Team Drizzy has a bone to pick with veteran country music star, Kenny Chesney, who just pulled a slimy move after securing the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart with his new album, Here and Now. Earlier this week, it was announced that Drake's new mixtape, Dark Lane Demo Tapes, had debuted at No. 2 with 223,000 equivalent album units, roughly 10,000 units shy of Kenny's 233,000. This chart position marked the end of Drake's decade-long, nine-project streak of No. 1 debuts, which was devastating enough for fans, but the news that Kenny hadn't exactly played fair made it even worse.

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To boost his album sales, Kenny offered a ticket bundle deal for his already-cancelled Chillaxifcation Tour. While the tour had been halted as a result of the pandemic, Kenny was hopeful that he'd be able to hit the road by May 30th, thus offering the sales bundle with the hopes that the tour would be back on soon. However, days after securing the No. 1 spot, Kenny postponed the tour once more until 2021, essentially scheming his way into more album sales by offering a bundle for a tour that would not be happening anytime soon.

Drake‘s 10-year reign debuting at the top of the Billboard 200 ended this week when Dark Lane Demo Tapes debuted at number 2 on the charts. Kenny Chesney’s latest album proved too powerful for the 6ix God’s surprise release but that doesn’t mean that Drake’s numbers were weak by any means. The strength of his recent compilation project earned all fourteen songs a placement on the Billboard Hot 100 including two spaces in the top 10.

Though “Toosie Slide” slid down one spot to number 4, he claimed another position with the long-awaited Playboi Carti collab, “PAIN 1993.” The song debuted at number 7 on the Hot 100, marking Carti’s first top 10 single on the chart. It’s a huge milestone for the rapper, though it isn’t all that shocking. “PAIN 1993” was among the previously leaked songs that made their way onto the tracklist. Clearly, the anticipation was high for the song, especially since snippets of the song surfaced across the web.

Drake certainly did help Playboi Carti reach this milestone but it was an equally beneficial move to release the song. As it sits in the top 10, Drake has now tied Madonna for the most amount of top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Surely, he will surpass her in the months to come whether it’s from a new collaboration or the release of his sixth studio album which is expected to drop this summer. 

Drake‘s Dark Lane Demo Tapes debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 this week, ending a decade-long streak of debuting atop the charts.

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The project was topped by Kenny Chesney’s new album, Here and Now. Drake’s project sold 223,000 equivalent album units. 201,000 were from streams. The rapper did not capitalize on any merchandise/album bundles, nor a concert ticket/album bundle. There were also no options to purchase a physical copy of the album. Drake’s previous project Care Package was released in the same fashion.

Chesney’s album secured 233,000 equivalent album units.  Here and Now was consumed in an opposite manner than Drake’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes. Chesney’s work saw 222,000 in album sales and only 10,000 streaming units.

Drake spoke about his decision to release Dark Lane Demo Tapes, during an episode of Young Money Radio, with Lil Wayne: “We pieced a lot of those songs together and I put a few new joints on there, but really it was just instead of dropping a single right now,” he said. “It’s an interesting time for us all as musicians to figure out how this works and what people need. And I just felt like people would appreciate maybe a body of something to listen to as opposed to just one isolated song.”

[Via]

Usually, any time that Drake releases a full-length project, it's locked in for a #1 debut on the Billboard 200. This time around though, he will not earn that honor.

It was reported earlier in the week that Dark Lane Demo Tapes may not debut at the top spot on the charts, which would effectively end a decade-long streak of #1 debuts for the Toronto native. There is now confirmation that he will start off at the #2 spot, right behind country superstar Kenny Chesney. 

This is a loaded week for the TIDAL Wave playlist. Each week, our staff mulls over the hottest tracks to have released within the last month and, damn, we had a good time these last seven days. 

