As a featured artist on Gucci Mane’s “Both,” Drake has officially tied Lil Wayne’s record for most Billboard Hot 100 appearances among soloists. “Both” debuted at No. 42 on the chart, marking the 132nd entry for Drake. And in addition to reaching the top spot, he also extended his lead over those directly behind him—namely, Elvis Presley, with 108 hits, and James Brown, with 91.
Of course, the metrics of a Billboard hit have changed substantially over the past few decades. Particularly with the rise of hip-hop, the role of the featured artist has ballooned, inflating the presence of certain performers on the charts. And indeed, Drake and Lil Wayne don’t dominate in quite the same way when taking this into account. While their 132 total entries tower over Elvis’ or Brown’s in the absence of context, neither Drake nor Lil Wayne have the most Hot 100 credits on which they are featured as the lead act. According to Billboard, Drake has 82 hits as a primary artist and Lil Wayne has just 47; judge by the same standard, and Elvis and Brown’s total number of entries remains exactly the same, at 108 and 91, respectively. So no, nobody’s surpassing Elvis as Billboard’s most popular artist just yet.
