Travis Scott’s UTOPIA has now spent a full month at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Edging out albums like Morgan Wallen’s One Thing At A Time, which previously spent 15 weeks at No. 1, and Karol G’s new Manana Sera Bonito (Bichota Season), UTOPIA‘s fourth week in the top spot saw it sell 161,000 units, only 24,000 less than the week prior. But, just how big is this for Scott?
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Well, before UTOPIA, which came out on July 28, hip-hop only had one other No. 1 album in 2023, Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape. However, Uzi’s LP would only stay atop the Billboard 200 for one week, as no album had been able to remain No. 1 for multiple weeks since Drake’s Certified Lover Boy in September 2021. That is until Scott did so two weeks ago.
With its fourth week now, Scott is once again looking to topple Drake, as UTOPIA is the first rap album to land at No. 1 in its first four weeks since Drake’s Scorpion (2018), which earned five total weeks at No. 1. As it stands, Scott will likely match that number, considering there really aren’t any projects releasing this upcoming weekend that could threaten UTOPIA. Unless Drake decides to intervene.
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All summer long, Drake has been promoting his impending eighth studio album For All The Dogs, announced in June. Though it was expected to be released on Friday (August 25), Drake did not abide by many of the swirling rumors on the internet. Instead, he told fans that it won’t “be that much longer” until before LP arrives.
“I promise you, For All The Dogs is on the way,” he told the crowd during his Seattle concert Friday. “I promise you, this album will be for you. I promise you it will be worth the wait.”
If Drake ends up putting out FATD this Friday (September 1), it will surely prevent UTOPIA from hitting the 5-week mark. On top of that, though, the release could also see Drake re-eclipse Scott on Spotify, as UTOPIA helped Scott pass up Drake earlier this summer to gain the highest amount of monthly listeners for a rapper in the history of the platform.
While this back-and-forth would surely be a significant storyline, it’s hard to imagine it would extend beyond friendly competition. On two of Drake’s past three albums, he recruited Scott to make guest appearances on songs like “Fair Trade” and “P***y and Millions.” Additionally, Drake was also a major reason UTOPIA garnered the acclaim it did, as he gave a potent feature verse on the album’s seventh song “MELTDOWN.”
Overall, while this has been one of the most fruitful stretches of Scott’s career, Drake has the power to put an end to it. If he does, though, there likely wouldn’t be any animosity between the two, as they would instead just be able to share a dual throne overlooking hip-hop’s mainstream landscape.
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