Y’all typing a lot in here. Good numbers

I didn’t even like that album like that but anyone claiming the numbers are underwhelming are hating.

Right, it's a combination of things. That's why I said there are variables and it isn't just about sales. I must emphasize this again: please read if you want this to be a serious discussion. No need to bring up Kendrick. I said variables.

Post might be his peer but travis really isn't. Either way, artist vs. rapper does matter. All of this goes back to who's the best MC. That's how this all started. There's a history behind this and it's important to understand this. This also ties into why variables matter and why some rappers are rarely talked about and others aren't. Example: Black Thought is a dope rapper. He was never viewed as one of the best out like that because he didn't have other factors such as impact, sales, songs everyone knew, and verses on his own albums like that. It's the same reason Nelly wasn't truly taken seriously because people didn't think he was a lyricist. I know a lot of new fans don't know this or like to deal with this, but context and history is always crucial. Both can sellout arenas because they have been around longer and acquired a more dedicated fanbase while also having fans who aren't even rap fans. This argument doesn't really hold weight.

"Doja Cat/Megan Thee Stallion/Roddy Ricch/DaBaby had bigger hits than him last year."

I'm not gonna respond to another post about the following until you address my argument about them after this. Baby had more hits and recognizable songs than them. This is why songs that werent even singles have such high streams on My Turn. It's also why their albums sold less. You are trying to focus on individual factors instead of looking at the bigger picture and including all variables

Hits
Sales
Impact
Skillset

Which rapper you named has all of these factors the way Baby does?

Hits? Baby had like 8-10 last year
Sales? Triple platinum and still on the charts
Impact? Hottest rapper in the streets while having crossover appeal
Skillset? Respected by his peers, new generation of fans who anointed him, older fans, and older rappers

You cant because it doesn't exist. This is what it means to be the best out. The following rappers

Rakim
Ice Cube
Snoop Dogg
Biggie
Tupac
Jay Z
DMX
Eminem
50 Cent
T.I.
Kanye
Wayne
Drake

all had the following in their own way and hence people calling them the hottest or best out at one point and a number of them having their own era. The others you named, do not.

Drake never sold 800k back to back in 2 weeks. Drake never had 2 albums do over 900k fw. Drake never had 2 albums do over 800k fw. This simply isn't true.

Lil Baby didn't have more recognizable hits than any of those names last year, what are you on? The only song he dropped last year that made song noise on the charts was The Bigger Picture.

All those names had bigger hits than him. That's a fact. They had more presence on the singles chart than him. That's also a fact. He was outstreamed by Juice WRLD/YoungBoy NBA. That's another fact.

Like I said, only his album did better. Roddy Ricch didn't release a deluxe album like Lil Baby did. Doja Cat didn't drop an album. Megan's album dropped too late in the year to compete with his and DaBaby's album didn't really do much.

Your main point is that he raps better than them and I agree but they also outdo him in other metrics and that matters. You can't be the #1 guy with other rappers outstreaming you, having bigger hits and tours. It doesn't work that way.

You think all that matters are first week sales? Drake has moved over 37M units in the US. Eminem has moved over 45M. No other rapper has moved nearly as much as the both of them. And that's for albums.

For single sales, Drake outdoes everyone. He has more hits. Has charted better and has outstreamed everyone.

Baby had more hits and more recognizable songs.
Woah
Emotionally Scarred
All In
The Bigger Picture
3 Headed Goat
Be Something
24 (Remix)
For the Night
Grace
Heatin Up
Commercial
We Paid
No Sucker

13 records. All hits or recognizable songs hence the fact that almost all went platinum. This is better than any artist you named for 2020. There's a reason the album went triple platinum and still selling well a year later while the other artists aren't selling as much. They didn't have a bigger presence. Lmao Meg needed Baby for a song baby didnt need meg. Juice died. Youngboy one of the hottest out. Not denying him at all.

"Roddy Ricch didn't release a deluxe album like Lil Baby did. Doja Cat didn't drop an album. Megan's album dropped too late in the year"

Well that's too bad. The numbers say enough. Maybe they should have done more so you could make a stronger argument.

No. My point is, he has the best combination of every factor. He's one of the best rappers out right now and it's pretty much accepted, he has hits (more than the rest in 2020), had a larger impact (street dominance while having crossover appeal while being respected by OGs unlike the others to the same extent), and had the biggest album. Which rapper you named has this combination? I'll ask you this again for the second time to see if you can name it.

