"Make Them Pay" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake from his studio album Iceman (2026). Produced by Ovrkast and Flywilliums, it samples "Free" by Deniece Williams. The song is a diss track towards numerous artists, chiefly rapper Kendrick Lamar.
Background Drake first previewed the song on May 14, 2026 in the fourth episode of his Iceman livestream series.
Content In the song, Drake takes shots at Kendrick Lamar with references to the escalation of their highly publicized feud in 2024. He then targets hip-hop artists who were once friendly with him for staying neutral in the feud (J. Cole and DJ Khaled) or turning against him (Rick Ross); Drake mentions that he helped advance Ross' career and further criticizes Khaled, who is Palestinian, for not expressing support for Palestine in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Drake also disses the musician Pharrell and rapper Pusha T, subtly referencing the song "Chains & Whips" by Clipse. He insists that Lamar's streaming statistics are inflated and expresses a desire to be an independent artist.
Critical reception The song received generally positive reviews. Armon Sadler of Billboard ranked it as the fourth best song from Iceman. Peter A. Berry of Variety wrote Drake "clips Rick Ross and DJ Khaled with petty wit and efficiency. Imagine John Wick sniping two henchmen with one bullet". Kyann-Sian Williams of NME opined that the song "work[s] because Drake finally sounds his age instead of endlessly chasing younger rappers' cadences." Los Angeles Times described Drake as almost evoking sympathy on the song with the lyrics "I need compliments 'cause lately it's just falling-outs and disagreements / Industry is really evil / And I faced the way they paint me, but it hurts just like the Philly Eagles"; they added, "Drake is a rococo master of self-pity, but damned if he doesn't have a real reason for it this time."
Charts + Chart performance for "Make Them Pay" Chart (2026) Peakposition Australia (ARIA) 31 Australia Hip Hop/R&B (ARIA) 14 Greece International (IFPI) 29 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 28 Nigeria (TurnTable Top 100) 94 Norway (IFPI Norge) 100 South Africa Streaming (TOSAC) 8 UK Streaming (OCC) 31 United Arab Emirates (IFPI) 15
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