Biggest hip-hop moments of 2024, from Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ to Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ arrest

In the world of hip-hop, 2024 has been full of drama, viral moments, triumphs and letdowns. The year began with criticisms of the Grammys’ treatment of Black artists and is ending with conversations about sexual violence in the industry. Experts say the ups and downs, the social commentary and the history-making moments are sure to spill over into the new year.

“The slow build toward conversations about hip-hop and sexual abuse, sexual violence, it’s been noteworthy” although these conversations may often miss the mark, said A.D. Carson, a professor of hip-hop and the global south at the University of Virginia. “The thing I hope for in 2025 is that the audience is vigilant” about hip-hop analysis. 

Here are the biggest moments in hip-hop of the year:

Jay-Z calls out discrimination at the Grammys 

The veteran rapper took the Recording Academy to task early in the year as he accepted the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the Grammy Awards in February. He criticized the Recording Academy for discrimination by way of overlooking and snubbing Black artists. He called attention to the snubs of pop superstar Beyoncé over the years as the perfect example. 

“She has more Grammys than anyone and never won album of the year,” he said of the megastar, to whom he is also married. “Even by your own metrics, it doesn’t work.”

The speech renewed long-standing conversations about the Grammys overlooking Black artists in major categories. Fans and music journalists began speculating what it would look like for Black artists to divest from the awards. 

Black artists are nominated in more than two dozen categories for the 2025 Grammys with Beyoncé, whose full name is Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, amassing 11 nods, including album of the year for “Cowboy Carter.”

Megan Thee Stallion drops ‘Hiss’ — and draws the ire of Nicki Minaj

The Houston-born rapper shook up the industry when she released “Hiss” at the end of January. Megan said the hard-hitting lyrics were aimed at her haters and critics — but named no one in particular. “Whoever feel it, feel it,” she said during an interview with “The Breakfast Club.” 

Nicki Minaj certainly felt it. In the track, Megan raps, “”These h— don’t be mad at Megan/these h— mad at Megan’s Law.” Minaj’s fans claimed on social media that the lyric alluded to Minaj’s husband, Kenneth Petty, who is a registered sex offender in California and New York.

This sent Minaj on a social media tirade. She posted relentlessly about Megan Thee Stallion on X and Instagram, sharing posts from her fans (known colloquially as “Barbz”). Minaj topped off the dayslong feud with a diss track called “Big Foot,” in which she refers to the death of Megan’s mother and nods to rapper Tory Lanez shooting Megan in a 2020 incident that kicked off a flood of attention. 

Kendrick Lamar and Drake go to war 

The Canadian rapper Drake and the American rapper Kendrick Lamar’s headline-making rap beef stretched for months after Lamar threw the first stone with a provocative feature verse on rapper Future and producer Metro Boomin’s track “Like That” in March. Lamar’s verse blew up online and after J. Cole — whom Lamar also criticized on the track — bowed out, Lamar and Drake went blow for blow. 

Drake dissed Lamar on “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made Freestyle” in April followed by “Family Matters,” and finally “The Heart Pt. 6.” He accused Lamar of physically abusing his partner, Whitney Alford, and questioned the paternity of Lamar’s children in “Family Matters.” Lamar responded with “Euphoria,” “6:16 in LA,” “Meet the Grahams,” and the victory-clinching “Not Like Us.” In Lamar’s final attack, he renewed criticisms about Drake’s cultural identity and alleged inauthentic relationships with fellow artists. 

“Not Like Us” was a smash hit, reaching  No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and snagging several Grammy nominations. It was announced in September that Lamar would headline the Super Bowl halftime show in New Orleans — much to the dismay of rappers who said Lil Wayne should have been given the gig as a hometown favorite. 

Shaboozey breaks barriers with country-hip-hop blend

The 29-year-old Virginia native Shaboozey has been an alt-country fan favorite for years. But he skyrocketed to national stardom with two features on Beyoncé’s country-flavored album, “Cowboy Carter.” He quickly moved out of the “Cowboy Carter” shadow and into his own fame with “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” the country-hip-hop blend that remained the No. 1 song in the country for 19 consecutive weeks, tying Lil Nas X’s 2019 hit, “Old Town Road.” His song puts a whiskey-flavored country twist on J-Kwon’s 2004 hit “Tipsy,” about drinking and having fun at the club.

“I had been wanting to flip a 2000s song for a while,” Shaboozey told Billboard earlier this year. “I just said, ‘Everybody at the bar getting tipsy,’ and then we were like, ‘Oh, s—!’ The producer picked up the guitar and started playing the chords, and then we started writing, just having fun and being creative.” 

His star has been on the rise since. Earlier this year, Shaboozey, who is Nigerian American, was nominated for two Country Music Association Awards, although he went home empty-handed. He is stepping into 2025 with five Grammy nominations, including best new artist. 

Breakdancing makes it to the Olympics

Breaking made its debut at the Olympic Games in August, about half a century after the hip-hop dance form began with energetic B-boys and B-girls creating gravity-defying moves on slabs of cardboard in New York.​ Sixteen B-boys and 16 B-girls from around the world competed at Place de la Concorde in Paris, with judges scoring dancers on their technique, performance, musicality, creativity and more. 

