Rapper Kendrick Lamar appears at the MTV Video Music Awards, on Aug. 27, 2017, in Inglewood, Calif., left, and Canadian rapper Drake appears at the premiere of the series "Euphoria," in Los Angeles on June 4, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP
TORONTO – Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s rap beef held a tight grip on social media last week, but neither star could turn the attention into a No. 1 hit on the Canadian pop charts.
Instead, they were outshone by a Nigerian-American singer named Shaboozey whose TikTok smash “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” held the top spot on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 chart for a second consecutive week.
Lamar’s dance floor Drake diss “Not Like Us” had to settle for a No. 2 debut, while Drake’s “Family Matters” entered the chart at No. 6 this week. Lamar’s “Euphoria” rose to No. 5, up from No. 13.
Their rankings contrast with the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart where Lamar’s presence is much stronger. “Not Like Us” opened at No. 1 this week, while Drake’s single reached No. 7.
Lamar’s “Euphoria” also rose to No. 3 on the U.S. chart, up from No. 11 in its second week, and “Like That,” a Future and Metro Boomin track which features Lamar on a verse, jumped to No. 6 from No. 8.
Drake and Lamar have been embroiled in a cross-border rap battle that brought their simmering tensions of the past decade to a boil in recent weeks.
Not only did their feud spark a trade of lyrical jabs, but it launched an online war between their fanbases over whose songs were better and more popular.
As the conflict played out, a security guard was shot outside of Drake’s Toronto mansion last week in an incident police are still investigating.
Shaboozey’s star has been rising since he appeared on two songs from Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” album. His No. 1 solo single finds its hook on an interpolation of J-Kwon’s 2004 smash “Tipsy.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2024.
