It's a good time to be a Kendrick Lamar fan. Conversely, it's a tough time to be a Drake fan. Lamar beat Drake is what's being described as the definitive rap battle of the 21st century. Both rappers proved they could hang, but Lamar managed to snag a number one single with "Not Like Us." His streaming numbers have also seen an uptick in recent weeks, while Drake's have dipped. Nobody thinks the 6 God's career is over, but there is a general sense that his reputation has taken a hit. This is something Dame Dash recently explained during a barbershop interview.
Dash, who previously picked Kendrick Lamar to win the battle, had praise for both rappers. He said that their back-and-forth represented the greatest battle in hip-hop history. "As a battle," the mogul asserted. "This is the best battle of all time. I been through... I been in hip-hop for a while, this has been the most impactful battle." High praise from the man who stood by Jay-Z during the legendary Nas battle of the early 2000s. The reason Dash holds Drake vs. Lamar in such high regard is because he felt as though their songs actually impacted each other. Drake, in particular.
Dame Dash Claims Drake Vs K. Dot Is The Best Battle Ever
"The battle songs are changing the trajectory of that artist's life," Dash noted. "It just seems like, things are different for Drake right now. I've never seen this happen before." The co-founder of Roc-A-Fella was shocked by how brutal and critical Lamar got with regards to Drake's personal life. "This sh*t was real," he added. "I mean it turned into war."
There's validity to Dash's statements, but Drake's star power is still immensely brighter than Lamar's. K. Dot was able to score his second solo number one with "Not Like Us," but Drake's "Family Matters" also came it at number seven. Drake still has 11 more number ones that his op. The aforementioned streaming dip is also somewhat misleading. Lamar saw a 49% boost after he won the battle, and Drake saw a 5% fall off. Even with these numbers taken into account, though, Drake lapped Lamar.
The Toronto rapper pulled in 100.7 million streams from May 3-6, while Lamar only managed 50.62 in the same time span. Drake still wins the numbers game at the end of the day. It will be interesting to see how much fan opinion impacts his legacy in the long run, however.