In recent weeks, Kendrick Lamar and Drake have been at each other’s throats in a highly publicised feud fraught with diss tracks and social media turmoil. During the tumult, a drive-by shooting incident also occurred outside Drake’s home, adding to the drama.
Although such games don’t have scoreboards, it is evident that Lamar has pulled ahead in the race for public support by delivering heavier blows. Alongside the social media discourse, the two rappers have seized the opportunity to profit from the situation by releasing diss tracks.
On Saturday, May 25th, Drake’s diss track ‘Not Like Us’ delivered a potential knockout blow when it broke Drake’s record for the fastest rap song to reach 200million streams on Spotify. The Canadian star previously held the record with ‘God’s Plan’.
According to stats published by RapTV, ‘Not Like Us’ took just 19 days to reach the 200 million mark. Ironically, Lamar likely wouldn’t have broken Drake’s record had the latter avoided the recent feud furore.
Earlier this month, Kendrick broke another of Drake’s previously held records when the diss track became the fastest song in rap history to accumulate 100million streams on Spotify. This also surpassed Drake’s ‘God’s Plan’, the lead single from his 2018 album Scorpion.
The ongoing feud has dominated the Billboard Hot 100 over the past month. According to the chart released on May 13th, Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ debuted at number one and currently holds a steady spot at number two.
Lamar’s previous diss track ‘Euphoria’ reached a respectful number three for its second week on the chart but has since slipped to number 11. Meanwhile, the song that ignited the feud, Metro Boomin and Future’s ‘Like That’, reached number six on May 13th and has now fallen to number seven.
Drake’s position in the fight seems precarious at the moment. His recent diss track, ‘Family Matters,’ which targeted Lamar, initially entered the chart at number seven and has now fallen to number 19. These figures typically demand jubilation, but Lamar is performing exceptionally well.
