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J Cole Thanks Fans For Supporting His Re-Released Mixtapes On Streaming

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J Cole may have had a pretty turbulent 2024 given the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef, but he’s closing it out on the highest of notes. Moreover, he launched a new audio series – Inevitable – touching on his career, he announced a 2014 Forest Hills Drive tenth anniversary show in Madison Square Garden in New York City (plus a special physical edition with previously unreleased bonus tracks), and he also re-released his old mixtapes The Come Up, The Warm Up, and Friday Night Lights on digital streaming platforms for the first time ever. The North Carolina MC expressed gratitude for his loyal and supportive fanbase in late November.

“This is a very special moment for me,” J. Cole tweeted. “Been waiting patiently for this day, like a lot of yall have. I wanna say Thank you to everybody out there that kept these projects alive, even during all the years they were not on streaming services, especially this project right here. ‘Friday Nights Lights’ finally available now on all platforms. […] To have a full idea of what this means for me personally, you would have to know the whooole journey. This Inevitable series we doing, is that. […] Love to everybody tuning in, it’s really something special. The Come Up, The Warm up, and Friday Night Lights all up finally. Thank you.”

Read More: J Cole Helps Out Fans Who Missed Out On Tickets To His “2014 Forest Hills Drive” Concert But With A Catch

J Cole Thanks His Fans

Elsewhere, J. Cole’s manager Ibrahim Hamad confirmed the bittersweet news that next year’s Dreamville Fest in North Carolina will be the last-ever iteration of the festival. It’s a very reflective moment for the whole collective, but a lot of it is probably falling on Cole’s shoulders as its flagship artist. The battle certainly adds to that context, but it’s nice that he can indulge in this nostalgia alongside his die-hards.

Of course, there’s still plenty of new music on the way, as Daylyt might have another track coming after he and J. Cole were spotted in the studio. So Dreamville fans don’t have to enter a mourning period just yet, especially during this celebratory time with his older material. It was a tough year at times, but 2024 proved to be a pretty awesome stretch for Cole fans all things considered.

Read More: J Cole Fulfills Fans Wishes By Making Special Edition Of “2014 Forest Hills Drive” Widely Available… Sort Of

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Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX” Collaborators Enjoy Massive Uptick In Streaming Numbers

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Kendrick Lamar’s collaborators for his new album, GNX, are receiving a massive boost in streaming numbers, according to a new report from Billboard. Lamar’s sixth studio album features appearances from AzChike, Dody6, Hitta J3, Peysoh, Roddy Ricch, Siete7x, SZA, Wallie the Sensei, Lefty Gunplay, and YoungThreat. GNX dropped last month and immediately debuted atop the Billboard 200 with five of its songs taking up the five highest spots on the Hot 100 chart.

“TV Off,” which features up-and-coming rapper Lefty Gunplay, landed at No. 2 on the chart. Lefty’s catalog has spiked 84% in the time since GNX’s release. To coincide with the highly-publicized collaboration, he dropped his own new album, Most Valuable Gangbanger. At No. 5 on the chart is the Dody6-assisted, “Hey Now.” His catalog is up over 110% since the release of GNX.

Read More: Best Comments On HotNewHipHop From The Drake & Kendrick Lamar Saga

Kendrick Lamar Accepts Grammy Award For “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers”

Kendrick Lamar accepts the award for best rap album for “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers during the 65th Annual Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023. © Robert Hanashiro, Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Lefty previously reflected on working with Kendrick Lamar on the album during an interview with Bootleg Kev shortly after its release. “We had to sign NDAs and they were like, ‘You’re going [in the studio] with Kendrick’ and it didn’t hit me ’til he walked in there and gave me a hug. He’s been locked in with me since April and he said that I’m the missing piece that the West Coast needed,” he said at the time.

Kendrick Lamar Teams Up With Lefty Gunplay For “TV Off”

Lefty also confirmed that a deluxe version of the album is on the way. “He has some stuff. We did two, three songs. He has some stuff in the chamber. He told me that we’re going to work again, for sure. I know he’s got a deluxe version coming out. He’s very secretive,” he said. Revisit Kendrick Lamar’s collaboration with Lefty Gunplay below.

