Drake’s Certified Lover Boy Out-Charts Kanye West’s Donda in Album and Song Numbers
The winner of the battle between Drake and Kanye West's albums, Certified Lover Boy and Donda, respectively, which dropped within the same week, has been revealed.
The week after Kanye released his 10th LP, the Billboard numbers came in, revealing that he sold 309,000 units in his first week. ’Ye, however, didn't benefit from the full seven-day time span that artists typically have between the time their album is delivered and when their sales come in. Kanye dropped Donda on Sun., Aug. 29, costing him two days of streams and purchases. It's also worth noting that Yeezy didn't sell any physical copies, so his numbers for Donda are strictly based on streams and digital sales.
Nonetheless, with the Chicago rapper's 300,000-plus units, he debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart on Sept. 5. He also tied Eminem with the most consecutive chart-topping albums of all time. Both Em and ’Ye have 10 albums that have successively landed at No. 1.
As for his Donda album cuts that have received placements on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Kanye's track "Hurricane" featuring Lil Baby and The Weeknd debuted at No. 6 while "Jail" took the No. 10 spot. Additional songs like "Off the Grid," "OK OK," "Junya," "Moon," "Praise God," "Jesus Lord," "Believe What I Say" and "God Breathed" are within the top 30. Altogether, Kanye now has 20 top 10 Hot 100 hits.
On the other hand, Drake nearly doubled Kanye's first-week sales, moving 613,000 units of Certified Lover Boy—the largest week for any album in over a year. Drizzy's numbers includes streaming and digital sales. However, he's set to release physical copies of CLB on Oct. 1.
In addition to the 6 God obviously debuting at No. 1 with his sixth album, his single "Way 2 Sexy" with Future and Young Thug landed at the top spot on the Hot 100, marking his ninth No. 1, Thugger's third and Hendrix's first. And in typical Drake fashion, all 21 of the joints on Certified Lover Boy debuted in the top 40 of the Hot 100, with nine of the songs sitting within the top 10.
Currently, Drake, who has 258 charted songs, 143 top 40 records, 39 top 10 tracks and nine No. 1s in his career, ties The Beatles' record for the only artist to ever be placed in the top five slots on Billboard Hot 100 in the same week. The Beatles accomplished this feat back in April of 1964.
With all of the hits both Kanye West and Drake have under their belts, it's plausible that fans may want to see the two multiplatinum-selling rappers go toe-to-toe in a Verzuz battle, which ’Ye is open to, according to Swizz Beatz.
In the meantime, Kanye's 27-song offering and Drizzy's 21-track LP will keep music heads occupied for some time.