GRUNGECAKE

Tag: Billboard 200

  • Drake surpasses The Beatles on Billboard 200, solidifying his iconic legacy

    When Drake says he’s not finished, you better believe him.

    When the dust settles in the archives of music history, only a few names will shimmer with the same glimmer as the greats—The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and now, once again, Aubrey Drake Graham. The Toronto-born rapper, singer, and global tastemaker has officially surpassed The Beatles on the Billboard 200 chart, adding another feather to his already ornate cap. The record-breaking feat places Drake ahead of the legendary British band for the most weeks in the Top 5 of the Billboard 200, a moment that speaks to more than just streaming numbers or sales—it speaks to cultural dominance, generational voice, and the evolution of Pop and Hip-Hop’s union. With his career rooted in vulnerability, sharp lyricism, and his uncanny ability to sonically shapeshift, Drake continues to defy expectations and make history in the process.

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    From ‘Take Care’ to ‘Views’, ‘Scorpion’, and more recently ‘For All the Dogs’, Drake has turned personal experience into collective expression. His latest milestone echoes the staying power of his brand—a carefully curated mix of emotional realness and mass appeal, matched with an unshakable business acumen. Drake is no stranger to eclipsing icons. He already beat The Beatles’ fifty-five-year record for the most Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 back in 2019, commemorating the win with a tattoo of himself in front of the Fab Four. It was cheeky, bold, and pure Drake.

    As Hip-Hop celebrates over fifty years of existence, Drake’s journey is a testament to how far the genre has come—and where it can go. He stands as a bridge between eras, collaborating with emerging talent and legendary names alike, whilst continuing to represent the multicultural mosaic that is modern-day music. And whether it’s on a Dancehall riddim, a Trap beat, or a slowed-down R&B cut, he knows how to make it feel personal.

    Surpassing The Beatles doesn’t mean he’s done. If anything, it’s proof that the boy from Degrassi has become a pillar of the global music economy. And if history has taught us anything, it’s this: When Drake says he’s not finished, you better believe him. Keep streaming. Keep watching. Because Drake’s story is still being written.

  • Future’s ‘Mixtape Pluto’ lands at #1 on the Billboard 200

    Diamond-certified, three-time GRAMMY Award-winning Hip-Hop luminary Future officially makes history. ‘Mixtape Pluto’, his latest critically-lauded project, officially debuts at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. 

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    It not only becomes Future’s eleventh number one album, but also marks a rare feat: It is his third new number one album in just six months time, following this spring’s ‘We Don’t Trust You’ and ‘We Still Don’t Trust You’. His trifecta of releases became the first to achieve this milestone this decade, as Future became the first act to achieve this since The Beatles in 1965-1966, and the first Hip-Hop act ever. Most impressively, he is the first solo artist to accomplish this chart feat ever, regardless of genre. Additionally, ‘Mixtape Pluto’ debuts number one across a variety of additional charts, including the Top Streaming Albums, R&B/Hip Hop Overall Consumption as well as #1 on the Rap Overall Consumption chart. Impressively, all seventeen tracks on ‘Mixtape Pluto’ landed this week on the Hot 100, making Future the first and only Hip-Hop artist to debut all songs from an entire project without any features on the chart.
     
    Future’s influence over music and culture has never been more apparent. ‘Mixtape Pluto’ has also earned the icon widespread acclaim. Pitchfork proclaimed it among Future’s “best and strangest,” spotlighting how it is “urgent, kinetic, filled with heartbreaking asides and tiny bursts of melodic ingenuity.” Highlighting his “blockbuster year,” Rolling Stone noted how ‘Mixtape Pluto’ “successfully reminds listeners of the type of innovation and dedication that he’s built a career on.” GQ proclaimed that it is “Future’s third top-shelf project in a less-than-twelve-month period that ranks with the best runs any rapper’s ever been on”—or as Billboard compared, “Mixtape Pluto is seventeen tracks of an artist that has once again entered a zone mere mortals cannot comprehend. This is like Shohei Ohtani going for 50/50, or Steph Curry hitting threes from different zip codes, or Aaron Judge chasing the triple crown. What I’m trying to say is that Future is on his Patrick Mahomes, as I round out these sports references.” Uproxx summed it up succinctly: “Mixtape Future is the best Future, because like the future, the possibilities are endless.”

     

  • Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s ‘Vultures 2’ makes Billboard 200 debut

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    Kicking off the week like the musical stars they are, today Ye and Ty Dolla $ign have entered the Billboard 200 charts with their album ‘Vultures 2’. According to the report, the debut comes with 107,000 equivalent album units in its first week, about 41,000 units less than the first album ‘Vultures’ from the trilogy. It also includes 60,500 album sales, 46,000 streaming equivalent album units (50.44 million on-demand streams of the songs) and 500 track equivalent album units.

  • Billboard 200: Gunna’s ‘One of Wun’ debuts at #2

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    Gunna, the four-time GRAMMY-nominated artist and multi-talented rapper-singer, returns to the top of multiple charts with his acclaimed fifth studio album ‘One of Wun’! It notably bows at #2 on the Billboard 200, becoming his fifth consecutive Top 5 debut on the respective chart. Additionally, it captures #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart. Not to mention, it stands out as the #1 debut of the week and #1 biggest week for a Warner Music Group album in 2024 so far. On DSPs, it notches a #1 Spotify Global and United States. debut in addition to vaulting to #1 on Apple Music in forty-four countries. Thus far, it has generated 170 million global streams.

    Earning critical acclaim, Rolling Stone highlighted how “Gunna shows off his melodic genius,” and Clash christened it “a potent and personal record” and attested “it contains some of the more fired-up performances of his career.”

    Right now, Gunna is canvasing the country with sold out shows on ‘The Bittersweet Tour’. It kicked off on May 4 in Columbus, Ohio at Schottenstein Center, with sixteen stops across the United States in Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Houston, Miami and more before wrapping up with a hometown performance in Atlanta at State Farm Arena on June 11.

    The artwork for One of Wun was created by Calvin Clausell Jr, featuring creative direction by Spike Jordan of The Genius Club, as well as art direction and design by Tal Midyan.

    Prior to the release, Gunna shared the singles, ‘Bittersweet’ and ‘Prada Dem’ featuring Offset, notably marking his first releases since his chart-topping studio album ‘a Gift & a Curse’. The album debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 and became his fourth consecutive #1 debut on the Billboard Top Hip-Hop/R&B Albums Chart. ‘a Gift & a Curse’ recently surpassed one billion streams on Spotify and features the now RIAA certified platinum hit single ‘fukumean’, which became Gunna’s first #1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.