Eminem Becomes Second Rapper To Pass 50 Billion Streams After Drake

Eminem is having a good year. The reception to his latest album, The Death of Slim Shady, has been strong. The rapper’s fun promo tour has appealed to fans who’ve long since given up on his non-Slim rebrand, and both helped him reach a major streaming milestone. The blog HipHopAllDay announced that Em has surpassed over 50 billion streams on Spotify. This makes Eminem the sixth most-streamed on the platform, and the second most-streamed rapper.

Eminem is in excellent company in terms of crossover success. The four non-hip-hop artists who are ahead of him include Justin Beiber, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Bad Bunny and The Weeknd. The Detroit rapper is closing the gap on Beiber and Sheeran, though, who both have 54 billion streams. If Eminem continues to go strong, he could very well surpass The Weeknd’s 67 billion streams. Ironically, the only other rapper on the list is the artist who tops the list: Drake. The Toronto superstar has a staggering 101 billion streams, making him the only artist in history to cross the 100 billion mark.

Eminem may be team Kendrick Lamar at the end of the day, but he has complimented Drake in the past. He said that he will always respect the rapper during a 2019 interview with Sway. “Drake will always be in my good graces,” he noted. “Because he did something for one of my daughters that I will never forget.” Eminem also predicted that the public would turn on Drake in the 2020 song “Zeus.” He was a few years early, but not incorrect. “Drake, they’re gonna turn on you (You) one day, too (Too),” Eminem raps. “And the more you win, the sooner (Sooner) they do/They’ll be calling you a trash bin.”

Drake may be winning the streaming game, but Eminem has him beat in album sales. The Detroit rapper remains the best-selling artist in the genre’s history. He’s moved over 220 million units since he debuted in 1996, which places him in the company of artists like Whitney Houston and the Rolling Stones. He was the best-selling artists of the 2000s, and the third best-selling artist of the 2010s. Drake, by comparison, has sold 170 million units since 2009. He has time to catch up, but there’s something to be said for the longevity and success that Eminem has maintained. He’s going to be a tough one to topple.