Drake has been named Apple Music’s most popular artiste of 2025, while Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning diss track “Not Like Us” maintained its grip as the platform’s biggest rap song a rare twist that highlights how the rivals continue to dominate global streaming side by side.
Apple Music announced its “’25 Replay” list on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, confirming Drake’s position at the top.
His massive streaming run began in February with “Some Sexy Songs 4 U,” a joint project with PartyNextDoor, and remained strong through the promotional wave for his Iceman album.
Despite the intense feud that shaped much of the year’s musical landscape, Drake’s overall momentum never slowed and Kendrick Lamar’s pointed takedowns never lost their pull.
While Drake ruled total streams, Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” finished 2025 as Apple Music’s biggest rap song for the second year in a row.
The Grammy-winning anthem previously topped the entire platform in 2024, and its repeat victory marks the first time a diss track has ever led the rap category twice.
Their year-long rivalry which generated billions of streams and even propelled Kendrick to a Super Bowl halftime performance cemented both artists’ cultural impact.
However, the wider hype appears to be cooling. “The Bigger Picture,” a podcast created by Elliott Wilson and Uproxx to chronicle the Drake–Kendrick saga, was recently cancelled as the frenzy around the feud began to fade.
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