October DealsAmazon USOctober deal check: compare before you payAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.Check DealsSlow PC?RecommendedPC slow today? Run a repair scan before it gets worseResolve common Windows issues and optimize system performance.Scan NowOctober DealsAmazon USDeal season is back - check today's better picksAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.See Picks×
Skip to content
DocumentaryTube
Admit one · Blog

Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake: Who Won the 2024 Rap Battle?

Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” topped the Hot 100 and won five Grammys, giving him the clearest evidence-based claim to winning the 2024 battle.
Opened Runtime3 min Written byDocumentaryTube Team
Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Kendrick Lamar has the stronger case for winning the 2024 battle by public impact and institutional recognition. His song “Not Like Us” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and later won five Grammy Awards. That is compelling evidence of cultural reach and recognition—not an objective score of every diss track, a verdict on every listener’s taste, or proof of the allegations exchanged in the songs.

What counts as a win?

There is no official scorecard for a rap battle. The answer depends on the criteria: chart performance and public reach favor Lamar; major awards also favor Lamar. Lyricism, rebuttal timing, and strategy require interpretation, and listeners can reasonably rank the tracks differently.

Measure What the record shows What it supports
Public impact “Not Like Us” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 2024, as reported by The Washington Post. Lamar’s track achieved a clear chart milestone and became the battle’s defining public outcome.
Institutional recognition At the 2025 Grammys, the Recording Academy gave “Not Like Us” five awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video. See the Recording Academy’s results and winners list. The song received unusually broad recognition from the Academy; awards are not a universal measure of battle craft.
Lyricism and strategy No objective score or comparable statistic is established by the cited coverage. Any winner on these dimensions is a critical judgment, not a settled fact.
Truth of accusations The artists made serious allegations in diss tracks; the cited material does not establish them as facts. Allegations should not be counted as proven evidence that either artist won.

How the battle escalated

The long-running tension intensified after Lamar’s verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That.” In late April and early May 2024, a rapid exchange included Lamar’s “euphoria” and “6:16 in LA,” Drake’s “Family Matters,” Lamar’s “Meet the Grahams” and “Not Like Us,” and Drake’s “The Heart Part 6.” A federal court later described the clash as eight diss tracks released over 16 days. The Washington Post’s contemporary coverage and the court opinion document the scale and sequence of the exchange.

Why “Not Like Us” became the clearest measure

The song’s chart debut made the battle’s public impact unusually visible: it opened at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in May 2024. In 2025, the Recording Academy recognized it across recording, songwriting, performance, and video categories. Together, those outcomes give Lamar the most concrete case for a win based on reach and institutional recognition.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
#1 Best Overall
Sale
MUSIC[2 LP]
  • Playboi Carti's fourth studio album is MUSIC

They do not settle which artist delivered the sharper bar, made the stronger tactical choice, or produced a listener’s favorite track. Those are interpretive questions. Drake publicly rejected the idea that Lamar was outperforming him; in a Billboard cover story, he said, “I know good and well that Kendrick’s not murdering me, at all, in any platform,” a statement reproduced by the Associated Press. It records Drake’s view, not independent proof of the outcome.

What the allegations and lawsuit do—and do not—show

Both artists’ tracks included claims about private conduct. Those are allegations made in the context of a diss-track exchange, not facts established by the chart results or awards. Contemporary reporting cautioned that diss tracks can include exaggerations and unsubstantiated rumors. The Associated Press also reported that police had not said a shooting at Drake’s home was caused by the feud.

Rank #2
Sale
Curtain Call: The Hits [Vinyl]
  • Originally released on December 6, 2005, Curtain Call - The Hits features Eminem's most popular songs from his first 4 albums and the 8 Mile soundtrack, released through Aftermath/Interscope

In October 2025, a federal judge dismissed Drake’s defamation case against Universal Music Group. The judge reasoned that a reasonable listener would understand the accusation in “Not Like Us” in the context of a heated rap battle rather than as a sober, verifiable factual statement. That was a ruling about the case and how the song would be understood in context—not a finding that the accusation was true or false. The court opinion sets out the decision.

Drake appealed and argued that listeners understood the song as factual, according to Billboard’s appeal report. That report does not establish a final appellate outcome as of October 8, 2026, so the appeal should not be described as resolved.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
Rank #3
Sale
Enter The Wu-Tang
  • Best Sellers: Top Seller...
  • Format: Vinyl...
  • Label: RCA...
  • Genre: Pop...
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

Verdict

On the clearest measurable criteria—public impact and awards—Kendrick Lamar won the 2024 battle. “Not Like Us” supplied the strongest public result, and five Grammy wins reinforced it. A broader claim that Lamar won every lyrical or strategic dimension goes beyond what these outcomes prove; those judgments remain open to listeners.

Quick Recap

SaleBestseller No. 1
MUSIC[2 LP]
MUSIC[2 LP]
Playboi Carti's fourth studio album is MUSIC
$34.00
SaleBestseller No. 2
SaleBestseller No. 3
Enter The Wu-Tang
Enter The Wu-Tang
Best Sellers: Top Seller...; Format: Vinyl...; Label: RCA...; Genre: Pop...
$20.99
Bestseller No. 4
R.A.P. Music
R.A.P. Music
Non communiqué
$23.99
Rank #4
R.A.P. Music
  • Non communiqué

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

More from the Screening Room

  1. How Kendrick Lamar Referenced the Drake Feud at the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime ShowAdmit one · BlogHow Kendrick Lamar Referenced the Drake Feud at the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime ShowOpened08 OCT 2026Runtime2 min
  2. What Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” Says About His Feud With DrakeAdmit one · BlogWhat Kendrick Lamar's “Not Like Us” Says About His Feud With DrakeOpened08 OCT 2026Runtime2 min
  3. Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show: Every Drake Diss We SpottedAdmit one · BlogKendrick Lamar's Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show: Every Drake Diss We SpottedOpened08 OCT 2026Runtime3 min
Recommended PC Tool
Recommended PC Tool
Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They SpreadFree repair scan
Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?Free driver scan

Two free Windows tools

One Free Minute Could Fix That PC

Before you go - each of these free tools takes about a minute and tackles what quietly slows a Windows PC down.

Special offer. View Outbyte info, uninstall instructions, EULA, and Privacy Policy.