Drake Reigns Supreme As Best-Selling Rapper Of 2024, Despite Rap Beef Loss To Kendrick Lamar
If you let the internet tell it, Drake was knocked off the mountaintop after losing his 2024 rap beef to Kendrick Lamar, and there’s no sign of being able to regain supremacy. Nonetheless, he still reigned supreme on the commercial side, as he was named the best-selling rapper of 2024.
The Chart Data X account shared the announcement on Sunday (Jan. 5), reporting that the 38-year-old sold over eight million total album units in the United States in 2024. This is an especially noteworthy achievement, as it marks his 10th consecutive year being the best-selling rapper, but also because the Toronto superstar did not release a new album.
Instead, his 2024 was focused on taking down his rival K. Dot with tracks like “Push Ups” and “Family Matters,” plus six records from his 100GB series and guest spots on songs with 4Batz, Sexyy Red, Camila Cabello, and Gordo.
Fans in the comments focused on the Compton rapper and how he could not topple Drizzy in the numbers battle. “Damn Kendrick, who had his best year, still couldn’t beat Drake in sales even tho Drake didn’t drop an album lmao,” one user wrote.
Another user cited Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics from his “Like That” collaboration with Future and Metro Boomin. “Dang, I keep hearing a lot about this guy named Big Me, but he never shows up in any of the lists,” they wrote. There is much anticipation for Drake’s next project given what he endured in 2024, and one fan believes it will help to continue his legendary run. “Drake is about to have an even bigger year this year… If he drops a solo album, numbers will be insane,” they said.
While the 6 God has something to celebrate, he is seemingly focused on settling old scores and making it clear where he stands with people who have betrayed him. This past Friday (Jan. 3), a track titled “Fighting Irish Freestyle” produced by Conductor Williams surfaced online. He did not mention anyone by name, but several bars seemed aimed at Lamar in addition to DeMar DeRozan and LeBron James.
The song title itself is a reference to the mascot for James’ high school basketball team St. Vincent-St. Mary in Akron, Ohio. “The world fell in love with the gimmicks, even my brothers got tickets/ Seemed like they loved every minute/ Just know this sh*t is personal to us, and it wasn’t just business, Analyzin’ behavioral patterns, it’s somewhat suspicious,” he rapped, referring to the hoopers attending The Pop Out concert in June 2024.
LeBron James infamously expressed his enjoyment of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” during the 2024 Olympics, while teammate Steph Curry claimed he was getting tired of the song. Later on, Drake congratulated the US men’s Basketball team for securing the gold medal, but notably excluded LBJ from any of the photos that he posted, which raised eyebrows given their longtime friendship.