The Game recently jumped online to share his take on how the Drake and Kendrick Lamar feud has shaped hip-hop—and he doesn’t think it’s been for the better.
It’s no secret their clash left a major mark on the culture, but according to The Game, it’s actually hurt the genre. Taking to Instagram, the Compton rapper argued that hip-hop has taken a hit since the battle. “Y’all ain’t appreciate one of the greatest now the absence & silence has the art form down 50%,” he wrote, per Kurrco.
His post also featured a screenshot of a tweet from Isaac Hayes III, who shared a similar perspective. “The Kendrick Drake beef killed commercial rap music,” he stated. “It turned hip hop into an engagement art form, not a chart performing one.”
“Everyone showed up, debated, replayed, picked sides, ran the numbers up,” he continued. “Meanwhile, the Billboard Hot 100 kept moving. The beef fed the masses and killed the charts. So I see why labels are cutting back. Black folks would rather tear down artists from both sides when collaboration is what drives expansion.”
The Game’s comments come as fans are still waiting on Drake’s ninth studio album, ICEMAN. As of now, the project doesn’t have a confirmed release date, but it’s expected to arrive sometime this year. Drake has been teasing the album for a while, and it’s set to be his first solo full-length since 2023’s For All The Dogs.
At the same time, Drake continues to dominate commercially. Earlier this week, he even broke his own streaming record, hitting an impressive 88.74 million monthly listeners on Spotify—the highest any rapper has ever reached. His previous record stood at 88.71 million.
Before that, reports suggested he’s on pace to have the biggest streaming year ever for a rapper. So far in 2026, he’s already pulled in 5 billion streams on Spotify.
