Old classics and new heat prove hip-hop fans are streaming across generations.

Kanye West’s Graduation officially stands as the most-streamed hip-hop album of 2025, which is wild considering it originally dropped all the way back in 2007. It’s also personally my favorite Kanye album and one of my favorite albums of all time, so seeing it dominate nearly two decades later feels both surreal and oddly fitting.

With timeless tracks like “Flashing Lights” and “I Wonder,” the project continues to age beautifully, pulling in over 8 billion streams across platforms in 2025.

The album’s continued success speaks to how deeply Graduation has embedded itself into hip-hop culture. Its glossy production, stadium-sized hooks, and emotional core make it endlessly replayable. In a year where nostalgia and rediscovery played a huge role in listening habits, it makes perfect sense that this record surged back to the top.

On the newer end of the spectrum, Kendrick Lamar’s GNX finished as the most-streamed album on Spotify overall in 2025 with over 2.9 billion streams. While it technically dropped in 2024, its momentum carried heavily into this year thanks to standout tracks like “tv off,” “luther,” and “squabble up,” which stayed in heavy rotation. The album’s sustained impact shows just how strong Kendrick’s grip on the culture remains.

Together, these two albums tell a bigger story about 2025: hip-hop fans weren’t choosing between eras. They were embracing everything at once.

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.