{"id":171408,"date":"2025-07-07T12:11:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T16:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2025\/07\/07\/the-boy-is-back-why-a-summer-of-drake-might-be-what-hip-hop-needs-2\/"},"modified":"2025-07-07T12:11:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T16:11:09","slug":"the-boy-is-back-why-a-summer-of-drake-might-be-what-hip-hop-needs-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2025\/07\/07\/the-boy-is-back-why-a-summer-of-drake-might-be-what-hip-hop-needs-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Boy Is Back: Why a Summer of Drake Might Be What Hip-Hop\u00a0Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tDuring last year\u2019s Fourth of July, Kendrick Lamar<\/a> set off more than fireworks when he released his now-ubiquitous video, \u201cNot Like Us.\u201d The seething retort against Drake<\/a> not only rattled the 6 God and his disciples but unequivocally lunged Lamar into God mode. What followed was an unrelenting onslaught: a cinematic Super Bowl performance, a resounding Grammy sweep, and a 13-week Hot 100 <\/a>triumph with \u201cLuther.\u201d Lamar\u2019s indomitable reign has only intensified in the months since courtesy of his Grand National Stadium Tour alongside SZA. TDE\u2019s 1-2 punch has landed devastating haymakers with Mike Tyson force while the rest of the rap game scrambles for hits.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis year\u2019s Fourth of July rang a little differently: Lamar\u2019s former lyrical combatant Drake entered the ring with ruthless intentions of his own, releasing \u201cWhat Did I Miss?\u201d<\/a> After quietly piecing together a solid comeback campaign consisting of his chart-topping $ome $exy $ongs 4 U<\/em> album with PARTYNEXTDOOR \u2014 as well as that set\u2019s breakout hit, the No. 2-climbing Hot 100 smash \u201cNOKIA\u201d \u2014 Drizzy could be masterminding his biggest heist yet: The Summer of Drake.<\/p>\n

\n\tHip-hop needs this, in more ways than one. Aside from \u201cLuther\u201d running the tables on the Hot 100, the only hip-hop song to go No. 1 this year was Travis Scott\u2019s \u201c4X4,\u201d which lasted only a week on top and dropped out of the top 40 the next frame. Though Playboi Carti\u2019s Music<\/em> album dominated the Billboard 200 and served as a career win for him, none of the set\u2019s singles had longevity inside the top 10 of the Hot 100 either. And while we do have a platter of braggadocious bars being served this month in Clipse\u2019s Let God Sort Em Out<\/em>, alongside a possible reunion between Freddie Gibbs and Alchemist for Alfredo 2<\/em>, Lamar and Drake remain the genre\u2019s main characters. Together, \u201cLuther\u201d and \u201cNOKIA\u201d have kept the genre\u2019s pulse alive through the first half of 2025.<\/p>\n

\n\tNow, with Drake firmly in album mode and gearing up for a historic three-day set at Wireless Festival beginning this Friday (July 11), the cards appear stacked in his favor. Sonically, \u201cWhat Did I Miss?\u201d is a solid rap return for Drake, who\u2019s otherwise spent the year entrenched in his R&B bag. Consider it a shootaround for the rapper: a volley of barbs, an entrancing beat-switch, and some biting shots against one of his former NBA homies.<\/p>\n

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