Elite 100: Rappers Lead The Way; Drake, XXXTentacion, Future, Juice WRLD

Lagerhaus/WireImage/Getty Images – Drake
Drake performs at Qudos Bank Arena on Nov. 7, 2017 in Sydney, Australia.

The first six artists on this week’s Elite 100 Artists chart are all rappers, including the recently deceased XXXTentacion and the up-and-comer Juice WRLD.

To no one’s surprise, the streaming juggernaut that is Drake has a firm grip on the No. 1 slot, with a stupefying 332,300 album-equivalent units for the week ending July 12. In case you don’t follow popular music, Drake released his album Scorpion June 29, and the album is poised to be one of the biggest projects of the year, with 439.4 million streams, 150,100 song sales, and 24,400 album sales in the second week of its release. He led every category and it wasn’t close anywhere.

Pollstar, with the BuzzAngle Music-powered Elite 100 Artists Chart, gives a snapshot of the week’s top-selling artists based on music sales and streaming, counting data from the U.S. and Canada.

All product, not just current releases, by that artist are included in the figures and the total for ranking purposes is based on an album sale equaling 1, 10 song sales equal 1 album, and 1,500 on-demand streams equal 1 album. 

Drake has been a mainstay near the top of consumption charts for nearly six months, as he released the two-song Scary Hours EP, featuring the smash hit “God’s Plan” and followed it with a steady stream of singles, including another hit in “Nice For What.” Both of those singles are on Scorpion.

Drizzy’s tour with the Migos kicks off July 26 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City. That run has three-night stands booked in arenas in Toronto, Chicago, New York, Brooklyn, Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, and Oakland, Calif. And that doesn’t include the two-night stands and single shows. In the Southern California market Drizzy and the Migos are playing Staples Center in Los Angeles three times and Forum in Inglewood twice.

Following him is XXXTentacion, who is still seeing a surge in popularity after his untimely death. His strongest metric was streams, with 114.4 million, though he also had 44,400 song sales.

Future is also back near the top of the charts, as his mixtape Beast Mode 2 dropped July 6. The project was almost exclusively consumed via streaming, 93.5 million on demand streams. Future Hendrix hits the road with Nicki Minaj starting Sept. 23 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

Scott Legato / Getty Images – Future
Future performs during the second day of Music Midtown Festival at Piedmont Park in Atlanta Sept. 17.

Relative newcomer Juice WRLD had a total of 41,800 album units, thanks to 57.5 million on-demand streams and 20,300 album purchases, putting him at No. 5 on the chart. Juice WRLD released a new song with Lil Uzi Vert, titled “Wasted” on July 10, and the Goodbye & Good Riddance album dropped in May.

Minnesota promoter Zack Chazin was very excited to be hosting Juice WRLD’s upcoming tour, writing on his Facebook: “Juice WRLD next weekend at Myth is almost sold out. Looks like it’s about to be the biggest show on his debut tour (3k+). Just got an email from Interscope requesting 50 tickets. God damn Minnesota STAND UP!” The show is a co-promote between Swowta Fest and Myth Live. 

Meek Mill’s mixtape Legends Of The Summer released July 6, and he came in at No. 11 this week, with 28,600 album units.

Rock is also still alive, as Panic! At The Disco made a strong showing, combining 31.4 million streams with 22,700 song sales for a total of 31,100 album units, good enough to get them to the No. 9 position. The group’s latest project, Pray For The Wicked, released June 22.

Twenty One Pilots also released two singles July 11, which earned the guys 17.9 million streams and 18,900 song sales. They came in at No. 39, not bad considering there was only one day during the period in question for the new music to chart.

The Carters, the duo of Jay-Z and Beyoncé, came in at No. 25 with 21,600 album units for their joint effort, Everything Is Love. Queen Bey also made the chart separately, at No. 55. The duo wraps up its stadium tour in Europe tonight at Allianz Riviera in Nice, France, then it’s back to North America, starting July 25 at Landover, Md.’s FedExField.

Country music definitely had a place on the chart, as Florida Georgia Line released a self-titled EP July 6, featuring three tracks, good for 26.2 million streams and 56,700 song sales. The duo has a busy 2018 lined up, with its next performance scheduled July 18 at the California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles, Calif.

Dan + Shay are still sailing along thanks to the strength of their self-titled June 22 release. They came in at No. 33 with 16,800 album units.

Artists to watch for the next chart include Deafheaven; Dirty Projectors; Rich The Kid, Famous Dex, and Jay Critch; and Wiz Khalifa, all of whom had projects drop July 13.