After a chaotic season of album drops, viral moments, and tour domination, the dust has finally settled. Rap Madness is back, and if we had to bet on a Final Four, these are the names we’re locking in: Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, Playboi Carti, and Tyler, the Creator.
Each one went on a monster run in the eligibility period from May 2024 to May 2025 and is likely to earn their spot off the strength of headline-making moments and undeniable momentum. So let’s break down exactly what might tip the voting polls in their favor—and why this year’s Rap Madness might be the hardest to call yet.
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar didn’t just show up to 2025—he walked in like he owned the place, dropped an album out of nowhere, and went on the world’s longest victory lap. Most artists are lucky to get one of those moments in their career. K. Dot hit us with all of them in less than a year, and somehow didn’t break a sweat.
Let’s start with GNX, which he released without warning on November 22, 2024. The album immediately shot to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and gave us back-to-back Hot 100 chart-toppers with “squabble up” and “luther.” Meanwhile, “tv off” and its infectious “MUSTAAAAARD” camped out at No. 2.
Then came this year’s Grammys, where Lamar showed up and collected more hardware than Home Depot. “Not Like Us” alone snagged five awards, including Record and Song of the Year, which is only the second time a hip-hop song has ever won those awards.
Lamar wasn’t done flexing. Just days later, he headlined the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show in New Orleans and brought out SZA, Serena Williams, and Samuel L. Jackson like it was just another Sunday. The performance drew 133.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched halftime show ever.
Then, he launched the Grand National Tour with SZA this April, breaking box office records at almost every city they have visited so far. Their hit song “luther,” became the longest-leading R&B/hip-hop No. 1 on the Hot 100 this decade. His inclusion in the Final Four feels like a guarantee after his legendary run, but the real question is, will he be the winner that takes it all?
Playboi Carti
Playboi Carti spent most of the early 2020s really diving into the vampire persona. He showed up a couple of times a year to stage-dive in leather pants, whisper “slatt” into a mic, and disappear into a cloud of fog and fan theories. However, Carti has finally stopped lurking in the shadows and fully reawakened as the Opium-repping chaos agent we missed.
It all started with “All Red” on September 13, 2024 — AKA his first lead single since 2020. Not only did it melt speakers across the Internet, but it also became his biggest streaming debut ever and the fourth-largest rap debut of the year. Keeping his foot on the gas, he appeared on The Weeknd’s “Timeless” single on September 27, sending “ever since I was a jit” soundwaves across the nation.
On December 31, Carti fans were given the “fell for it again” award when the year came to a close, and his album was nowhere to be found. But all was forgiven and forgotten when MUSIC was released on March 14, and it became the best album debut of his career:
- #1 debut on the Billboard 200 (his first)
- 298K units sold in the first week (despite his previous disputes)
- Every single track charted on the Hot 100
- It’s still the biggest rap debut of the year
To celebrate, Carti did what Carti does: went straight to Rolling Loud California the day after dropping the album and headlined for a performance that made Carti fans not in attendance sick. By May 2025, he was officially back on road, joining The Weeknd’s massive stadium tour.
In short: Carti dropped a chart-dominating album, turned every stage into the ultimate rock-rap experience, and became the guy your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper calls for a feature. If that’s not Final Four behavior, we don’t know what is.
Travis Scott
Travis Scott is a man of many talents—rapper, rager, marketing mastermind, and possibly part-time stuntman. Scott has been out here breaking tour records, shutting down Coachella, and casually putting his brand on Barcelona’s jersey.
Let’s start with the numbers: The Circus Maximus Tour wrapped in late 2024 and went out with a bang by becoming the highest-grossing solo hip-hop tour in history, pulling in nearly $210 million and selling 1.7 million tickets across four continents.
Scott wasn’t content yet, though —he dropped “4×4” in January, his first solo single in over a year. It went straight to number one on the Hot 100. The chart debut was as grandiose as the single’s premiere; Scott rapped it on the roof of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium during the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Then came Coachella 2025, his first return to the desert in eight years. Scott did not show up to play. His sets spanned both weekends, included unreleased heat, and came with a fully immersive “Cactus Jack Village” to incorporate not just his music, but his brand Cactus Jack.
If that wasn’t enough, he’s been teasing JackBoys 2 with all the subtlety of a fireworks show: drone reveal in March, new single “ILMB” with Sheck Wes, merch drops, and a cinematic trailer that basically screams, “Yeah, we’re outside again.”
From Billboard to Barcelona, Scott is living out a rap blockbuster in real time. He’s got the hits, the spectacle, and the business acumen of a Fortune CEO. If you’re wondering how he could make the Final Four—look around. He was last year’s winner for a reason.
Tyler, the Creator
Tyler, the Creator had a pretty great year to say the least. From sold-out arena runs to one of the biggest album debuts of all time, Tyler has made it crystal clear: he’s not just a rapper, he’s a world-builder.
Let’s start with Chromakopia (which was entirely written, produced, and arranged by him). Released October 28, 2024, the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200—his third chart-topping project. It didn’t just go big; it went over 85 million first-day streams big on Spotify. That made it the biggest hip-hop debut of 2024 and one of the top 20 debuts ever, across all genres. To celebrate the album drop, he looked out for the fans with a five-dollar listening event at the Intuit Dome the day before Chromakopia officially hit streaming.
Then, on Christmas Day, Tyler dropped “That Guy,” a surprise freestyle over Kendrick Lamar’s “hey now” beat. The real flex, though, was Chromakopia: The World Tour. The 64-show globe-trot started this February and is featuring Lil Yachty and Paris Texas. It is already responsible for the longest hip-hop residency in the history of Crypto.com Arena, with six sold-out nights in Los Angeles.
Add in a Gov Ball 2025 performance on June 7th and the announcement of the return of Camp Flog Gnaw, and it’s clear: Tyler’s doing laps around the game while casually planning your next favorite festival.
If he makes the Final Four, like we predict he will, it’ll be off the strength of his style, strategy, and straight-up skill.