A ton of high-profile records saw the light of day, including an entire Drake mixtape (!!!) called the Dark Lane Demo Tapes. A handful of selections from that were chosen for this week's update, in addition to some brand new female rap match-ups. Megan Thee Stallion is vying to go #1 with her Beyoncé-assisted "Savage" remix but Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj are also trying to hit that point with the official "Say So" remix. Both of those have been highlighted on TIDAL Wave.

We've also got new music from Lil Baby, Smoove'L, Jackboy, O.T. Genasis, and more. On the R&B side of things, we're keeping you chill with songs from JoJo, Kehlani, Mahalia, Leven Kali, and, you guessed it, Drake.

Of course, we've also got one joint from that new Chris Brown and Young Thug mixtape Slime & B, of which we expect even more to be added next week. Stay tuned!

If you're not signed up to TIDAL yet, try it out for 60 days FREE here. While you're here, let us know who has your favorite picks this week.

Alex Zidel (Editorial)

Lil Baby - Social Distancing
O.T. Genasis - I Look Good
Smoove'L - Just A Dream
Doja Cat - Say So (feat. Nicki Minaj)
Drake - Demons (feat. Fivio Foreign & Sosa Geek)

Mike Rapp (Sales)

Drake - Chicago Freestyle (feat. Giveon)
Drake - Demons (feat. Fivio Foreign & Sosa Geek)
Lil Baby - Forever (feat. Lil Wayne)

Cole Blake (Editorial)

Gorillaz - How Far? (feat. Tony Allen & Skepta)
Doja Cat - Say So (feat. Nicki Minaj)
Drake - Chicago Freestyle (feat. Giveon)
Drake - Deep Pockets

Paul Pirotta (Sales)

Drake - D4L (feat. Future & Young Thug)
Megan Thee Stallion - Savage Remix (feat. Beyoncé)
Chris Brown & Young Thug - Go Crazy
Drake - Demons (feat. Fivio Foreign & Sosa Geek)
Drake - When To Say When

Alex Cole (Editorial)

Drake - Pain 1993 (feat. Playboi Carti)
Drake - Not You Too (feat. Chris Brown)
Lil Baby - We Paid (feat. 42 Dugg)
Lil Baby - Get Money

Mitch Findlay (Editorial)

Drake - Chicago Freestyle (feat. Giveon)
Drake - Losses
Hardo - Hurry Up & Buy (feat. JID)
Drake - D4L (feat. Future & Young Thug)

Lynn S (Editorial)

Megan Thee Stallion - Savage Remix (feat. Beyoncé)
Doja Cat - Say So (feat. Nicki Minaj)
Kehlani - F&MU
Leven Kali - MADE 4 U (feat. SYD)
ADÉ - Replacements

Rose Lilah (Editorial)

JoJo - So Bad
JoJo - Small Things
Mahalia - BRB
Jackboy - Like A Million (feat. Kodak Black)
JoJo - Man

Aron A (Editorial)

Drake - Deep Pockets
Drake - From Florida With Love
Yung Tory - Timeout (feat. Pressa)
Doe Boy - Split It (feat. Moneybagg Yo)
Gorillaz - How Far? (feat. Tony Allen & Skepta) 

In the same way that we might only be able to tell if we’ve flattened the curve in hindsight, we will also have to look back in retrospect to find out if Drake’s already reached the peak of his career. There are arguments to be made about when exactly he reached that point musically. Was it on 2016’s Views?Nothing Was The Same? IYRTITL? Because it certainly wasn’t Scorpion. In the minds of some, Drake will, if he isn’t already, become the cultural and musical archetype of what a rapper can be in the fabric of American culture. He reached pop stardom with hip-hop as the vehicle. That’s not a jab or even an insinuation that Drake’s a culture vulture because, frankly, Drake’s dictated popular culture for the better part of the last 10 years. Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and Jay-Z laid down the foundation for Drake to reach the type of mainstream success that he’s been able to attain. But as Drake reaches a point in his career where he’s broken records, collected plaques, and has dozens of trophies to his name, we’re left wondering what Dark Lane Demo Tapes actually contributes to his illustrious career. 

