Drake Takes Aim at Kendrick Lamar Beef in Nostalgia-Packed ‘Nokia’ Music Video: See the Fan Theories

• Drake’s music video for new song “Nokia” dropped Monday
• Fans are convinced that Drake is firing back at rapper Kendrick Lamar amid their ongoing rap beef
• The owl imagery at the end of the clip was perhaps the most glaring reference

Did Drake take aim at Kendrick Lamar with his new music video?

The “Hotline Bling” rapper dropped the music video for his new song “Nokia” on Monday, March 31 from the Some Sexy Songs 4 U album — his collaboration with Partynextdoor.

The black-and-white music video directed by Theo Skudra shows Drake, 38, surrounded by dancers while toting a bulky cell phone, wandering through a maze with a game of Snake from the OG Nokia phone (feel old yet?) projected on the walls and owls.

Fans are convinced that Drake is firing back at Lamar, 37, amid their ongoing rap beef with the nostalgia-inspired music video.

One fan noticed the callback to Lamar’s dance moves in the “Not Like Us” music video, calling Drake “calculated” for working in the awkward dad grooves.

Another pointed out the black-and-white filter used to film the “Nokia” music video, which was also implemented for “Not Like Us.”

“Okay so I’m not the only one who thought the video is giving Kendrick,” someone added. “drake gotta be trolling kendrick for sure. the handshake, the owls, the birdseye view, the dances, the choreo,” another fan wrote.

The owl imagery at the end was perhaps the most glaring reference fans caught onto. Drake uses an owl as his logo for merchandise and OVO Sound, his record label.

The end of Lamar’s “Not Like Us” music video features the rapper staring down an owl and then placing it in a cage before walking away. At the end of “Nokia,” six owls are seen perching on equipment, with one looking directly into the camera, which could allude to Drake never being caged.

Fans connected Drake’s use of the owls to the “Not Like Us” music video, speculating that Drake is telling fans — and Lamar — that he can’t be caged by Lamar.

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“The art of perspective. From the owl’s viewpoint (Drake), it’s free.. no worries in sight. From the hater viewpoint (Kendrick), he thought the owl was caged and boxed in, but little does he know… never that,” one fan theorized.

“Love Drake ending the Nokia video with the numerous owls still doing their thing unscathed, obviously a call back to Kendrick having the owl in a cage,” another pointed out. “And then ending it with the wordsNOKIA- the indestructible phone.”

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Drake and Lamar’s rap beef has been ongoing since 2023. It reached new heights at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, where Lamar performed his Grammy-winning diss track “Not Like Us” and made several references to their feud including an “a minor” necklace and bringing Drake’s ex Serena Williams.

Drake also filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group in January, alleging defamation for releasing and promoting “Not Like Us.” Per the filing, UMG allegedly “approved, published, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track that falsely accuses Drake of being a pedophile and calls for violent retribution against him.”

UMG denied the accusations and is seeking dismissal of the lawsuit in a motion filed on March 17. The label claims that Drake “lost a rap battle that he provoked” and “sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds.”