Read More: Andrew Schulz Jokes About Being Able To Rape Kendrick Lamar In Disturbing Rant

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DJ Akademiks Attempts To Explain Why Kendrick Lamar Landed On His Spotify Wrapped

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DJ Akademiks has provided an explanation as to why Kendrick Lamar landed at No. 2 as the most-streamed artist on his Spotify Wrapped. “Normally Kendrick Lamar wouldn’t sniff my spotify wrapped.. but he’s #2 on mine,” Ak wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday morning. “The explanation for that is thats what happens when u beef with every1 favorite rapper.. we gotta listen to ur sh*t too cuz of the beef. Beefing when its just musical competition helps both artists.”

Fans on social media haven’t been buying the explanation. “N***a convincing us why he got kendrick in his playlist. no one asked for an explanation bro,” one user replied. Another remarked: “A whole paragraph on why Kendrick Lamar is #2 on your wrapped is crazy.” One more fan wrote: “You can’t explain number 2 on Spotify Wrapped off of listening to beef responses alone. You need thousands of minutes to land top 2.” In a follow-up post, Ak later added: “Just proof that beefing with a bigger artist is the ultimate stimulus package u can get.”

Read More: DJ Akademiks Brings Kendrick Lamar Back Down To Earth After “GNX’s” Massive Billboard 200 Debut

Kendrick Lamar Performs During Austin City Limits Music Festival

Kendrick Lamar performs Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin. © Briana Sanchez / American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Lamar landing on Ak’s Spotify Wrapped comes after the release of his new album, GNX. The project debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart after selling over 300k equivalent album units. The figure left even Akademiks impressed. “I think it’s a decent number,” he said on a recent stream. “It’s definitely a good number for Kendrick. And I understand that there’s a bunch of Drake fans here and Kendrick fans here who want to compete and compare these two. There is no comparison. I keep trying to tell you: Kendrick could die 15 deaths, he doesn’t compete with Drake overall for streaming.” He also described GNX as a “stellar” release for him.

DJ Akademiks Clarifies Why He’s Been Listening To Kendrick Lamar

Drake dominated streaming overall, finishing as one of the top global artists on Spotify overall, despite not putting out a new album. Check out DJ Akademiks’ full explanation of his Spotify Wrapped below.

Read More: DJ Akademiks Gives His Highly-Anticipated Review Of Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX”

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Drake Hits Impressive Spotify Milestone Amid UMG Drama

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It goes without saying that it’s been a busy year for Drake. He wrapped up his “It’s All A Blur” tour in April, just weeks after Kendrick Lamar dissed him on a collab with Future and Metro Boomin, “Like That.” This resulted in a viral lyrical battle, which by most accounts, Kendrick won. That has since earned relentless clowning from social media users. This has only picked up since the surprise release of Kendrick’s new album GNX.

It’s also gotten worse since Drake decided to take legal action against Universal Music Group (UMG) over Kendrick’s hit diss track, “Not Like Us.” He accuses UMG and Spotify of artificially boosting the song and alleges that the release could have been prevented. Unsurprisingly, many social media users have attributed this pre-action filing to jealousy over Kendrick’s success. It’s to be seen how that’ll play out, but fortunately for Drake, he still has a lot going for him despite all of the drama.

Read More: Joe Budden Surprisingly Comes To Drake’s Defense After Co-Host Says He Couldn’t Do A Stadium Tour

Drake Was The Most-Streamed Rap Artist Of 2024, Spotify Reveals

Spotify Wrapped 2024 just dropped, for example, revealing that Drake was the most-streamed rap artist of the year globally. He was followed by Travis Scott, Kanye West, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Future, and more. Obviously, the Toronto performer’s fanbase hasn’t gone anywhere. It also looks like he’s been able to find humor in all of this, as evidenced by a comment he recently left during a Los Pollos TV stream. “We need a donut emoji in the chat,” he wrote simply. “Custarrrddddd.” This was a nod to Kendrick’s iconic DJ Mustard shout-out on “TV Off.” It quickly became a meme following the release of GNX.

Drake has also earned some support from his peers amid his legal battle with UMG. Azealia Banks, Funk Flex, and many more even think there’s a chance he might ultimately end up looking like a hero for exposing alleged corruption in the music industry.

