While fans may dispute who won the recent rap battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, just one finished on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week.
Lamar's "Not Like Us," which was released on May 4, hit No. 1 on the charts on Monday, according to Billboard.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper released four diss tracks against fellow rapper Drake over the course of a week, including "euphoria," "6:16 in LA," "meet the grahams" and "Not Like Us." "Euphoria" also rose from No. 11 to No. 3 on the charts this week.
Drake's response track to "euphoria" and "6:16 in LA," titled "Family Matters," reached No. 7 on the Hot 100 chart.
Tensions between the two have been bubbling for about a decade, but their feud reached new heights in recent weeks.
After Lamar dissed Drake and J. Cole in a guest verse on rapper Future and producer Metro Boomin's song "Like That," a flurry of diss tracks were released, with Drake and Lamar taking jabs at one another over the course of seven additional songs.
Diss tracks have historically been used by rappers to assert dominance. However, in the age of social media, fans often stand by their favorite artists regardless of the content or quality of the music, making it harder to determine a clear winner in these lyrical battles.
Still, rap fans have delighted in the songs that have come out of this conflict, despite some of the songs holding serious accusations against each artist.
Following the release of "Not Like Us," several social media users posted videos from various clubs in different cities, showing people dancing to Lamar's diss track.
Spectators of the rap beef have now become participants. On May 5, following the release of "Not Like Us," Metro Boomin' released a free instrumental called "BBL Drizzy," a nod to viral rumors about Drake getting cosmetic surgery. He challenged people to create "the best verse" in order to win a free beat by him.
Dozens have hopped on the "BBL Drizzy" beat and the instrumental has gone viral on several social media platforms. It appeared on the trending page on YouTube, and over 33,000 videos used the hashtag #BBLDrizzy on TikTok as of Monday afternoon.
