As expected by anyone with even the slightest semblance of an understanding of Drake's current stature, the recent Grammy winner is projected to have one hell of a charts week with his new-to-streaming legacy bolstererSo Far Gone.
Current projections from Hits Daily Double have the 2009 project opening at somewhere between 40,000 and 50,000 in total, with an estimated pure album sales final tally somewhere between 5,000 and 8,000. These guesses place So Far Gone, which does indeed make use of a certain Kanye West clearance, in the general ballpark of something called Can't Say I Ain't Country from someone called Florida Georgia Line.
Of course, the biggest contributing factor to where So Far Gone and others place on the next Billboard update is the surefire second week staying power of Ariana Grande's Thank U, Next. Grande's Sweetener follow-up opened with 360,000 equivalent album units on the chart ending Feb. 14. That haul marked not only the biggest week for a pop-classified album in more than a year, but also netted Grande her fourth No. 1 on the chart. Less than six months ago, Grande bagged her third with Sweetener.
Reflecting on the 10 years that have passed since he truly arrived on the scene with the project, Drake said he would "never forget" those who were involved with the putting the tape together and pushing the journey forward. He even set aside his differences with West, thanking him for his beat prowess.
"[A] decade ago I rapped over your beat cause you just made the best shit and even though you stay wildin on Twitter these days I will never forget what you contributed to the game and my career," he said last week.
