section_path: Commentary/Analysis/Verdict
section_name: Verdict
paragraph_text: Verdict
  
  By early May 2024, various music outlets such as Pitchfork, The Ringer, and Rolling Stone cited Lamar as winning in the feud. An Insider article claimed that both music critics and social media users conceded Lamar as the victor. However, Alphonse Pierre of Pitchfork avowed that Lamar's victory was " pyrrhic ", while Charles Holmes for The Ringer similarly claimed Lamar was in the lead despite the victory feeling hollow. The Roots drummer Questlove condemned both for engaging in "wrestling match level mudslinging", opining that neither can reasonably be considered to have emerged victorious, concluding, "Hip Hop truly is dead." Other writers took a contrary view, arguing that the feud was a net positive for hip-hop. Yemi Abiade of BBC News said the feud "entertained the entire world, enhancing the legacies of two generational rap artists" and claimed that "rap music wins, yet again". Laurence Ralph wrote in The New York Times that the winners were both Kendrick Lamar and old-school hip hop.
  
  With the release of Lamar's "Not Like Us" music video, numerous critics and publications recognized Lamar as the victor of the feud. In September 2024, a New Yorker article about the feud opened with the line "Has there ever been as clear a loser as Drake?" After the Super Bowl LIX halftime show, NPR headlined an article with "Almost a year after the battle, Kendrick Lamar has won the war."
  
  By early May 2024, various music outlets such as Pitchfork, The Ringer, and Rolling Stone cited Lamar as winning in the feud. An Insider article claimed that both music critics and social media users conceded Lamar as the victor. However, Alphonse Pierre of Pitchfork avowed that Lamar's victory was " pyrrhic ", while Charles Holmes for The Ringer similarly claimed Lamar was in the lead despite the victory feeling hollow. The Roots drummer Questlove condemned both for engaging in "wrestling match level mudslinging", opining that neither can reasonably be considered to have emerged victorious, concluding, "Hip Hop truly is dead." Other writers took a contrary view, arguing that the feud was a net positive for hip-hop. Yemi Abiade of BBC News said the feud "entertained the entire world, enhancing the legacies of two generational rap artists" and claimed that "rap music wins, yet again". Laurence Ralph wrote in The New York Times that the winners were both Kendrick Lamar and old-school hip hop.
  
  With the release of Lamar's "Not Like Us" music video, numerous critics and publications recognized Lamar as the victor of the feud. In September 2024, a New Yorker article about the feud opened with the line "Has there ever been as clear a loser as Drake?" After the Super Bowl LIX halftime show, NPR headlined an article with "Almost a year after the battle, Kendrick Lamar has won the war."