Several well-known breakers such as Jeffrey “B-boy Jeffro,” Logan “Logistx” Edra (both of team USA), Canada’s Philip “Phil Wizard” Kim, Japan’s Ami Yuasa, Lithuania’s Dominika Banevič and others, wowed on stage, but it was an obscure Australian dancer who stole the show. Rachael Gunn, known as Raygun, became an instant meme when she competed using a kangaroo-inspired move, the sprinkler and a backward roll. She finished 16th place. 

Breaking is not on the list of sports for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. 

“We’re pretty bummed out about it, especially because breaking was invented in the U.S, in New York City,” said Alison Palaia, an Olympic breakdancing spectator who grew up not far from New York City in the 1980s. “I just hope they bring it back for the next one.”

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is arrested and accused of sex crimes

Combs was arrested in September and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. It came after months of lawsuits and several allegations of sexual assault, gender violence, misconduct and other “serious illegal activity” that took place over many years. Combs, 55, who has denied those allegations, has pleaded not guilty and is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York.

For decades, Combs presented the image of a wealthy Black music mogul, one who broke business barriers, threw lavish parties and even created iconic TV moments. But behind the scenes, prosecutors say, was a more sinister picture. Most recently, three men accused Combs of rape and sexual assault in separate lawsuits, alleging the rap star plied them with doctored drinks and then attacked them while they were unconscious. In response, Combs’ legal team said the complaints were “full of lies” and vowed to “prove them false and seek sanctions against every unethical lawyer who filed fictional claims against him.”

Meanwhile, Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, was accused in a lawsuit of raping a teenage girl with Combs after an awards show more than two decades ago. The rapper and entrepreneur vehemently denied the allegations, calling them “idiotic” in a statement. Carter’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, has said Carter’s legal team expects him to be cleared of any wrongdoing. The accuser in that case acknowledged inconsistencies in her account.

Young Thug’s trial comes to a shocking end

News broke in early November that rapper Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, changed his plea to guilty in his high-profile gang conspiracy case and would be released from jail. 

Williams potentially faced decades in prison for participating in a street gang, Young Slime Life, or YSL, that allegedly carried out murder, armed robbery, carjacking, and drug dealing. Williams ultimately pleaded guilty to drug- and gun-related charges and no contest to charges of conspiracy and participating in the gang.

Instead of prison time, the judge ordered Williams to serve 15 years of probation with several conditions — but warned that he could see 20 years in custody if he fails to adhere to them. The plea change and sentence marked a pivotal moment in Georgia’s longest-running criminal trial. 

Williams’ fans rejoiced that the lengthy trial had come to an end with his freedom, however conditional. Williams was arrested in 2022 and the trial got underway in 2023. 

In his first social media post since his release, Williams wrote on X, “Real plea deal jack!”

Megan Thee Stallion bares all in new documentary

In “Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words,” the rapper took viewers through the tumultuous years leading up to convicted rapper Tory Lanez’s December 2022 criminal trial, in which he was found guilty of shooting her after a Los Angeles party in July 2020. She gave an in-depth look at the grief she endured after her mother’s death from a brain tumor in 2019, the betrayal by her childhood friend Kelsey Harris — who supported Lanez after the shooting — and her fight for justice as Lanez, along with bloggers and gossip sites, disparaged her on social media, in music videos and more.

Social media reactions to the 112-minute film ranged from sympathy for her to criticism of her failure to disclose her sexual relationship with Lanez. Around the time of the documentary’s release,  Megan filed a lawsuit against commentator Milagro Gramz, accusing her of being a “mouthpiece,” “puppet” and “paid surrogate” for Lanez during and after his high-profile criminal trial. 

Gramz addressed the lawsuit on social media, writing in a post on X that she had been “informed” about the suit, quoting a letter from Megan’s attorney and writing: “Of course we’ll chat about it. They threw in the tape too.” She also posted “Countersuit gone go crazy,” seemingly in reference to the lawsuit.

Earlier this month, Megan filed a request for a restraining order against Lanez, alleging that he “continues to terrorize” her from behind bars.

Black women dominate the industry

There has been no shortage of massive hits from Black women rappers this year. Memphis rapper GloRilla dominated 2024 with a string of hits — including “Yeah Glo!” and “TGIF” — a mixtape, and her highly anticipated debut studio album, “Glorious.”

Fan favorites such as MonaLeo, Flo Milli and Latto dropped projects, “Throwing Bows,” “Fine Ho, Stay” and “Sugar Honey Iced Tea,” respectively, and even snagged some viral moments with their colorful music videos and evocative lyrics. 

But perhaps the biggest rise of the year came from Florida-born rapper Doechii. Her ascent to rap prominence followed years of consistency and trial and error. Broader audiences began to pay attention in 2020 when Doechii released her sophomore EP, “Oh the Places You’ll Go,” with the viral hit, “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake.” 

Her star has been on the rise since, with fan-favorite tracks such as “Crazy” and “Persuasive.” But 2024 marked perhaps her most commercially successful year. She released her third mixtape, “Alligator Bites Never Heal,” a vulnerable, lyrically savvy collection that landed her four Grammy nominations and appearances on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and at Tyler the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw festival in Los Angeles.

In an interview with Variety, Doechii said she was able to take her latest mixtape into her own hands and craft it with as much creativity and vulnerability as she saw fit. Now, she’s looking forward to her debut album, which is expected to drop in 2025.

“I’m just looking forward to making more hits, making more music and achieving more of my goals. That’s it,” she said.