Posted by Drake and NBA YoungBoy have long held a stranglehold on streaming platforms, routinely registering among the most streamed artists for a year. According to Chart Data, the two men are once again neck and neck when it comes to mass consumption of their music.
So far in 2022, Drake and YoungBoy hold the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in regard to the most-streamed acts in music. Drizzy currently outpaces YoungBoy by a 200 million stream margin with three billion streams compared to 2.8 billion. At No. 4, the late Juice WRLD holds steady with 2.2 billion streams so far in the young year, followed by several Hip Hop and R&B heavyweights, including The Weeknd at two billion, Kanye West at 1.9 billion, Lil Durk at 1.7 billion, Eminem at 1.5 billion and Future at 1.5 billion.
Most streamed artists this year so far in the US:
#1 @Drake 3B
#2 YoungBoy Never Broke Again 2.8B
#3 @taylorswift13 2.5B
#4 Juice WRLD 2.2B
#5 @theweeknd 2B
#6 @kanyewest 1.9B
#7 @lildurk 1.7B
#8 @MorganWallen 1.7B
#9 @Eminem 1.5B
#10 @1future 1.5B— chart data (@chartdata) May 29, 2022
Since 2017, Hip Hop has reigned as the most popular genre on streaming platforms, and Drake and YoungBoy have only added to their dominance. When Chart Data calculated total streams for artists through the first two months of the year, Drizzy had already pulled in a staggering 1.4 billion streams. YoungBoy was close behind with 1.3 billion streams through the 10-week period, but other dominant acts such as Kodak Black and Rod Wave haven’t continued with the same level of fan consumption.
NBA YoungBoy Receives Plaque For Having 100 Gold & Platinum Singles
YoungBoy’s success differs largely from Drake in terms of streams as the Baton Rouge rapper isn’t as consistent a presence on radio. Still, his success has yielded over six billion streams alone for his Sincerely Kentrell album and recently, he was gifted a plaque for having over 100 singles achieve gold or platinum status.
In February, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) revealed YoungBoy had 71 certifications, far surpassing both J. Cole and Future’s totals. The figure quickly jumped in the months following the RIAA’s initial statement and YoungBoy flashed the result of his hard work on Instagram, despite being at odds with his label home, Atlantic Records.