The Absurdity Of Comparing Drake To Michael Jackson
With Drake’s latest album, Certified Lover Boy breaking a long-standing record belonging to Michael Jackson and The Beatles by capturing all but one of the top ten spots on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, there have been comparisons made between Drake and Michael Jackson. However, the Drake versus Michael Jackson comparisons need to cease immediately. While Drake accomplished an impeccable feat on paper, many are missing the context of these performances specifically from a consumption perspective. Besides the fact that there are 100 million more American citizens now than in 1982 when Michael Jackson’s Thriller dropped, the streaming world does not hide the simple fact that MJ’s impact on the world is untouchable and certainly not by Drake.
Michael Jackson’s life is one of the most insane lives ever lived. If you look at his career, he’s like NBA Legend Kobe Bryant, they’d have to retire two jerseys. MJ’s impact as the lead of The Jackson 5 alone could go toe to toe with Drake’s career. Michael Jackson was a global multi-generational superstar. He wasn’t an artist with crossover appeal, his music was universal. On the other side of the coin, Drake is one of the greatest of his era. However, his music is not universally loved around the world, in the way the numbers make it seem.
Michael Jackson could go to any place and cause a riot of mindless fans. MJ could even go to a country concert in Missouri during the ’90s and shut the whole thing down. Drake got booed at Tyler, The Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw in 2019. I know it’s easy to say that social media has a lot to do with this, but in my opinion, even artists like Bruno Mars and Beyoncé have been able to create larger fan bases that actually care about the artists no matter what they put out. Drake’s career would have to go a different trajectory than it currently is to even get close to Michael Jackson’s level of icon status.
Considering album sales, Michael Jackson existed during a time where people had to physically go out and spend the modern-day equivalent of $10 or more on an album. These days $10 can get you access to unlimited music for a month. The only album of Michael Jackson’s to not be certified at least 8 times platinum, is the single album he released post-2000, Invincible. Drake only has one album certified over 6 times platinum, Views.
Additionally, Drake has one major advantage, the internet, however, it’s still unlikely to see an artist sell a million in their first week in this era. There was a time where Thriller was selling a million per week, regardless of how recently the album was released. It’s that level of adoration and dedication of a fan base that Drake will never have, and a big part of that has to do with his actual music.
Drake makes flash in the pan music now. He didn’t always, case and point Take Care’s total weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, being in the top 20 all-time with 448 weeks and counting. Scorpion tumbles week after week, Dark Lane Demo Tapes isn’t even on the list anymore, but there are still Michael Jackson albums on the list decades later. While Drake used to organically evoke emotions these days it feels like a corporate capture of moments that used to feel authentic and now feel uninspired. Michael Jackson is one of the top 10 best-selling artists of all time, Drake isn’t even in the top 50. We must realize this is more recency bias than anything substantial that would give Drake the edge. Certified Lover Boy may have broken records but it also sold 119,000 less in its first week than Scorpion. And CLB’s drop in listeners from Week 1 to Week 2 was a clear indication of the wider public’s reception of the album.
Drake’s career from a debut and single’s perspective is what makes him one of the greats. But his discography is what hurts his overall legacy. While some may feel Take Care shouldn’t be considered a classic, its run is unprecedented and deserves higher consideration, being one of only three Hip-Hop projects to be in the top 20 for most weeks on the Billboard 200 list along with Kendrick Lamar’s good kid m.A.A.d city and Eminem’s Curtain Call. But if we compared the hits from Thriller to the ones on Take Care, it wouldn’t be fair.
Drake has done very well to manipulate the steaming evolution in music. His ability to capture hype and turn it into digital records sales is that of a pioneer and innovator. But that doesn’t negate the fact that being in the world of digital music consumption is like having a cheat code. Drake is part of the larger mainstream music algorithm assuring all of his albums stream every single day. We as media consumers cannot get lost in the rhetoric and stupid chart records that are bound to be surpassed again as music continues to develop. Streaming in music is like when the NBA added the three-point line and Drake is Steph Curry. You can’t negate his greatness but it does exist within a specific area, and like Curry, Drake will never be as impactful as their respective MJ’s.