Entering the 2020s, Drake already had the bragging rights of claiming he has more hits than the Beatles and soon enough, he’ll have either tied or exceeded Madonna for most top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. But what does that truly mean at the end of the day when the music that’s being released is, at best, mid? Drake’s set a bar for himself over the years as both an artist and a brand. A consistent one, at that. His most recent efforts have thrived off of nostalgia. Care Package was exactly that — arriving just days before OVO Fest, he took the year off to celebrate the Toronto Raptors first Championship trophy and to bank off of previously released singles that were only available on YouTube or Soundcloud. And the people ate it up. A compilation album of loose songs sold more records in its first week than the majority of rappers sell in a month. But in an opinion-based sport where album sales and Billboard charts carry more weight than the music itself, Care Package marked Drake’s ninth consecutive number one album on the Billboard 200.

For Drake, it’s effortless. He drops music, the people, including his haters, find something to appreciate about it. Dark Lane Demo Tapes surely has the same effect on people. The “surprise” factor though seems more tactful than the OVO team leads on. Not necessarily because of the three-hour notice we all received, but simply based on the fact that there isn’t another rapper in the game, aside from Jay-Z, who is as calculated as Drake. There’s intention behind every step, every move, every word he raps in his music. So when he mentions that Noel and Oliver put together the project in a matter of days, it feels a little hard to believe. 

“War” closed out an otherwise quiet year from Drake as he dove into a new buzzing sound that had yet to seep into mainstream hip-hop, marking a stylistic shift. Then, he delivered one of the “time-stamp” type joints with the double-hitter of “When To Say When/Chicago Freestyle” that showcased his lyrical weight with nods to both Jay-Z and Eminem. But the loose records and leaks that formed Dark Lane Demo Tapes were lackluster, especially for Drake’s standards. Sure, there are notable moments, but just how memorable are they when a large portion of the project was comprised of leaks? Drake immortalizes pivotal moments of his life with his pen while scoring the soundtrack to ours. But in the wake of a global pandemic that’s claiming thousands of lives, will we look back with glee that, at the very least, we got a new album from Drake? Probably not. In all actuality, it wouldn’t be shocking if “Toosie Slide” triggers PTSD after the global pandemic ends. 

That’s the problem with Dark Lane Demo Tapes, though. Even a song like “Toosie Slide,” that’s essentially been constructed to have the same type of success as “God’s Plan,” isn’t firmly propped up atop the Billboard Hot 100. It’s a hit, and not even French Montana can take that away from him but this week, “Toosie Slide” slid down to number 3 on the charts with Travis Scott and Kid Cudi’s “The Scotts” claiming the top spot and fellow Torontonian The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” sitting at #2. Despite everything that has haunted his career from physical confrontations to getting exposed for keeping a ghostwriter on deck, the one thing that truly no other artist could hold against him was his numbers. There isn’t a single one of Drake’s contemporaries — whether in hip-hop or not — who can compete in terms of his Billboard numbers or album sales. “Toosie Slide,” specifically, felt far more contrived than any other Drake song. He’s typically creating the waves, or if he is riding it, it’s before the rest of the world catches up. But Drake is a 33-year-old father — TikTok isn’t supposed to be his main audience unless he recently decided to cater his music to Adonis’ play group. 

If numbers are truly an indication of anything in the rap game, it reflects the public’s general curiosity rather than their approval. However, there’s been a dip in streaming in the past few weeks, in spite of the global pandemic. By the end of March, the U.S. music industry hit a new all-time low in album sales with 1.52M album-equivalent units sold in the week ending on March 19th. Tory Lanez even admitted his “low” sales for New Toronto 3 was due to the decline in music consumption. However, the Drake brand is meant to be pandemic-proof. Solid enough to weather any economic, social or political storm. Dark Lane Tape Demos is expected to move 230K to 255K, but it’s in a tight race for the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 against country star Kenny Chesney’s new album who’s expected to move 220K to 235K– with nearly the entirety of those numbers coming from pure album sales. A country star ending Drake’s streak with nine consecutive #1 wouldn’t be the most unimaginable thing to happen in 2020 but if it were to happen, would that be a sign that Drake’s status as a chart-topping behemoth is beginning to deteriorate? 

