Hip Hop

Drake’s Impressive Chart Run Comes To An End As Kendrick Lamar Set New Record

Kendrick Lamar set to break Billboard chart record

Kendrick Lamar Drake
Kendrick Lamar, Drake

Drake’s impressive run on the Billboard chart has come to an end as his very formidable foe Kendrick Lamar set a new record for himself.

Drake and Kendrick Lamar have been having a bitter rivalry this year and so far K.Dot seems to still have the upper hand. For the first time since April 2022, the Canadian rapper is not present on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as a solo artist or as a feature. For the past decade, Drizzy has almost always maintained a presence on the top music chart in the world. That’s how dominant he has been in the music space.

Is this the end of an era for Drake or is this just a minor setback for him? This isn’t the case for Kendrick Lamar who set a new chart record this week after his song “Not Like Us” now spent its 21st week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, making it the longest-running No. 1 on the chart in its 35-year history. Since the chart’s inception in 1989, Lil Nas X held the record for the longest-running No. 1 song with his smash hit “Old Town Road” having a firm grip atop the chart for 20 weeks in 2019.

Kendrick Lamar also has his eyes set on breaking another record as “Not Like Us” now sits atop the Billboard’s Rap Streaming Songs chart for an impressive 20 weeks, tying the third place with Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.” Psy’s “Gangnam Style” and Desiigner’s “Panda” tied for first place with 23 weeks at No. 1. K.Dot is only four weeks away from breaking that record.

This is perhaps a sad situation for Drake, but one can argue that he hasn’t dropped much music this year outside of his beef with Kendrick Lamar. Last year he hinted that he would be taking a break from music after delivering his 2023 album, For All The Dogs, citing exhaustion from constantly touring or recording music over many years.

Another thing that might be affecting Drake’s streaming is the public view of him since the Kendrick Lamar feud after the Compton rapper made some damning claims about the 6 God in his songs. This isn’t a good look in light of Diddy’s legal troubles for similar allegations.

Nevertheless, fans have been calling for new music from Drake so let’s hope it’s just a case of listeners growing tired of his old music.