Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Blasts In at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100
The seething rap battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake spills into the upper reaches of the latest Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, tilted in the former’s favor. Lamar’s “Not Like Us” launches at No. 1, while his “Euphoria” soars 11-3 in its second week on the survey. Plus, Future, Metro Boomin and Lamar’s former three-week leader “Like That” reignites 8-6. Meanwhile, Drake debuts at No. 7 with his top-charting entry in the clash, “Family Matters.”
Lamar lands his fourth Hot 100 No. 1 and ups his career count to 15 top 10s. Drake adds his record-extending 78th Hot 100 top 10.
As previously analyzed, the rappers’ feud dates back at least a decade, while the latest chapter heightened in March with the release of “Like That,” in which Lamar’s verse serves up alleged disses at Drake and J. Cole. Since then, Lamar, Drake, J. Cole and other hip-hop luminaries, including A$AP Rocky, Rick Ross, The Weeknd and Ye (formerly known as Kanye West), have all been involved, either as targets or hurling their own disses.
The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated May 18, 2024) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, May 14. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
Below is a rundown of the latest Hot 100’s top 10.
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‘Not Like Us’ No. 1
“Not Like Us,” on pgLang/Interscope Records/ICLG, premieres on the Hot 100 with 70.9 million official streams, 5 million radio airplay audience impressions and 15,000 sold in the U.S. in the week ending May 9, despite the scathing track, which namechecks Drake and his 2021 album Certified Lover Boy, having not been released until late Sunday, May 5 (after the May 3 start of the latest charts’ tracking week).
Here’s a recap of Lamar’s four Hot 100 No. 1s, his two most recent of which have debuted at the summit:
- “Not Like Us,” one week at No. 1 to-date, May 18, 2024
- “Like That” (Future, Metro Boomin & Kendrick Lamar), three weeks, beginning April 6, 2024
- “Humble.,” one week, May 6, 2017
- “Bad Blood” (Taylor Swift feat. Lamar), one week, June 6, 2015
“Not Like Us” arrives as the 1,171st No. 1 in the Hot 100’s 65-year history, and the 79th to debut in the top spot.
The track also starts at No. 1 on Streaming Songs, where it’s Lamar’s fifth chart-topper. Its 70.9 million streams mark the top weekly total among R&B/hip-hop titles (defined as those that have hit or are eligible for Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart) since YouTube song user-generated content was removed from chart calculations in 2020. It surpasses the 67.3 million that Drake’s “Way 2 Sexy,” featuring Future and Young Thug, drew in its first week, as reflected on rankings dated Sept. 18, 2021.
“Not Like Us” likewise opens atop the multimetric Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts, as Lamar logs his fourth leader on each list.
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‘Euphoria’ Roars to No. 3
Concurrently, Lamar’s “Euphoria” bounds 11-3 in its second week on the Hot 100. Released April 30 (amid the April 26-May 2 chart tracking week), it drew 49 million streams (up from 28.9 million in its first frame) and 1.9 million in airplay audience (down from 2.5 million) and sold 7,000 (up from 6,000) May 3-9.
Thanks to “Not Like Us” and “Euphoria,” Lamar ups his career total to 15 Hot 100 top 10s. He first reached the region in February 2013 as featured – with Drake, as well as 2 Chainz – on A$AP Rocky’s “F**kin Problems.”
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‘Like That’ Up 22% in Streams
Rounding out Lamar’s trio of titles in the Hot 100’s top 10, his and Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” pushes 8-6. It debuted atop the April 6-dated chart and spent its first three weeks at No. 1. It gained by 22% to 34.2 million streams May 3-9, as well as 13% to 29.4 million in radio reach and 76% to 3,000 sold.
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Drake’s Record-Extending 78th Top 10
Image Credit: Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images Drake’s “Family Matters,” released May 4 and laser-focused on Lamar (and Metro Boomin) lyrically, debuts on the Hot 100 at No. 7 with 38 million streams, 646,000 airplay audience impressions and 5,000 sold through May 9.
With the entrance, Drake adds his record-padding 78th Hot 100 top 10, dating to his first, “Best I Ever Had,” in 2009. “Family Matters” is also his record-extending 331st entry on the chart overall.
Most Billboard Hot 100 Top 10s:
- 78, Drake
- 59, Taylor Swift
- 38, Madonna
- 35, The Beatles
- 32, Rihanna
- 30, Michael Jackson
- 29, Elton John
- 28, Mariah Carey
- 28, Stevie Wonder
- 27, Janet Jackson
- 26, Justin Bieber
- 25, Lil Wayne
- 25, Elvis Presley (whose career start predated the Hot 100’s inception)
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Richman Leads Rest of Top 10
Tommy Richman’s first Hot 100 hit, “Million Dollar Baby,” holds at No. 2 in its second week on the chart, up 54% to 58.3 million streams, 518% to 1.9 million in airplay audience and 58% to 6,000 sold. It tops the multimetric Hot R&B Songs chart for a second week.
Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight,” featuring Post Malone, falls to No. 4 on the Hot 100 after spending its first two weeks on the chart at No. 1. It’s the top-selling song of the week, up 1,192% to 77,000 sold (powered by 73,000 CD singles that shipped during the tracking week).
Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” dips to No. 5 from its No. 3 Hot 100 high, as it notches a third week atop the multimetric Hot Country Songs chart.
Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” slips to No. 8 from its No. 4 best; Benson Boone’s No. 2-peaking “Beautiful Things” falls 5-9 and Teddy Swims’ former one-week No. 1 “Lose Control” descends 6-10, as it tops the Radio Songs chart for a fifth week (73 million in audience, up 4%).
