Drake is competing with himself now, and he is winning. Streaming trackers credit him with 18.9 billion Spotify plays across all credits in 2026, and the year is not even finished. That is the biggest rap year in Spotify history, and it belongs to the same guy who held the old record.
The Breakdown
The new number beats the 18.4 billion Drake put up in 2025, which was the previous high. His 2023, 2024 and 2022 runs fill out the rest of the all time rap list. In other words, Drake now owns the top five rap years on Spotify, and nobody else is on that list.
- 2026: 18.9 billion plays and counting
- 2025: 18.4 billion plays, the previous record
- 2023, 2024, 2022: the other three spots in the top five
How the 2026 Surge Happened
It all kicked off in May. Drake dropped ICEMAN, MAID OF HONOUR and HABIBTI in one night, his first solo albums since the 2024 feud with Kendrick Lamar. All three landed in the top three spots on the Billboard 200, which had never happened in the chart’s history.
The streams did not slow down after release week. ICEMAN became the first hip hop project of 2026 to pass two billion Spotify plays, and it got there in under three months.
Then came round two in the fall. A deluxe edition of HABIBTI called FOMO pushed the album from No. 116 back up to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in October. The expanded set moved 71,000 units in its first week.
The Catalog Keeps Working
The new albums are only part of the story. Much of Drake’s total still comes from songs that came out years ago. That is why his daily numbers stay high even when he is not dropping anything.
That is the real flex here. Plenty of artists can spike for a week when a project lands. Very few can keep the whole catalog running like a machine all year.
One Caveat
Spotify has not confirmed the 18.9 billion figure. HotNewHipHop reported that it comes from fan run tracking accounts, so it should be treated as unofficial until final data arrives at the end of the year. We expect the real number to land close, but we will wait for the official count before we call it final.
There are still weeks left in 2026, so the total will keep climbing. Spotify’s end of year data should give a firmer number and show how far past 18.9 billion Drake actually finishes. He also closed out 2025 with a streaming title, so this is a repeat of a feat he already pulled off.
The Takeaway
Drake dropped three albums in one night, came back with a deluxe that jumped 114 spots, and his old songs are still carrying the load. Whatever you think of him, the numbers say the only person who can catch Drake on Spotify is Drake.