Kendrick Lamar not only outsmarted Drake in their highly publicized rivalry but also earned significantly more from it.
On Thursday (December 12), Billboard disclosed the estimated earnings from the diss tracks released by the two rap stars earlier this year.
Using data from Luminate, the analytics company behind the Billboard charts, the publication estimated that the feud between Kendrick and Drake has generated nearly $15.4 million in U.S. streaming, digital sales, and publishing revenue.
Kendrick is the clear leader in this battle, earning nearly 87% of that total with tracks like “Not Like Us,” “Like That,” “Meet the Grahams,” and “Euphoria,” which together made just over $13.4 million.
“Not Like Us” stands out as the highest-grossing of the four, bringing in about $7.6 million, followed by “Like That,” his hit collaboration with Future and Metro Boomin that sparked the conflict, which earned $4.6 million.
The eerie track “Meet the Grahams” has earned $795,100, while “Euphoria” generated $441,300. Data for Kendrick’s other diss song “6:16 in LA,” which wasn’t released on streaming platforms, is unavailable.
On the other hand, Drake’s two commercially released diss songs, “Family Matters” and “Push Ups,” have earned only $981,300 and $969,400, totaling just over $1.9 million.
It remains unclear how much Kendrick and Drake personally pocketed from these earnings, as it depends on the details of their label and publishing deals, which are not publicly available.
Billboard has reported the revenue Kendrick Lamar and Drake did throughout their beef
Between both of them: $15.3 million in total
◽️Not Like Us: $7.6 Million
◽️Like That: $4.6 Million
◽️Family Matters: $981,300
◽️Push Up: $969,400
◽️Meet The Grahams: $795,100
◽️Euphoria:… pic.twitter.com/XPpgCrFumJ— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod (@big_business_) December 12, 2024
When considering the overall earnings from the feud, it’s likely that the actual figures are much higher.
As Audiomack co-founder Brian Zizook pointed out on X, “the beef generated multiples of this amount, as both artists enjoyed a significant increase in back catalog consumption.”
Kendrick Lamar’s past albums, such as good kid, m.A.A.d city, To Pimp a Butterfly, and DAMN., saw a notable rise in sales and chart positions, especially on the Billboard 200 in May.
In contrast, Drake experienced a rare dip in his catalog’s performance, with all of his albums that were charting at the time falling several spots.
Though the rivalry has cooled recently, it might reignite in court, as Drake has filed two “pre-action” petitions against Universal Music Group, claiming they illegally gave Kendrick an unfair edge.
Drake accuses the music conglomerate, which oversees both his label Republic and Kendrick’s label Interscope, of using streaming bots and payola to artificially boost the success of “Not Like Us.”
He has also accused UMG of defamation for releasing a song that allegedly labels him as a sex offender.
Drake’s legal battle is set for two hearings, on December 20 and January 16, to decide whether he can depose UMG and other companies named in the lawsuits.
