Drake crowned best selling rapper for 10th year straight, undeterred by Kendrick Lamar & UMG feud

One would think that this past year would be considered one of Drake's worst. Between a main event bout with fellow "Big 3" member Kendrick Lamar, two separate albums from his former friend and collaborator used to platform disses towards him, and the online backlash from his recent lawsuit against record label Universal Music Group, it's been difficult to find positive headlines surrounding the Canadian rap star.

However, the outpouring of social media reactions has proven to be a vocal minority as Drake once again tops the list for best selling rappers of the year, all without releasing a proper record. As the dust settles from the genre's biggest battle in quite some time, it seems that Drake's reign over our playlists simply will not end.

Drake's 2024 discography consisted of only six officially released songs — all of which charted on the Billboard Hot 100 — and a few guest appearances on tracks with Sexyy Red, 4batz, and Camila Cabello. Among these releases and his extensive backlog, Drake sold an equivalent of 8 million album units in 2024 alone.

Other artists that Drake beat out for the title of best selling rapper include Future and Ye — who both dropped two full length records this year — as well as rival Kendrick Lamar.

Even with a Super Bowl performance on the way, an album dedicated to the widely appealing bounce of the West Coast sound, and quite literally the biggest song of the year, Lamar simply could not top Drake's back catalog, dedicated fanbase, and crossover appeal.

The rapper's legendary commercial status also proves to be an issue for his parent label, UMG. Not only has Drake entered a highly publicized legal battle with the music conglomerate, but he's hinted on multiple occasions to owning his masters — the copyright to the original recording of his music — which puts more money in his pocket and less in UMG's.

While the lawsuit centers around artificial inflation of streams for Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us," it's also been speculated to act as leverage to either restructure his record deal or leave UMG entirely.

Drake enters 2025 having already stirred the pot, unofficially releasing his "Fighting Irish" freestyle, which contains lyrics that fans assume are subliminals toward close friend LeBron James. His collaborative project with PARTYNEXTDOOR — which Drake says was meant to drop weeks ago — also looms ahead, and there is still much to hear about his UMG lawsuit, despite the commotion.

Drake continues to sit on top of the album sale mountain during an "off year," and it's hard to imagine someone knocking him off when it seems he's finally ready to make a proper comeback.