Over a decade into his rap career, Drake continues to break records and set standards for everyone else in the rap game to follow. His latest achievement was reported by the Chart Data Twitter account, which noted that the Canadian star’s latest album Certified Lover Boy recently crossed the double-platinum threshold — and became the only rap album released in 2021 to do so.
.@Drake's 'Certified Lover Boy' has now sold over 2 million total units in the US. It's the only 2021 rap album to reach this milestone
— chart data (@chartdata) January 6, 2022
This makes Certified Lover Boy Drake’s sixth consecutive multi-platinum album, as well as the third best-selling album of the year behind country star Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album (I guess America really does love its casual racism) and Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour. The rap albums CLB outsold include Kanye West’s Donda, J. Cole’s The Off-Season, Lil Nas X’s Montero, Moneybagg Yo’s A Gangsta’s Pain, and Polo G’s Hall Of Fame, which were all among the widely accepted Best Rap Albums Of 2021.
The top 10 albums of 2021 in the U.S., by total equivalent album units, according to MRC Data (1/2):
1. @MorganWallen Dangerous: The Double Album (3.226 million)
2. @oliviarodrigo Sour (2.856 million)
3. @Drake Certified Lover Boy (1.970 million)
4. @Adele 30 (1.936 million)— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) January 6, 2022
Although Drake’s sales momentum doesn’t appear to be slowing down with his sixth album, a recent study — albeit a very unscientific one — found that runners listening to Drake’s music ran slower on average, which is something to keep in mind as we all chase those New Year’s fitness resolutions. Meanwhile, the self-proclaimed 6 God continues to showcase his cultural ubiquity this year with an appearance on Aaliyah’s upcoming posthumous album Unstoppable.
