Sizwe Sibiya
For the first decade of the 21st century, Kanye West ran the rap game, breaking records in the charts and winning 14 of his 21 Grammys. But Canadian rapper Drake has chosen 2021 as the year to keep Ye in check.
West kept his legions of fans on their toes this summer, after scheduling his latest project Donda for release in July, only for the album to finally drop on 29 August.
Five days later, on 3 September, West’s latest nemesis Drake released his sixth studio album, Certified Lover Boy, which out-streamed Donda in less than three days of its release, according to Alpha Data.
On 5 September, Certified Lover Boy had streamed over 430 million times, while Donda lagged just behind at 423 million.
This is not the first time West has been outshone commercially by a younger rival. In 2013, when sales were still through CDs, U.S. rapper J. Cole bruised Kanye’s ego with his second album, Born Sinner, which sold more copies than Kanye’s album Yeezus in its first week.
J. Cole put his reputation on the line by predicting this feat in a single, which was released in the leadup to the album.
In “Forbidden Fruit” featuring Kendrick Lemar, Cole raps, “I’ma drop the album same day as Kanye / Just to show the Boyz the man now.”
The most significant record West broke with Donda is the most postponed album of 2021. That said, the album was still the legendary rapper’s tenth album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200, which is a remarkable achievement in its own right.
Video source: YouTube