Read More: UMG Reposts Kendrick Lamar Tour Dates Amidst Drake Legal Battle

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DJ Akademiks Brings Kendrick Lamar Back Down To Earth After “GNX’s” Massive Billboard 200 Debut

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DJ Akademiks has responded to Kendrick Lamar’s new album, GNX, selling 319,000 equivalent album units in its first week of availability. Discussing the success of the project during one of his streams on Sunday night, Akademiks, who has been a passionate supporter of Lamar’s rival, Drake, began by congratulating him for landing at number one on the Billboard 200 chart.

“I think it’s a decent number,” he said. “It’s definitely a good number for Kendrick. And I understand that there’s a bunch of Drake fans here and Kendrick fans here who want to compete and compare these two. There is no comparison. I keep trying to tell you: Kendrick could die 15 deaths, he doesn’t compete with Drake overall for streaming.” He then described GNX as a “stellar” release for him.

Read More: DJ Akademiks Gives His Highly-Anticipated Review Of Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX”

Kendrick Lamar Accepts The Grammy Award For Best Rap Album

Kendrick Lamar accepts the award for best rap album for “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers during the 65th Annual Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023. © Robert Hanashiro, Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Akademiks also brought up the songs “squabble up,” “tv off,” “luther,” “wacced out murals,” and “hey now” all taking up the top five spots on the Billboard Hot 100. To put the success in perspective, Ak also noted that Drake has remained one of the most-streamed artists of the year despite not putting out an entire body of work. “It’s not fair to bring Kendrick up in like a streaming and data conversation,” he remarked, before noting that he’s closer to Future’s level than Drake’s.

DJ Akademiks Discusses Kendrick Lamar’s New Album

Lamar’s streaming numbers are noteworthy considering Drake’s bombshell lawsuits against Universal Music Group, in which he accuses the company of allegedly artificially boosting the streams of “Not Like Us.” Drake filed the petitions in New York and Texas, while also accusing UMG of defamation. UMG has already denied the allegations. Check out DJ Akademiks’ full response to GNX’s album sales below.

Read More: DJ Akademiks Slammed By His Own Followers For Constantly Sneak Dissing Kendrick Lamar

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Drake Remains 2024’s Top Selling Rapper By Album Units Despite Not Dropping

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Drake reportedly remains the top-selling hip-hop artist of 2024 by album units, despite not putting out a single album this year. Chart Data shared the ranking on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, showing the Toronto rapper as the highest-selling artist.

The new report comes after DJ Akademiks predicted that 80-85 percent of Drake’s current streams are coming from projects that dropped years ago. “Also, he leveraged the fact that they’re eating so much off of his back catalog,” Ak expressed on one of his recent streams. “That dropping frequently helps the back catalog. And, by the way, 80 to 85 percent of Drake’s current streams is from albums that dropped over six years ago. And I’m being very fair here.”

Read More: DJ Akademiks Argues Drake’s Old Music Is Carrying His Success

Drake Poses With PartyNextDoor

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 23: (L-R) PartyNextDoor and Drake attend Party Next. Door Live at S.O.B.’s on October 23, 2014, in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

Three spots behind Drake in fourth place is Kendrick Lamar. The two rappers have been feuding throughout 2024, with each dropping numerous diss tracks against the other. Lamar’s status is being helped by his new project, GNX, which hit streaming services last month. It’s projected to debut on the Billboard charts with over 300,000 in total sales. The tracklist features guest appearances from AzChike, Dody6, Hitta J3, Peysoh, Roddy Ricch, Siete7x, SZA, Wallie the Sensei, Lefty Gunplay, and YoungThreat. In addition to Kendrick Lamar, others on the album sales list include Future, Kanye West, Travis Scott, Eminem, NBA YoungBoy, Rod Wave, 21 Savage, and Tyler The Creator.

Drake Dominates Album Sales

While Drake hasn’t released an album in 2024, he’s reportedly planning to drop a collaborative project with PartyNextDoor before the end of the year. His new lawsuit against Universal Music Group could put a kink in those plans, however, according to DJ Akademiks. Drake is accusing UMG of defamation as well as allegedly artificially boosting Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” Check out the full list of the top 10 rappers by album units below.

