Drake’s eight-year chart reign comes to an end
After a stunning 431-week run on one of the music industry’s most-watched charts, Drake’s eight-year consecutive reign on the Billboard Hot 100 has finally come to an end. The Canadian rapper and R&B artist hopped on the chart back on May 23, 2009, with his first big hit, “Best I Ever Had,” and then proceeded to stay there for basically the entire Obama administration, thanks to a combination of 157 different solo projects and collaborations, plus that relentless, Degrassi-bred hustle.
All good things must come to an end, though, and this week’s chart—dated August 26—shows that Drake’s latest charting tracks, “Passionfruit” and “Signs,” had both fallen off the Hot 100 at last. (Nobody tell The Night King, please.) Still, Drake goes out as the unquestionable record holder for Hot 100 staying power; his nearest competition, Lil’ Wayne, is sitting at a mere 326 weeks, a full two years less than the More Life star.