Despite taking a major hit in last year’s diss-track war with Kendrick Lamar, Canadian rapper Drakehas once again proven his commercial dominance, landing his latest album, Some Sexy Songs 4 U, at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
The collaborative project with PartyNextDoor, released on Valentine’s Day, pulled in:
• 246,000 album-equivalent units in its debut week
• 287 million streams
• 25,000 pure sales
With this feat, Drake now ties Jay-Z and Taylor Swift for the most No. 1 albums (14) by a solo act, trailing only The Beatles (19).
The album’s release timing was notable, coming just two weeks after Lamar performed “Not Like Us” at the Super Bowl halftime show—a track that served as Exhibit A in their brutal rap battle. Interestingly, Some Sexy Songs contains almost no direct references to the feud.
Drake’s opening numbers are solid but noticeably lower than his past two releases, For All the Dogs (402,000) and Her Loss (404,000). However, it still outperforms 2022’s Honestly, Nevermind (204,000).
Meanwhile, other albums making moves on the Billboard 200:
• Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet climbs five spots to No. 2 after a deluxe edition release.
• Kendrick Lamar’s GNX drops two spots to No. 3, following its Super Bowl boost.
• SZA’s SOS holds at No. 4.
• Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos lands at No. 5.
Even with the public fallout from his rap battle loss, Drake remains the king of streaming—and this No. 1 debut proves he’s far from being counted out.
