This shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Have you heard the track “Band For Band” with Lil Baby and Central Cee? Well, Kendrick Lamar and Drake seem to be in a similar battle of achievements. For every headline tour Kendrick announces, Drake matches it. For every award Kendrick wins, Drake secures a top-selling milestone.

Today, Spotify Wrapped revealed its 2024 rap results, and unsurprisingly, Drake claimed the top spot. Following him are Travis Scott, Kanye West, Eminem, and Kendrick Lamar. What’s remarkable is that Drake achieved this without releasing an album or many singles this year.

Spotify's Top 10 most streamed rap artists of 2024 Global ?

1. Drake
2. Travis Scott
3. Kanye West
4. Eminem
5. Kendrick Lamar
6. Future
7. Metro Boomin
8. 21 Savage
9. Playboi Carti
10. XXXTENTACION#SpotifyWrapped2024 pic.twitter.com/ugT8c5sJh5

— Kurrco (@Kurrco) December 4, 2024

Recently, I’ve been reflecting on how Spotify numbers have become my go-to metric for gauging popularity. It’s straightforward: if people are genuinely playing your music a lot, the streams will show it (as long as bots aren’t involved). With that in mind, Drake being the most-streamed rapper is significant. What stands out is how many artists in the top tier haven’t even dropped albums this year. This could mean nostalgia is dominating or fresh releases aren’t resonating. Either way, it feels like something’s off, and I’m not a fan.

Quincy

Quincy is the creator of Ratings Game Music. He loves writing about music, taking long walks on beaches, and spaghetti that fights him back.