Kendrick beats Drake on the charts, taking No. 1 spot with 'Not Like Us'
Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” — a dance-along track dissing Drake — has become the No. 1 song in the country, marking the second time this year he’s earned the spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for a track dissing the Toronto-born rapper.
His appearance atop the chart comes roughly a week after Lamar released the track amid a nasty rap battle with Drake that engrossed millions of fans for weeks.
The track marks the second time this year that Lamar has appeared in the number one slot on a song taking shots at Drake, after “Like That” – on which the Compton native teamed up with Future and Metro Boomin – also took the No. 1 spot
The news comes as polls show hip hop fans have been leaning toward Lamar’s as the winner of the battle, which is widely considered to be one of the biggest rap feuds in a generation.
Lamar, 36, has released five studio albums and now has four songs that have hit No. 1 on the chart. He has had 15 songs that have appeared in the Top 10 over his career, 17 Grammys to his name, and received a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for one of his critically acclaimed albums, “Damn.”
Drake, 37, has released eight studio albums, won five Grammys, had 13 songs hit No. 1 in the country and over 70 songs hit Top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
“Euphoria”, another diss track from the battle, sits at No. 3, while “Like That” is number 6 on the chart. Drake’s diss track “Family Matters” also made a top 10 appearance, sitting at No. 7 on the chart.
The battle between both rappers has roots going back to 2013, though the beef recently came to a head after Lamar took aim at Drake and J. Cole on “Like That”, in which he rejected the notion that they are rap’s “Big Three.”
Fans across the globe have since been following the feud, as the tracks bring in big numbers on streaming. That even includes members of Congress, where a coalition of lawmakers also started a Hip Hop Power and Justice Task Force earlier this year.
“There’s no question that Kendrick is the victor,” Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) told The Hill last week. “I mean, he’s the better artist overall. He’s a pillar of the culture.”
“Hopefully, it inspires others to keep the culture going in the most in the best ways possible,” Bowman, who founded the task force, said of the rap battle, which he added is “bringing attention to the culture” and “showing the creative brilliance of emcees.”