Drake Takes the Hot Spot

The Canadian rapper Drake has taken the album charts by storm. Despite only being active since 2001 the artist has cemented himself as one of the greatest modern singers to come out of the country. He is heavily inspired by other successful contemporary rappers such as Kanye West and Jay Z.

Drake has been applauded for the technical complexity of his rhymes. However, he is also criticised often for the egotistical nature of his songs lyrics. The content of these songs is usually autobiographical and features true stories about Drakes personal life. His songs are also given a distinctive edge thanks to the fact he was raised in Toronto. This has led to his raps containing Canadian slang terms.

In late June of 2018 Drake released his album Scorpion. It quickly rose to number one in the album charts. It has already stayed at number one for three straight weeks. It shows no signs of losing out on the hot spot any time soon. It has sold over a quarter of a million copies each week.

However, these numbers only account for the digital downloads for the Scorpion album. Far fewer people actually bought physical copies. So far the number for more traditional formats is under 30,000. This is a sign that digital downloads are becoming the dominant method for listening to modern music.

Critical opinions of the album have mostly been on the positive side. There has been particular praise for the way the album focuses on more hip hop elements than those of R&B. This is likely due to the fact that the market has become saturated with R&B and therefore the listening public desire something a bit more fresh. The album continues to help Drake rise in popularity despite the fact that he is a polarising public figure.