Kendrick Lamar was able to retain the top spot on the Billboard chart, despite Drake’s fall off from the top 10.
DJ Akademiks has provided a theory as to why Drake’s two songs, “Gimme a Hug” and “Nokia,” have fallen outside of the top 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100. He discussed the impact of airplay to explain the situation during a recent livestream. The collapse for Drake comes as his rival, Kendrick Lamar, is continuing to dominate on the chart. He holds the No. 1 spot with his SZA collaboration, “Luther,” as well as the No. 3, No. 4, and No. 10 spots.
“I’ma be honest with y’all. The reality is this: The reason why ‘Luther’ is number one– I haven’t looked at the exact breakdown, but ‘Luther’ is getting tremendous airplay,” DJ Akademiks began. “The Hot 100 requires airplay. I don’t have full proof of this and when I usually do, I’ll cite it, so this is me going off of what I believe is happening. I don’t believe that Drake’s label is working these songs radio-wise, yet. Maybe it’ll change. But, because they’re not being worked, Drake’s songs are ranking only off streaming and the Hot 100 is heavily influenced by radio airplay.”
Drake’s UMG Lawsuit
Drake is currently wrapped up in a major lawsuit with Universal Music Group, in which he is accusing the company of artificially boosting the success of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” diss track. He alleges they did so in an effort to devalue his brand as he continues contract negotiations with them. UMG has already denied the allegations. Drake released “Nokia” and “Gimme a Hug” on his latest studio album, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, a full-length collaborative effort with PartyNextDoor. They dropped the project on February 14 and it quickly ascended the Billboard charts at first. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, moving 246,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. It dropped down to No. 2 in the second week following the release of Tate McRae’s new album, So Close To What.
