You’ve heard of an artist having the number one album in the country. But have you ever heard of an artist securing three of the top albums? With a hefty trio of albums releasing on Friday, May 22nd, Drake made history by securing the three top spots on the Billboard 200 with ICEMAN, HABIBTI, and Maid of Honour. This was the first time such an honor had ever taken place since Billboard started its charts back in 1956.
In the UK, the Toronto MC pulled off a similar feat, notching three albums in the top 10 for the first time. ICEMAN led the charge, while HABIBTI and Maid of Honour reached sixth and seventh, respectively.
Drake reached this acclaim through immense hype and buildup that lasted months. Livestreams and teasers were in abundance as he chose an unorthodox way to promote his album. At one point, he was allegedly recording his album inside a strip club in Houston, Texas.
Drake Claims The Top Three Spots for the Top 200 Albums in America
Moreover, the Views rapper simply disappeared from the music industry entirely after his beef with Kendrick Lamar. After proving unsuccessful in his battles, he waged a war on the music industry as a whole, claiming his label unfairly backed his adversary.
Another way that he was able to drum up interest was by dissing his enemies again. Notably, artists like A$AP Rocky, Rick Ross, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar were on Drake’s radar, dissing them on songs like “1AM in Albany”.
However, his disses didn’t just extend to artists. NBA players can get it too. On the song, Drake trashes arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, LeBron James. “I shouldn’t even be shocked to see you in that arena, because you always made your career off of switching teams up,” he raps. “Please stop asking what’s going on with 23 & me, I’m a real n***a, and he’s not, it’s in my DNA.”
Additionally, on “National Treasure”, he sent shots at DeMar DeRozan for supporting Kendrick Lamar. “We must’ve been dealin’ in spur of the moment/’Cause why did we think you could get us a ring?/They braggin’ ’bout how you went home, the f**k are they on?” Drake spits.
DeRozan, a former Toronto Raptors player and a Compton native, was in the “Not Like Us” music video during the big Kendrick feud. Safe to assume, he didn’t appreciate the star forward representing his home city instead of the first NBA city he played for.
Also, in a sly bit of wordplay, he mentioned ‘dealin’ in spur of the moment’, a reference to DeRozan being traded to the San Antonio Spurs in 2018. That trade led to Kawhi Leonard becoming a Raptor, which led to their first NBA championship.
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