We're never going to stop talking about the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, are we? The hip-hop feud captivated millions beyond the culture and even more within it, and every little move associated with either rapper ends up becoming another chapter. Most recently, the latest Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated March 15) shows this in a pretty big way for both MCs. Kendrick returned to number one with "luther" featuring the one and only SZA, also clutching "Not Like Us" and "tv off" with Lefty Gunplay at three and four, respectively. As for the 6ix God, his $ome $exy $ongs 4 U cut "NOKIA," without the collab album's other half PARTYNEXTDOOR, landed at number 10.
Last week, Drake exited the Billboard Hot 100, so many fans thought that this marked the end of the PARTYNEXTDOOR collab album $ome $exy $ongs 4 U's run. But "NOKIA" still has legs, and especially in the summertime, we imagine it'll end up becoming one of 2025's biggest hits. We'll see whether or not Kendrick Lamar has more music to release this year or if he will stay afloat with his 2024 material.
Read More: Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX” Still Projected To Outsell Drake’s “$$$4U” On Next Billboard Chart
Drake UMG Lawsuit
However, we know that these titans probably prioritized much more important beef factors beyond chart placements this year. Drake sued UMG over Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us," accusing the label and distributor of unlawfully boosting the commercial performance of defamatory material. K.Dot isn't really a part of the legal matter, but we're sure he's smiling devilishly at the chaos that this case brought about. Fans went wild when the Grammys deleted the segment of their crowd singing along to the diss track on their YouTube page, suggesting to them that corporations are trying to cover their tracks.
We don't know if that even has anything to do with the UMG lawsuit, but nevertheless, you can't take away that theory from fans. Speaking of big ceremonies, hip-hop culture is also scrutinizing Conan O'Brien's Kendrick Lamar and Drake joke at the 2025 Academy Awards. The one thing that we seem to like more than talking about the battle is talking about other people's thoughts on it... At least the charts continue to show fans' engagement with the art.
