raptors games during their march to the NBA title in 2019. There's reason to believe he could do the same during the Blue Jays' World Series push.
Following Toronto's comeback win in Game 7 of the ALCS, Drake took to social media to praise his hometown team.
Drake followed the action on his Instagram story, narrating a clip of the final out as his viewers watched on.
"One strike away, we're going to the big show," Drake said as Jeff Hoffman's fastball slipped past Julio Rodriguez. "Get the boys a pizza and some Cokes."
He even made a post to celebrate the big occasion. The image -- a grainy shot of him and TV presenter and model Johanna Leia -- enjoying a dinner date at Dodger Stadium in 2021.
"World Series bound," he captioned.
Drake famously alluded to the Blue Jays' last World Series appearance during his brief feud with Meek Mill in the mid-2010s. His second diss track towards the Philadelphia-based MC, "Back to Back", featured a variety of cultural and sports references. None were as salient as the Jays, though. The cover art featured a still image of Toronto fans celebrating Joe Carter's walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series. Carter's homer condemned the Philadelphia Phillies to defeat in the Fall Classic and landed the Blue Jays their second-straight Commissioner's Trophy. Hence the title, back-to-back.
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Drake hails from Toronto. He has been vocal about his affinity for his hometown throughout his career, bringing "The 6" into the pop culture nexus.
A Los Angeles native, Lamar's ties to the Dodgers are pretty extensive. He tossed a first pitch at a game in 2015, shortly after the release of his critically acclaimed album, "To Pimp a Butterfly."
Dodger Stadium also played host to Lamar's "The Hillbillies" music video shoot. Lamar and cousin Baby Keem traded bars atop the outfield grass while backed by Evilgiane's ethereal production.
Then, there was Lamar's 2024 track, "Dodger Blue." The track serves as a love letter to Los Angeles, from its leafy palm trees to neighborhoods like Gardena and Compton -- places which have often been misrepresented in mainstream media but have long represented hubs of Black life. What better way to pay tribute to the city where he's from than by honoring one of its most well-known sporting franchises?
Lamar is from Compton, Calif. Both of his parents hail from the South Side of Chicago, but the family relocated to California three years after Lamar's birth. He and his family grew up in Section 8 housing, and there were times when they were homeless.
Lamar went to Robert E. McNair Elementary School. He was encouraged to become a writer and eventually found a connection with poetry. Lamar realized he could translate his feelings into verse, and he combined that skill with his interest in hip hop music to form lyrics.
As two of the music industry's biggest figures, Lamar and Drake have been on each other's radar for more than a decade. The two first came together for a collaboration back in 2011, when Lamar featured on "Buried Alive Interlude" off Drake's 2011 album "Take Care."
The pair were pitted as competitors. But the collaboration continued for former Top Dawg Entertainment standout Lamar and his October's Very Own (OVO) counterpart, with Drake returning the favor on Lamar's 2012 track "Poetic Justice." The duo also lent their voices to A$AP Rocky's "F -- in' Problems."
MORE: Full details on beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar
Things were copacetic ... until they weren't. The first real signs of conflict between the two parties came back in 2013, when Lamar asserted that he wasn't worried about any of his rap contemporaries, including Drake.
A cold world ensued until Oct. 2023, when Drake released "First Person Shooter" alongside J. Cole. Drake offered a few fairly benign barbs at Lamar's expense, claiming he would have taken Lamar's fanbase had he opted to lay down more politically conscious lyrics.
Lamar laid quiet for the next few months. In May 2024, he returned with a vengeance, dropping a verse on Future and Metro Boomin's "Like That" that had the music industry talking.
That set the stage for a flurry of diss tracks between the two artists, none more notable than "Not Like Us." In the track, which climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard charts, Lamar accused Drake of being a pedophile, among other things. His performance at Super Bowl 59 -- centerpieced by his rendition of "Not Like Us" -- assured that Lamar, not Drake, was the victor of one of rap's most consuming feuds.