A historic two-year run pushes Kendrick to the top of Billboard’s year-end rankings.

Kendrick Lamar closes out 2025 with a major accomplishment: he is officially the highest-ranking rapper of the year and the artist behind the #1 highest-ranking rap album on Billboard’s Year-End charts. This distinction reflects combined performance across both the Hot 100 and the Billboard 200, making it one of the most meaningful metrics of year-long dominance.

What makes this achievement even more remarkable is that Kendrick had a relatively quiet 2025 in terms of releasing new music. Outside of a few features—most notably several standout appearances on Playboi Carti’s MUSIC and his verse on Clipse’s “Chains and Whips,” a serious contender for Song of the Year—he didn’t drop a new album or major solo single.

Instead, Kendrick’s chart power came from the aftershocks of his explosive 2024, a year that redefined modern hip-hop. “Not Like Us,” the now-iconic diss track aimed at Drake, became a cultural phenomenon, dominated radio, sparked industry-wide conversations, prompted lawsuits, and earned Grammy gold. His album GNX also maintained remarkable staying power, buoyed by fan-favorite cuts like “luther” and “tv off.”

On top of the music, Kendrick delivered a legacy-defining Super Bowl performance and embarked on one of the highest-grossing hip-hop tours ever.

When it comes to two-year runs, very few artists—hip-hop or otherwise—can match what Kendrick Lamar has done across 2024 and 2025. His dominance wasn’t just loud; it was historic.

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.