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It’s been over a year since Drake dropped his last album $ome $exy $ongs 4 U. But he is still collecting chart accolades.
Drake Breaks His Own Spotify Record
According to a post shared by Kurrco on X, Drake just broke another Spotify record. Which was previously held by … Drake. The Grammy winner reached a new peak of 88.74 monthly listeners on Spotify after previously holding the record of 88.71 monthly listeners. He also currently has the most monthly listeners of any rapper on Spotify.
However, even though Drake is winning, the genre of hip-hop is suffering as a whole. Nine months have lapsed since a hip-hop song has charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Ironically, the last song to chart was Drake’s hit single, What Did I Miss?. Which he released last July, as part of the rollout for his upcoming studio album, Iceman.
Drake has reached a new all-time peak of 88.74 million monthly listeners on Spotify, breaking his previous record of 88.71 million.
— Kurrco (@Kurrco) April 14, 2026
He currently has the most monthly listeners of any rapper on Spotify. pic.twitter.com/1f4Ju946pM
Isaac Hayes III Weighs In Drake, Kendrick Beef Impact
In light of the news, music producer Isaac Hayes III said that it just further proves that the 2024 feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar put commercial hip-hop in a bad position.
“The Kendrick Drake beef killed commercial rap music. It turned hip hop into an engagement art form, not a chart-performing one,” Hayes III wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on April 10.
He also added: “Everyone showed up, debated, replayed, picked sides, and ran the numbers up. Meanwhile, the Billboard Hot 100 kept moving. The beef fed the masses and killed the charts. So I see why labels are cutting back. Black folks would rather tear down artists from both sides when collaboration is what drives expansion.”
However, many fans argued that the charts are not the only thing that determines success for the genre.
“Hip hop wasn’t about charts in the first place. I’m glad it’s going back to its roots. Hip hop is a culture,” one user wrote.
“Hip hop was NEVER a ‘chart-performing ‘ art form. It was and IS a cultural art form. For US by US,” a second user chimed in.
Drake is set to drop his next studio album, Iceman, later this year.
