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Canadian rapper Drake just let loose a savage diss on his Palestinian-American contemporary DJ Khaled over the latter’s apparent apathy over the plight of his own people.

Drake dropped three new albums, Iceman, Habibti and Maid of Honour, on Friday, with a particularly potent line in one of the songs.

In the song ‘Make Them Pay’ on Iceman, he attacks Khaled directly. “And, Khaled, you know what I mean. The beef was fully live, you went halal and got on your deen. And your people are still waitin’ for a free Palestine. But apparently everything isn’t black and white and red and green, damn.”

The criticism is not new, Khaled has been called out by fans for his silence on Palestine, especially in the context of Israel’s devastating war on Gaza, which started in 2023 and has killed well over 72,500 people so far.

During the war, when celebrities began to come out in support of the Gazan people, he chose instead to continue posting his daily shenanigans, for which he received a lot of flak on online.

Drake has been notably more vocal than Khaled about his desire to see peace in the Middle East, joining prominent stars like Zendaya, Ben Affleck and Zayn Malik in signing a letter calling for an end to the fighting.

In a 2024 statement to The National, Dubai Bling cast member Fadie Musallet — Khaled’s cousin — said the rapper’s silence on Palestinian issues had hurt people. “Khaled always wanted to go to Palestine, but I don’t think he can come there now. They are really hurt by the lack of support, they feel like they have been let down.”

Musallet questioned why his cousin, who had been a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, was so hesitant to speak out when it came to his own people. “At some point there must be a stage where you have to ask yourself how much money is enough. And I know that Khaled is not afraid to use his important voice as he did before, during the Black Lives Matter protests. So what has changed now?”