With a vault that’s guarded by the precious lives of OVO shooters and engineers, the string of leaks over the past year took part of Drake’s artistic and entrepreneurial control away from him. He had his B-Rabbit moment when he turned weaknesses into strengths by adding “(LEAK 2020)” to the titles of Soundcloud drops. The highly-anticipated release of “Pain 1993” with Playboi Carti, the song that forever found itself surfacing on the web through low-quality recordings and short snippets, fell short of expectations in its final outcome even though the demand was high. Drake gave the people what they wanted. Still, regardless of how Drake plans on identifying this project, collaborations with artists like Young Thug, Future and Chris Brown will still resonate in some fashion with the public, even if it’s based on Spotify algorithms.

The lion’s share of the album is familiar ground for Drake — reminiscing on old flings from Houston, grandiose flexes that only he can relate to etc. Even so, there are flashes where he foreshadows the next move. Songs like “Deep Pockets,” “Landed” and “From Florida With Love” dive into this muddy, foggy whirlwind of production that takes animated derivatives of Soundcloud, lo-fi production while refining it for radio play. Largely due to 40’s trusted ear and Turkish-Swiss producer Oz’s contributions, there’s clearly parts of Drake that’s yearning to tread new grounds. Even on a song like “Landed,” Drake’s flow seemingly takes note from some of the young boys, namely OVO affiliate and possible signee, Smiley, though he’d argue that it was because of his Cartier pen. 

This project ultimately marks a chess move on Drake’s part. Dark Lane Demo Tapes is, after all, an easy money grab. Call me a conspiracy theorist if you will but given Drake’s meticulous nature, Dark Lane Demo Tapes feels like a way to lower expectations ahead of his next album. I mean, even as television production halts and touring plans put on hold, Dark Lane Demo Tapes is likely a means of generating income with B-Sides that demonstrate just how easily he makes a hit record. Quotable bars for days and earworms for hooks that I’ve only grown more fond of as the days pass.

Let’s not forget that the last time he graced fans with a surprise body of work, it was If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. Shifting the trajectory of Drake’s career and his sound as a whole, it further pushed him closer to the realms of the GOATs. And there’s an argument to be made that the initial response to Views didn’t meet expectations because of how If You’re Reading This was received. Dark Lane Demo Tapes seemingly plots on a reverse effect; delivering mediocrity to hold fans over while safely locking away the gems for his next album.

Pockets of growth are scattered throughout a project that can otherwise be compared to the hip-hop equivalent of NBA Playoff reruns in the COVID-19 era. Drake pushed the boundaries of hip-hop as far as he can and those he’s influenced are still trying to find their foot in the game. Can anyone knock Drake from the top? Maybe not, but that’s with all things considered — he’s taken hip-hop to new heights, for better or for worse. Dark Lane Demo Tapes has a purpose in his catalog, though not in the way that it’s been sold. It moved 100K units within its first four days of its release which is expected of Drake. At the end of the day, the real accomplishment doesn’t necessarily trickle down to numbers. The world evolves, as does the game, and to keep up, one has to adapt. Drake’s done that over the past few years more so than he’s birthed any new style. He’s relied on others to help him accomplish that. The follow-up to Scorpion will ultimately dictate whether Drake remains a musical and cultural powerhouse in the decade to come.

Internet darling Playboi Carti's collaboration with Drake, "Pain 1993," was finally released as part of the Dark Lane Demo Tapes but not everybody was happy about it. In fact, a good number of social media critics have been trashing Carti's verse on the song after so much anticipation had been built for it. One of the people who was not happy about it was producer CashMoneyAP.

Reacting to the track after listening for the first time, CashMoneyAP asked what everybody thought of "Pain 1993," revealing his own feelings about it in a tweet.

