The diss track is taking over hip-hop

Drake and Kendrick Lamar, two of the biggest stars in hip-hop, spent the weekend hurling insults at each other in a flurry of diss tracks that had fans scrambling to decode the lyrics before the next song was released. Even Dua Lipa was tasked with explaining the scrap on SNL.

The dizzying back-and-forth, which included Lamar releasing three tracks aimed at Drake in the span of 36 hours, got increasingly personal, with accusations of physical abuse and secret children.

• This being 2024, the beef also has a dose of AI: Drake suggested Lamar discreetly encouraged the estate of Tupac Shakur to demand Drake take down his song that used AI to generate new Tupac vocals (which he did).

Big picture: Diss tracks have been a staple of hip-hop for decades, but they’ve taken over the genre in 2024, beginning with a Megan Thee Stallion–Nicki Minaj feud in January. So what’s going on?

One theory: In The Ringer, Charles Holmes argues the diss tracks reflect a decaying commercial hip-hop industry that’s unable to generate new stars, leaving the old guard unmotivated to produce anything of artistic value.

Zoom out: Whatever it means for the current state of hip-hop, diss tracks are good for streams. Lamar’s “euphoria” was the No. 1 song on Spotify yesterday, and Drake’s “Family Matters” came in at No. 5.