Drake Ties Future for Most Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums No. 1s This Decade With ‘So Far Gone’ Debut

Drake’s So Far Gone mixtape debuts at No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart (dated March 2), securing the superstar’s ninth straight leader on the list.

Gone, which originally premiered in 2009, was never commercially issued, though some of the project’s tracks were later found on Drake’s debut EP, also titled So Far Gone (which reached No. 3 later in 2009). The full set only received its official commercial sales and streaming release on Feb. 15 to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

The 18-track collection earned 45,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Feb. 21, according to Nielsen Music.

As Gone debuts, Drake matches Future for the most No. 1s in the 2010s decade. The two had traded the record in recent months, with the Atlanta native establishing a temporary lead when his Future Hndrxx Presents…The WZRD opened at No. 1 earlier this month.

Behind the pair, Chris Brown, J. Cole, The Game and The Weeknd share joint custody of third place, with five No. 1s each in the 2010s.

Related

Drake Named World's Best-Selling Artist of 2018 By IFPI

02/26/2019

With 10 months remaining in the decade – and given both artists’ frequent output – Drake and Future could each still challenge for the most No. 1 albums in any decade. The Temptations currently hold the mark, with 11 leaders banked in the 1960s, a feat noticeably impressive as the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart began close to the decade’s midway point, on Jan. 30, 1965.

Here’s the current leaderboard for the most No. 1 albums in a decade:

1960s: The Temptations (11)
1970s: Al Green, Barry White, The Temptations (six each)
1980s: Luther Vandross (six)
1990s: 2Pac (five)
2000s: JAY-Z (10)
2010s thus far: Drake, Future (nine each)

As previously reported, Gone bows at No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, garnering Drake’s 10th top 10 album.