Whew! It seems like “Certified Lover Boy” is giving what it’s suppose to give! The album was released shortly after midnight on Friday. In the time since, Drake’s new tracks have led him to two broken records. According to Billboard, the Toronto rapper secured Apple Music’s record for “most streamed album in a single day.”
Not only that, the streaming service also told Billboard that Drake is now their “most streamed artist” in 24 hours, at least for this year so far. Billboard’s reporting did not specify the number of streams CLB has received. However, the 21-track project has been the talk among social media users all day.
As previously reported, one focus point has been R.Kelly’s writing credit on “Certified Lover Boy.” There seemed to be division among fans over the singer’s presence on a Drake project as he fights a racketeering charge along with 14 underlying acts including kidnapping and sex trafficking. According to Hot New HipHop, the credit comes from a sample of Kelly’s used in the song ‘TSU.’ The sample reportedly derives from in question is reportedly R. Kelly’s ‘Half on a Baby.’
The project arrived after a few delays earlier this year. In January, he pushed back the release to dedicate his energy on recovering from knee surgery and rehab. Fans anticipated the album dropping this past summer, but June, July and half of August passed with no album. Then, he revealed in an Instagram comment on August 16, that he had contracted Covid-19.
About a week ago, Drake teased the album with an advertisement that took over ESPN’s SportsCenter in the middle of a broadcast. The video had the appearance of a glitch and showed a cardboard that read “CLB September 3.” He followed that stunt by confirming the release date on his Instagram feed. He shared the album cover along with the full album name and same drop date of September 3. It features 12 pregnant women emojis in various skin tones and clothing.
Then a few days later, billboards began popping up across the United States and in Nigeria. Each artist featured on the album was listed, in part, on the billboard displayed in their respective hometowns. The feature list includes: Jay-Z, Future, Young Thug, Lil Baby, Giveon, Ty Dolla $ign and Travis Scott to name a few.
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