37 million units and none of his albums are diamond or even 8x plat. That says something. Meanwhile doggystyle sold 11 million worldwide, lauryn hill has sold like 20 million worldwide, em has 2 20 million+ albums, 50 has insane sales, and that's not the end of the list. But yeah, fw sales are crucial especially when my point is you dont have to outsell someone from another era to be the guy/gal of your era. And again, if streams existed back then, their numbers would be way bigger given the fact that deep cuts would have charted which would make the overall sales higher.

You're missing the point but that's okay. Lil Baby is still getting dusted in many metrics. You can't be the #1 just off of having the bestselling album of the year (that'll be dusted soon by Pop Smoke's album).

How are you the #1 guy when other people are scoring bigger, more recognizable hits than you? Having more presence on the charts, pulling more streams?

You bringing up OGs like him and how he has a lock on the streets doesn't mean s***. He's a mainstream rapper and his impact on a mainstream audience is what matters. Let's have a year where he drops and most of his peers do the same then let's revisit this.

Take Care/Views: 6x Platinum
Scorpion: 5x Platinum
NWTS: 4x Platinum
More Life/IYRTITL: 4x Platinum eligible
WATTBA/TML: 3x Platinum eligible
DLDT/SFG: Platinum eligible

I just told you've he's outsold everyone apart from Eminem and you're bringing up older acts with only 1/2 albums that did well lol. He has outsold all the names you just mentioned except Eminem. What's so hard to get in that sentence?

Just so you know, bigger first weeks were possible when pure sales were stronger and it was easier to move albums back then. 1M copies sold meant 1M units. Now you need to move over 1.5B audio streams to cross that mark. So getting a 4x Platinum album with streams alone means you're looking at over 6B US streams for an album. Do you know how hard that is to do?

Since you're so bent on streaming being such a massive advantage then people like Lil Baby should have no problem outselling Drake, no? Since it's so much easier to move album units during the streaming era?

Uhm what was this aggression for

Breh there are 5 essays in here, i'm tryna stay away from school s***

niggas started writing college research papers

How you gon say who decided not to buy or buy after hearing it on the radio

S*** is crazy. Like they know Drake personally

Big facts

Lil Baby literally dominated The Weeknd, Lil Uzi Vert, Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga all in sales last year and you're still here trying to act like he isn't insanely popular, it makes no sense. Who says you need hits to be regarded popular asf? Kendrick has had barely any hits, J Cole hasn't either, when was Kanye's last hit? 2012? are you gonna argue they aren't huge too?

yes Drake sells a s*** ton, none of these youngins are gonna come close to touching that this decade unless they branch out into other genres like Drake has. If Uzi with all that hype he had with EA can only do 288k then there is no way any of these other guys are ever touching 500k

you can't compare these new artists to Drake, just like you could never ever compare Drake's sales to Eminem, he never came anywhere close to Em's sales, it wasn't possible, even though he he has been the #1 guy in the US for 5+ years now. Now it's the same with new guys v Drake. there's many reasons for this (music not diversified plus 10x more competition for streams)

Lol I wanna see what the response gonna be to this

You dont have a point. Ive literally responded to every single sentence you have made with my paragraphs. You dont address anything I made.

"Lil Baby is still getting dusted in many metrics. You can't be the #1 just off of having the bestselling album of the year (that'll be dusted soon by Pop Smoke's album)."

Not a single metric you have named hes getting dusted in. I posted 13 records lil baby had in one year. None of the rappers you named had that in one year. Pop Smoke died. He has fans because he died. Cool if he outsells. He still died.

"How are you the #1 guy when other people are scoring bigger, more recognizable hits than you? Having more presence on the charts, pulling more streams?"

Because none of the artists you named have album sales. You kept saying album sales dont mean everything yet you keep focusing on hits when none of the artists you named, SELL WELL outside roddy ricch and lil baby had bigger fw numbers and a bigger album. If hits are that important, it should translate into sales. It doesnt.

Megs last album couldnt even sell 120k fw. NBA Youngboy did that and he isnt heavily promoted, has no thot anthems, is blackballed, and is less marketable to white suburbanites like meg is. Good News isnt even plat yet. Savage went 4x platinum. Drip too hard is 9x plat thats close to diamond Meg had beyonce and couldnt do s***. Close friends, a song with no feature, is 4x platinum. Do I need to continue

"how he has a lock on the streets doesn't mean s***. He's a mainstream rapper and his impact on a mainstream audience is what matters. "

No way you grew up on rap with this take. You cant be black

Olivia rodrigo Stan

Holy essays

Naw son these niggas sold a lot

On paper this would shoot for like 100k as a estimate , especially for a collab so this is amazing