Drake and NBA Youngboy seem to be going toe-to-toe for the title of the most-streamed artiste for 2022, as their streams are in a fierce battle for the dominant position.
NBA Youngboy is forging ahead in what appears to be a strong underdog position that might very well put him ahead of one of the most-streamed rappers in the game.
On Tuesday (April 13), Chart Data revealed that the rapper has reached yet another milestone as he breaks into the 2-billion streams zone, joining Drake.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Drake have consistently been the most streamed artistes this year, beating out pop stars like Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande, who have dominated streaming over the past several years.
Chart Data, a recognized source for MRC Data compilations from Billboard, tracks the performances of artists and their music on streaming platforms.
The latest update on NBA Youngboy’s movement shows that the rapper is head to head with Drake for streams, something that is remarkable as he is not only a rapper with less experience but also a smaller catalogue of music in comparison to Drake.
Last month, Chart Data revealed that Drake was at the No. 1 spot for most-streamed artists within the United States with 1.4 billion streams, followed by YoungBoy with 1.3 billion. Both artists have climbed into the 2 billion threshold.
In March, Youngboy rose above one of the highest-streamed artists- Taylor Swift, who had 1.2 billion streams, and The Weeknd had 1.1 billion.
Juice WRLD also tied The Weeknd with 1.1 billion streams while Kanye West with 840 million, Eminem with 710 million, Kodak Black with 660 million, Rod Wave also with 660 million, and Morgan Wallen at 640 million, all trailing behind to round off the top 10 most streamed artists for the year so far.
One of the key takeaways for Drake and NBA Youngboy is that they are ushering in the era of hip hop music being the most popular genre of music, surpassing pop music which previously owned the top with the likes of Taylor Swift.
It’s the first time a rapper sits at the top and second position, something that shifts the view that Americans mostly listen to pop music.
One of the factors that are speculated to change the shift in the listenership is the music and the support from fans. NBA Youngboy, in particular, appeals to a younger audience and is said to have a cult following.
His latest project, which includes the September 2021 album ‘Sincerely, Kentrell’ released from prison, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making him the third artist besides Tupac and Lil Wayne to have a No.1 album while in jail.
His mixtape ‘Colors,’ released in January 2022, is also widely streamed and may have catapulted his fame more after it took shots at late rapper King Von and NLE Choppa on “Bring the Hook” and “Know Like I Know”, respectively.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again has now earned over 2 billion on-demand streams in the US in 2022, joining @Drake as the only artist to reach this milestone.
— chart data (@chartdata) April 13, 2022
