Kendrick Lamar has scored another win over Drake by blocking him from reaching the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
This week, Kendrick’s track “Luther” with SZA continues its reign at number one for an eighth straight week, holding off strong competition from Drake. The 6 God had been aiming to take over with his standout “Nokia” from $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, which climbed to number two — but still couldn’t overtake his longtime rival.
If “Nokia” had made it to number one, it would’ve become Drake’s 15th chart-topping single and his first in nearly two years since “First Person Shooter,” which featured J. Cole.
Originally released in November on Kendrick’s GNX album, “Luther” has led the chart since February and remains a dominant force. Billboard reports it racked up 63.1 million radio airplay audience impressions in the past week — and that number is still growing.
The song also pulled in 22.7 million official on-demand streams and sold around 2,000 copies.
The duet, which features samples from Cheryl Lynn and Luther Vandross, is expected to hold strong at number one next week, helped by the buzz from its newly released and highly anticipated music video.
Meanwhile, “Nokia” may slip to third place as the impact of its own well-received video begins to fade.
Despite not dethroning “Luther,” Drake still has plenty to celebrate.
Earlier this month, he officially surpassed The Beatles for the most total weeks charting on the Billboard 200. His albums have now spent over 3,348 weeks on the chart — a streak that began back in 2009 with So Far Gone.
Drake also became the first artist to pass 500 million RIAA-certified units, combining albums, singles, and features.
This record solidifies his status as the highest-certified artist in RIAA history — a title he’s held since overtaking Eminem in 2022. His RIAA achievements include six diamond-certified singles: “God’s Plan,” “One Dance,” “Hotline Bling,” “Work” (with Rihanna), “Sicko Mode” (with Travis Scott), and “Life Is Good” (with Future), making him the rapper with the most diamond singles, excluding Post Malone.