Read More: DJ Akademiks Blames Drake For Boosting Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX” Sales

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DJ Akademiks Argues Drake’s Old Music Is Carrying His Success

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Drake can go on hiatus for three years only to still sell out a tour on the other side of the world, and it looks like his streaming numbers also reflect that. Moreover, DJ Akademiks recently made the claim that the Toronto superstar’s dominance in the music industry today mostly owes its success to the classic material he released six-plus years ago. “Also, he leveraged the fact that they’re eating so much off of his back catalog,” Ak expressed on stream. “That dropping frequently helps the back catalog. And, by the way, 80 to 85 percent of Drake’s current streams is from albums that dropped over six years ago. And I’m being very fair here. I love Drake, that’s my favorite artist. Bro, the labels look at him different.”

What’s most curious about DJ Akademiks’ assessment of Drake’s numbers is not only that he’s probably correct, but that this is likely true of most massive artists at his level of reach, popularity, acclaim, and most importantly, legacy. Kendrick Lamar can probably say the same thing. good kid, m.A.A.d. city is still on the Billboard 200. But we know that K.Dot sales are a dicey topic for Drizzy these days…

Read More: Joe Rogan Wants To Help Drake Amid Betting Struggles

DJ Akademiks Comments On Drake’s Streaming Success

Of course, we’re talking about Drake’s legal petition against Universal Music Group and Spotify for allegedly inflating the commercial success of “Not Like Us.” There are a whole lot of angles to consider when it comes to this story, especially when stacked up against the almost simultaneous release of Kendrick Lamar’s new album GNX. We definitely haven’t heard the end of it, and we wouldn’t express shock if this extended the 2024 rap beef into all of 2025. Still, they’re not really connected beyond “Not Like Us” being at the center, as the legal petition fries bigger fish.

Regardless, it still recontextualizes both Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s commercial accomplishments. In this case, this doesn’t really have anything to do with the legal petition. Yet DJ Akademiks does bring up a reality that could one day inform the OVO mogul’s future at Universal Music Group – if they stay buddy-buddy afterwards, that is.

Read More: Suki Baby From Drake & 21 Savage’s “Her Loss” Cover Praises Kendrick Lamar’s New Album

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Kendrick Lamar Causes Huge Debate Over New Album “GNX” Doing Big Numbers

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Kendrick Lamar only seems to rise even higher as as a superstar over time, and his new album GNX‘s streaming numbers so far certainly reflect that. Moreover, the project reportedly garnered over 120 million streams after 31 hours of tracking since its near-midday (EST) drop on Friday (November 22). Considering the surprise nature of this release plus its 12 tracks, these are some great numbers to pull as an opening. But of course, when you’re one of the greatest, people expect that much more from you. So inevitable comparisons to other commercial performances, particularly Drake’s, ensued quite quickly. And we’re sad to say they are no less exhausting this time around on both sides.

Speaking of Drake, a lot of people are wondering how he feels about this new Kendrick Lamar album. From what he’s posted online and such these days, he doesn’t seem very bothered, which is great to see. The 6ix God has a PARTYNEXTDOOR collab album on the way and probably a whole lot of plans keeping him busy right now as he preps for another year. The sooner both he and K.Dot can move on from the beef, the better for their careers, which the latter is clearly benefitting from now.

Read More: TDE’s Top Dawg Warns Everyone To “Stand Down” After Kendrick Lamar’s New Album “GNX”

Kendrick Lamar Streams Big On Spotify With GNX

But while a lot of people streamed GNX, plenty of people did not like Kendrick Lamar’s new album, including Compton rapper Snoopy Badazz. He thought the project was “trash” and also defended Drake, saying that he’s in no sort of danger in Los Angeles and is still superior. This prompted a lot of divided reactions from naysayers and yes men alike, which should come as no surprise. A big part of the negativity toward the pgLang lyricist, for whatever reason, is his connection to Compton and how he’s moved within the wider music industry.

Nevertheless, it’s clear that a lot of people are enjoying this latest effort to the fullest, and will keep bumping GNX for a while. Kendrick Lamar also has folks very excited for what could come next, especially considering there’s a Super Bowl halftime show on the horizon. We’ll see just how much this numbers debate evolves over the next few weeks.

