Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century Podcast: Drake (No. 4)

On today’s (Nov. 4) episode of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century podcast, we reach No. 4 on our list with a rapper (and singer) who became a pop star without ever specifically going pop — by changing the face and sound of hip-hop and dragging it further towards the mainstream’s center than it had ever been before. (Read our No. 4 Greatest Pop Star essay about Drake here.)

Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop deputy director Carl Lamarre and staff writer Michael Saponara to remember the crazy journey of one Aubrey “Drake” Graham from teen TV phenom to mixtape hype to globe-conquering superstar. First, we discuss why it was so important for us to have a rapper in this list’s top five, and then debate whether he makes sense as the highest-ranked MC on our list — comparing his case to such lower-ranking stars as Eminem and Kanye West, who he might not be able to match in terms of all-consuming pop magnitude, but who he likely has beat in both overall hits and continued pop impact.

Then, we remember just how suddenly Drake snuck up on the music world as a star, and how game-changing his success was almost right away. Then, as we get into the mid-2010s, we wax rhapsodic about how Drake faced a pair of challenges from mighty foes that he not only weathered, but brilliantly used to springboard to even greater success, until he’d become the biggest artist of the entire early streaming era and the no-doubt top-dog in hip-hop every time out — before finally facing the one opponent he couldn’t vanquish or rocket past earlier this year. We end by remembering our favorite Drake videos and interviews, sizing up Adonis Graham’s chances of making the NBA in the next couple decades and wondering how the hell “Feel No Ways” was never released as a single.

Check it out above, get acquainted with our past episodes here, and be sure to subscribe to Billboard‘s Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century series wherever you get your podcasts! (New episodes will be revealed every Wednesday, following the Tuesday publishing of our Greatest Pop Star for that week, up to the unveiling of our No. 1 on Dec. 3.)