The release of Viewsbegan the summer of Drake and for the past nine weeks the Toronto superstar has dominated the headlines, topped the charts and broken records. For the last seven weeks, hit single “One Dance” has been No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Simultaneously, for the last seven weeks, Views has been the No. 1 album in the country - an impressive dominance that only further supports the claim Drake is the biggest pop/rap star in the world.

This accomplishment is far from common. The last artist to have the No. 1 song and the No. 1 album on the charts for seven consecutive weeks was Michael Jackson, who accomplished the feat in 1983 with Thriller and “Billie Jean.” As Complex pointed out, Michael and Drake are the only male solo artists in chart history to achieve this mark - Whitney Houston and The Beatles are the only others to pull off this impressive record.

Being No. 1 for a ninth straight week also catapults Views over The Marshall Mathers LP, the last hip-hop album to be No. 1 for eight consecutive weeks. Views now holds the title for spending the third-most weeks at No. 1 by a hip-hop album. If Drake can keep this run going for 12 more weeks, he will surpass Vanilla Ice’s To The Extreme (16 Weeks at No. 1) and MC Hammer’s Please Don’t Hurt ‘Em (21 Weeks At No. 1).

With ScHoolboy Q’s Blank Face LP set for release this Friday, TDE’s grooviest gangster could bring an end to Drake’s summer sixteen on the throne. There’s a great amount of anticipation around Q’s new album, and if that anticipation translates into sales and stream equivalents than Drake will have to settle for third place on the all-time list. This week is big for both ScHoolboy and Drake, a battle between a superstar and a star with the budding potential to be much more.

Breaking records left and right further proves that Drake is at the height of his popularity (and that it’s easier than ever to break records thanks to a confusing charting system that includes streaming equivalent totals). Views may not be the best rap album of 2016, but it’s the most successful by a mile.

By Yoh aka Yohseph E. Lowery aka @Yoh31

Photo Credit: Jose Garcia