Read More: Kendrick Lamar “GNX” Full Credits: SZA, Mustard, Roddy Ricch & More

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DJ Akademiks Questions Drake’s Position On Third All-RapCaviar Team

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Earlier this week, the new All-RapCaviar teams were finally unveiled, and they’ve since sparked a major debate. The first team features Kendrick Lamar, Future, Metro Boomin, Playboi Carti, and Tyler The Creator. The second team features Kanye West, Gunna, GloRilla, Don Toliver, and 21 Savage. The third team features Rod Wave, Drake, Sexyy Red, BigXthaPlug, and Megan Thee Stallion.

According to the official RapCaviar X account, these teams were determined based on “streaming performance and cultural impact in 2024.” Unfortunately, however, not everyone agrees with their choices. Several social media users have taken issue with Drake’s position in particular, arguing that he should have made the first team. This includes DJ Akademiks, who weighed in on the teams during a recent livestream. According to him, he doesn’t understand why Drake didn’t make the first team, considering the amount of successful work he’s released over the past year.

Read More: Joe Budden Theorizes That Apple Music Might Be Fueling Feuds Against Drake

DJ Akademiks Reacts To All-RapCaviar Teams

Moreover, he noted how Playboi Carti and Kendrick Lamar haven’t dropped albums in a while, and how Tyler The Creator’s Chromakopia just came out. He also pointed out how Drake was on an extremely successful tour for part of the year, questioning whether or not that would earn him any points. Drake’s position on the third team isn’t the only thing that has social media users up in arms, however. Many are also arguing that artists like Travis Scott, Ty Dolla Sign, Doechii, J Cole, and Eminem should have landed on one of the teams. Some even think that Metro Boomin doesn’t belong on a team at all since he’s not a rapper.

“Spotify y’all holding a grudge! Why is Drake not on the first team when he’s been the most streamed artist every month?” one X user wonders. “Drake has gotten 1B streams every month this year which no other rapper can say… Nicki is always the most streamed female rapper this year… Eminem just hit 50B streams this year. Why are they not all on the first team?” another asks.

Read More: Drake Teases New Song Lyrics After Debuting Short Hairstyle

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Kendrick Lamar, Burna Boy, Adele, And More Artists’ Music Blocked By YouTube Amid SESAC Dispute

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Kendrick Lamar is among several artists who have had some of their music blocked on YouTube amid the company’s legal dispute with the performing rights organization SESAC. Other artists affected by the situation include Adele, Burna Boy, Mariah Carey, Bob Dylan, Green Day, Nirvana and R.E.M, among many others. Adele’s “Hello” and “Someone Like You,” as well as R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion,” are all unavailable.

In a statement to Billboard, a YouTube spokesperson said: “We have held good faith negotiations with SESAC to renew our existing deal. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were unable to reach an equitable agreement before its expiration. We take copyright very seriously and as a result, content represented by SESAC is no longer available on YouTube in the US. We are in active conversations with SESAC and are hoping to reach a new deal as soon as possible.”

Read More: Dionne Warwick Reveals Why She Didn’t Enjoy Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”

Kendrick Lamar Films “Not Like Us” Music Video

Watts, CA – June 22: Kendrick Lamar dances during the music video shoot for “Not. Like Us” at Nickerson Gardens on Saturday, June 22, 2024 in Watts, CA. (Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Additionally, The Hollywood Reporter noted that the TeamYouTube X (formerly Twitter) account has been posting the following message for fans having trouble accessing the songs: “Our music license agreement with SESAC has expired without an agreement on renewal conditions despite our best efforts. For this reason, we have blocked content on YouTube in the US known to be associated with SESAC – as in line with copyright law … We understand this is a difficult situation and our teams continue to work on reaching a renewal agreement.”

The SESAC drama comes after Universal Music Group and TikTok endured a similar dispute, earlier this year, that left many popular songs off of the social media platform. It appears that Kendrick Lamar’s latest single, “Not Like Us,” is unaffected by the dispute. Be on the lookout for further updates on Kendrick Lamar and YouTube on HotNewHipHop.

Read More: Adin Ross Walks Back Los Angeles Beef After Receiving Threats From Kendrick Lamar Affiliates

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