Drake is now less popular in the United States than Joe Biden and Donald Trump, according to recent polling.
Polling from YouGov US found that 41 percent of people who had been following his feud with fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar held unfavorable opinions of Drake. Meanwhile, in separate YouGov polls Biden and Trump are faring slightly better. The current president is viewed 42 percent favorably and former President Trump 45 percent favorably.
The YouGov poll drew on a random sample of American adults. Among people who said they have "heard a lot about the feud," 76 percent said they favored the Compton, California-born Lamar, against 41 percent for Drake.
The Context
The ongoing feud between the two artists stretches back quite a while, but hostilities between the two escalated in March after Lamar dissed Drake on Future and Metro Boomin's track "Like That," rejecting the idea of the "big three" (J. Cole, Drake, and Lamar) and asserting that there was just the "big me."
The following months saw a flurry of tracks released in quick succession by both Drake and Lamar, in which each rapper targeted the other with increasingly personal attacks.
In April, Drake released "Taylor Made Freestyle," utilizing AI-generated vocals of Snoop Dogg and Tupac to diss Kendrick, which led to threats from Tupac's estate.
Lamar responded with "Euphoria," in which he lambasted Drake's parenting.
In May, "Family Matters" saw Drake accuse Lamar of infidelity. Kendrick quickly responded with "Meet the Grahams," alleging that Drake has a hidden child and labeling the Toronto-born rapper a predator.
His track "not like us" also smashed Spotify's single-day streaming record with almost 11 million plays in the U.S., usurping the previous record, which was Drake's "Girls Want Girls."
Views
Rap fans have been quick to take sides in the war of word between the two artists.
Some social media commenters backed Drake, with posts such as "Drake is the reason Kendrick's music is relevant right now...."
Others have sided with Lamar, dubbing his lyrical jabs "a dominant display."
YouGov's polling suggests that, so far, Lamar has come out on top.
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About the writer
Joe Edwards is a Live News Reporter in Newsweek's London bureau.
