Results of Rap Madness Round 2

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Round 2 Results Left Side

Below are the results with exact vote counts for Round 2 of Rap Madness.

Round 2 Results Right Side

We’re down to the Sweet 16 of Rap Madness. Out of the 16 artists left, based on your completed brackets, these are the most unlikely artists to make it past the next round.

Voting for Round 3 begins tomorrow, if you disagree with the below list, make sure to vote for your favorites❗️ 

5 Artists Unlikely to Make It Past Round 3

1. Ty Dolla $ign—only 2 brackets voted for him as the winner

2. Offset—only 9 brackets voted for him as the winner

3. Trippie Redd—only 44 brackets voted for him as the winner

4. Don Toliver—only 92 brackets voted for him as the winner

5. Young Thug—only 98 brackets voted for him as the winner

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Song Streams & Revenue

It’s a new week and a new song revenue chart. As reported by Hits Daily Double, which tracks streaming revenue week over week, the above chart reflects the streaming period from June 7 to 14.

You can expect to see Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” rise in streams and revenue after his Juneteenth concert. Before that, it made $145K from 31M streams. Eminem’s “Houdini” pulled in $118K from 26M streams during its second week post-release.

5 Ways Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out” Performance Put the Final Nail in Drake’s Coffin

Juneteenth is a time of celebration, remembrance, and activism. However, K. Dot turned this year's holiday into an absolute slaughter of his enemies while honoring the city he holds dear. 

With the crowd energetically singing along (the “A Minor” bar was so loud you could hear it on the East Coast), Kendrick in five rounds delivered fatal blows to Drake’s legacy. Hatechella, Gangteenth, Kendrick Lamar Presents: I Hate Drake The Musical—take your pick. 

But alongside the greatest victory lap of any rap beef, Kendrick’s “The Pop Out” was a historic moment in hip-hop uniting legends, rivals, and the entire West Coast to show the world they (and one person in particular) “not like us.” 

Round #1: “Euphoria” and Tupac

K. Dot started his set with his Drake diss “Euphoria” but added notable tweaks that suggest he took Drake’s use of Tupac A.I. personally—and he’s not over it.

Despite this being the first time he performed these songs live, fans gathered at the Kia Forum knew every word like it was the National Anthem. Starting peacefully crouched in the middle of the stage for the intro, K. Dot exploded into his first verse, complete with plenty of pyro and a whole lotta breath control. 

To keep the momentum going, he added a new lyric to the song: “Give me 2Pac ring back and I might give you a little respect."

Kendrick’s outfit choice added even more context to how seriously he takes respect toward the West Coast legend. Wearing a 2Pac fit to the funeral of the man who tried to use his likeness against you? Diabolical.

Round #2: A Throwback to 2012

Kendrick and Jay Rock went from performing “Money Trees” at Best Buy in 2012 to a sold-out stadium. As one the biggest songs on K. Dot’s 2012 good kid, m.A.A.d city album, the excitement to hearing the track live again only got bigger once Jay Rock rose from the stage.

“The way Jay Rock and Kendrick are going back and forth with Kendrick ad-libbing and hyping him up is so contagious. Their chemistry is undeniable,” X user King Wow said in a June 19 tweet. 

The duo went on to also perform hits like “King’s Dead” and “Win” before another iconic reunion took place.

Round #3: Black Hippy is reunited (and it feels so good)

Kendrick went on to perform his next Drake diss, “6:16 in LA” and was joined by Ab-Soul. Having recently gone through mental health struggles, this was the first performance the duo came together in years since Ab-Soul took time away from music.

Once the opening beat for “Collard Green” began to play, fans knew they were witnessing history as Schoolboy Q hit the stage.

“A Black Hippy reunion on stage in 2024. If you only knew what this did to our young adulthood, man. Life music, on all fronts,” X user CoryTownes said.

Black Hippy was the name of the group featuring K. Dot, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and Schoolboy Q. They came together in 2008 after signing with TDE. The reunion was a reminder of how much they, alongside TDE, have impacted the culture of West Coast rap.

Round #4: K. Dot is “Like That” – And has Dr. Dre’s support 

Kendrick geared up for his massive K.O. on “69 God” by performing his verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s track “Like That.” Then, West Coast legend Dr. Dre came out to not only share some “California Love,” but to give K. Dot his flowers. 

He told the crowd that it was great to perform in his hometown, especially with “one of the greatest that’s ever did it.” Dr. Dre has left his house for three reasons in the last 20 years—his divorce, the Super Bowl, and Kendrick’s concert.

It’s obvious the respect is mutual, with Kendrick giving Dr. Dre one of the biggest roles of the night—the introduction to “Not Like Us.” 

Round #5: Performing “Not Like Us” five times

Dr. Dre waited for complete silence before whispering to the crowd that he “sees dead people.” The moment that fans and LA natives had been waiting for had finally arrived—the first live performance of “Not Like Us.” 

Before running it back the second time, Kendrick addressed the crowd. 

“Y’all not gonna let anyone disrespect the West Coast, huh? Y’all not going to let anyone imitate our legends, huh?” he said before letting the crowd sing along to the song the second time solo. 

Complete with elite camera work, West Coast artists, athletes, gang members, dancers, and friends joined Kendrick onstage. “Not Like Us” went from arguably Kendrick’s best Drake diss to a song of unity. 

Bloods and Crips were dancing on the same stage together. Long Beach’s Russell Westbrook and Compton’s Demar DeRozan were getting lit on stage. Ken & Friends danced on the grave of his opponent not once—but five times. It was the strongest display of West Coast unity and culture the world has ever seen—something only Kendrick could have orchestrated.

Drake said Kendrick’s gang affiliations are fake, and his support of Compon is performative. Last night, Kendrick proved that not only is he Compton, but he’s also the entire West Coast, and they just won 2024.

• Reason is turning over a new leaf. He announced on June 18 that he was officially leaving Top Dawg Entertainment after seven years. 

• Be prepared to hear Tommy Richman everywhere. He announced his debut album Coyote on the back of Billboard magazine on June 17. 

• Tyler the Creator is dropping out. He is no longer headlining Lollapalooza or appearing at this year’s Outside Lands festival, with no reason given yet.