Many Americans are ignoring the highly public feud between rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar, but those who have paid attention hold much more positive views of Lamar than they do of Drake.
According to the Economist / YouGov Poll conducted May 12 - 14, 2024, less than half of U.S. adult citizens say they've heard anything about the rappers' feud. Only 12% of Americans say they've heard "a lot" about this feud, while 32% have heard "a little" and 56% have heard "nothing at all."
The feud is better-known among younger adults and Black Americans. 28% of adults aged 18 to 29 have heard a lot about the conflict between Drake and Kendrick, compared to 3% of those 65 or older. 35% of Black Americans have heard a lot about the feud, compared to 8% of white Americans.
Kendrick Lamar is better-liked than Drake among people following their feud
Americans who haven't paid attention to the feud hold similar views of both rappers. Many have no opinion about either rapper; those who do have an opinion about both are more likely to dislike each man than to like them.
But Americans who have heard about the feud hold more negative views of Drake and sharply more positive views of Kendrick than their counterparts who haven't.
The Economist / YouGov poll has not previously asked Americans their view of Kendrick Lamar. But it did poll Drake's favorability in August 2023, and this comparison shows Drake has become significantly less popular since then.
In August 2023, 36% of Americans viewed Drake favorably; that's fallen to 25% in May 2024. The share viewing Drake unfavorably has risen from 25% to 38% over this same time.
Americans of all ages and all races hold more negative views of Drake now than in August 2023.
Related:
- Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar: Who do US hip-hop fans think is winning the feud?
- Did Kendrick Lamar or Drake win the great rap war of 2024?
See the toplines and crosstabs from the Economist/YouGov poll conducted on May 12 - 14, 2024 among 1,830 U.S. adult citizens.
Methodology: Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel using sample matching. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to November 1, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 31% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 3%.
Image: Getty (Amy Sussman / Larry Busacca)
