Irv Gotti has a very high opinion of Drake, as he expressed in a trailer for an upcoming episode of the Drink Champs podcast. Not only did the Murder Inc. co-founder continuously refer to Drake as a genius in the clip, he also suggested that the rapper's numbers would have been much bigger than they already are, were he active in the late 90s and early 00s.
"If Drake was in my era, Drake would be selling 15 million to 20 million a clip, do you realize this?" he said. "So right now, he sells three, four [million]. If he was in my era, he’d be selling 15 to 20. Once he does something outside the music genre, he’s going to see how colossal he is."
Drake's VIEWS and Take Care have both been certified 4 times platinum, while Nothing Was The Same has hit 3x platinum, so Irv's math on Drake current catalogue is on point. However, it's hard to gauge just how much higher that number would be in a different era, particularly because we're talking streams versus pure sales at that point.
From there, Irv made a comparison to the biggest selling rapper of all time. "Drizzy for sure is a genius. Dare I say, he's our Eminem of today," he said.
For perspective, Eminem's albums The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show have both been certified diamond, or 10x platinum by the RIAA.
From the looks of the clip, it seems that Irv likely went into further detail later on, but we'll have to wait to hear the full conversation. One thing's for sure -- on a numbers level, Drake could definitely be argued as the most successful rapper of his generation.
In 2015, Eminem spoke of his appreciation for Drake, and other new rappers in an interview with The New York Times. "I try to stay up on everything that’s out. I love [Lil] Wayne, Drake, Big Sean, Schoolboy Q. I love Kendrick [Lamar]," he said. "I just try to pay attention to what’s out. Wayne puts out a new song, and my ears perk up. There are certain artists that make me do that just because of the caliber that they rhyme at — it’s like candy to me. Kendrick, the way he puts albums together — front to back, they’re like pieces of art. But hip-hop needs Drake, too. Hip-hop needs Big Sean. I feel like hip-hop is in a good place right now. There’s this balance of things going on, and it feels like some of the best rappers are the most successful. Sometimes that’s not the case."
