“God’s Plan” gave Drake his first of 29 weeks at the summit in 2018

God’s Plan Drake

Writer(s): Aubrey Graham, Ronald LaTour, Daveon Jackson, Matthew Samuels, Noah Shebib (see lyrics here) Released: January 19, 2018 First Charted: February 3, 2018 Peak: 111 US, 3 RR, 16 DG, 111 ST, 111 RB, 19 UK, 110 CN, 111 AU, 21 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 15.0 US, 1.2 UK, 17.19 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1741.11 video, 2472.82 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Drake’s second U.S. #1 as a lead artist (following 2016’s “One Dance”) was only the 29th song to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100. WK Its 11 weeks atop the charts also made it one of the 24 longest-running #1’s in the chart’s history. WK It also hit the pinnacle in more than a dozen other countries WK and launched with the largest on-demand streaming count in a 24-hour period with 14 million streams on Apple and 4.3 million on Spotify. WK On top of that, it kicked off Drake’s chart dominance in 2018 as the song was followed by “Nice for What” for 8 nonconsecutive weeks and, later in the year, by “In My Feelings” for 10 weeks. All told, Drake spent more than half the year – 29 weeks – on top of the charts. The song was also nominated for Grammys for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. The lyrics focused on “fame, fear, and luxury items such as champagne” WK while the music is “bouncy and uplifting, establishing the song as a melodic, upbeat party record.” WK Cardo, one of the song’s producers, sent the original instrumental to Drake in September 2017. WK The video showed Drake engaged in various acts of charity in Miami. As stated at the onset of the video, the entire budget of nearly one million dollars was given away. WK As of November 2018, it was the 16th most-liked video on YouTube. It won Video of the Year at the BET Awards and was nominated for Video of the Year for the MTV Video Music Awards, American Music Awards, and People’s Choice Awards. WK Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 12/7/2018; last updated 4/1/2024.

Cardi B “Bodak Yellow” hit #1

Bodak Yellow (Money Moves) Cardi B

Writer(s): Belcalis Almánzar, Dieuson Octave, Klenord Raphael, Jorden Thorpe, Anthony White, Laquan Green (see lyrics here) Released: June 16, 2017 First Charted: July 22, 2017 Peak: 13 US, 12 ST, 110a RB, 24 UK, 6 CN, 33 AU, 21 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 11.0 US, 0.4 UK, 11.68 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1136.44 video, 881.25 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (stage name Cardi B) was born in 1992 in the Bronx. She first gained popularity on Vine and Instagram and then appeared on VH1’s reality series Love & Hip Hop: New York from 2015 to 2017. She released two mixtapes during that time and followed them in 2018 with Invasion of Privacy, her major label debut. The album debuted atop the Billboard album chart, went on to sell four million copies, and became the first album by a solo female rapper to win the Grammy for Best Rap Album. The album produced five singles, all of which reached the top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. The first single, “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves),” was released in June 2017. Four months later, it became only the second chart-topping song by a female rapper. The first was Lauryn Hill with “Doo Wop (That Thing)” in 1998. It also became the first song by a female rapper to achieve diamond certification for ten million in sales. WK The song won the BET Hip Hop Award for Single of the Year, the Soul Train Rhythm & Bars Award, and the American Music Award for Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Song. Consequence of Sound called it “the best rap debut in years.” WK Both The Washington Post and Pitchfork named it the song of the year. WK Pitchfork said, “’Bodak Yellow’ is not just the banger of the year; it’s an unignorable antithesis to a political landscape built around xenophobia, racism, and sexism.” SF It has also been called a defining song of the decade. WK Lyrically, Cardi B sings about no longer needing to dance as a stripper. She also taunted her critics that she now made more many and was more powerful than them. She told Billboard magazine, “I wanted to do a song that is, like, ‘You know what? I’m in a good place in my life right now and I want to stun.’” SF The song title was inspired by Florida rapper Kodak Black, borrowing the “distinct cadences he used on his minor hit ‘No Flockin’.” WK The song’s beat was created by Jermaine White. Complex said, “The hook, the beat, her lyrics: it all works. Cardi sounds so sure of herself…That beat drops and people go nuts.” WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Cardi B SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 6/20/2023; last updated 4/1/2024.

Kendrick Lamar hit #1 with “Humble”

Humble Kendrick Lamar

Writer(s): Kendrick Duckworth, Michael Williams II, Asheton Hogan (see lyrics here) Released: March 30, 2017 First Charted: April 22, 2017 Peak: 11 US, 11 RB, 6 UK, 2 CN, 2 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 1.2 UK, 9.82 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 968.60 video, 2141.79 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Humble,” the lead single from Kendrick Lamar’s fourth album, was his first #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist. He’d previously hit #1 as a guest on Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood.” It debuted at #2, the highest starting point for a hip-hop song since Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie” duet with Rihanna in 2010. Mike Will Made It created the “Lean and piano-laced trap beat for the strong-arming” AMG song with the intention of recording it with Gucci Mane. Lamar heard the beat and like it. Originally the song was going to appear on Mike’s Ransom 2, but Lamar’s team said he needed to keep it. Mike told him, “Bruh, you definitely should keep it, and you should use it as your single.” SF NPR’s Andrew Flanagan said the song shows how “the best rapper alive might explore the theme of God, religion, and personal growth.” WK Harriet Gibson wrote in The Guardian that “it is a showcase for his authoritative lyricism and preacher-like message.” WK Entertainment Weekly named it the best song of the year. WK The song won Grammys for Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video and was nominated for Record of the Year. Most significantly, Lamar won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for the album Damn, the first non-jazz or classical artist to win the award. The organizers describe the album as “a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.” SF Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Kendrick Lamar AMG All Music Guide review of Damn. by Andy Kellman SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 2/9/2021; last updated 3/31/2024.