"Why is carti verse not good man," questioned the highly-touted beatmaker. 

Drake‘s new mixtape, Dark Lane Demo Tapes, could potentially not be debuting at No. 1, if country superstar Kenny Chesney beats him for the top spot with his new album, Here and Now. When Drake dropped his new tape at midnight on Friday, it was, for the most part, a surprise. Although there were whispers of a new Drake project dropping the day before, he had put in zero promo work for DLDT, which is comprised of both previously released or leaked tracks, and some new, never-before-heard joints. The official numbers will be in next week, but while Drake is almost always a shoe-in for a No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart, he’s got some close competition this time in the form of a veteran country singer.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

According to a report from HitsDailyDouble on Saturday (May 2nd), Drake’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes is projected to move between 230,000 to 255,000 equivalent album units, while Kenny Chesney’s expected to rake in 220,000 to 235,000 with his new album, Here and Now. These close quarters mean that Drizzy is at risk of failing to top the charts if Kenny does exceptionally well, and those country music fans are persistent. In fact, a whopping 210-220k of the Tennessee artist’s units are from pure album sales.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

If Drake does end up losing to Mr. Chesney, that would break his undefeated streak of No. 1 solo debuts thus far. As pointed out by XXL, every single solo Drake project since 2009’s So Far Gone, along with his 2015 joint mixtape with Future, What A Time To Be Alive, up until now has debuted in the top spot. The official results will be announced next week, so fingers crossed for hip hop fans that Drake comes out on top.

It's been less than 24 hours since Drake released his surprise mixtape Dark Lane Demo Tapes and fans still can stop talking about the project. The album is a mix of new and familiar songs with features that include looks from Young Thug, Playboi Carti, Future, and Chris Brown. Today, Lil Wayne shared the second episode of his newly launched Young Money podcast on Beats 1, and Drake decided to call in to chat with his mentor and longtime friend. They spoke about Wayne's love of creating music, and how difficult it can be to dig through his unreleased tracks.

Kevin Winter / Staff / Getty Images

"I make songs for moments," Wayne told Drake. "Like right after a movie moment. Like, right in the middle of the movie. Right before the movie, the conversation..." Drake interrupted to confirm that Lil Wayne's vault is packed. "You got so many joints. You got so many songs that's like...I remember one of the biggest things in life was reminding you of the songs. Trying to figure out what month's hard drive the song that I was looking for was on 'cause you have so many joints, it's insane."

Then, Weezy and Drizzy touched on the OVO Sound leader recently sharing photos of his son. By the sound of things, Lil Wayne hasn't yet met little Adonis Graham. Drake shared that "it was great" for him to post the pictures of his son on social media. "It wasn't anything I talked about or anything I planned," he said. "I just woke up one morning and said, 'You know what, this is just something that I wanna do.'" He added that he just wanted to be able to wake up and go places with his little boy without having to hide or shelter him from the world. Listen to Lil Wayne and Drake chop it up below.

After four years of silence on the music front, JoJo released her long-awaited project Good To Know. The nine-track R&B offering chronicles her personal and professional journey and JoJo shared that it is a project that is broken down into three parts. "The first being: here's what I do to numb myself. Get me out of my skin and let me be distracted with love, sex, substances," she said. "The middle part finds me realizing that I need to be on my own for the first time in my life to end patterns that aren't serving me anymore. Toward the end, I knock on the door of self-love. Accepting where I've been and meeting myself where I'm at."

Friday (May 1) was JoJo's big day as she's been rolling out Good To Know's release for some time. Then, Drake popped up with news of a surprise mixtape, Dark Lane Demo Tapes, that stormed social media even before it hit streaming services. JoJo couldn't help but laugh at the coincidental timing and tweeted a short message to the OVO Sound mogul: "Damn Drake ??." It was all in love, as both artists' projects have been the talk of social media all day. 

Have you checked out both albums yet? What do you think so far?