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LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 04: Drake attends the “Top Boy” UK Premiere at Hackney Picturehouse on September 04, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images) HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 30: Eminem attends a ceremony honoring Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 30, 2020 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic) PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 04: Kendrick Lamar attends the Chanel Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2023/2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 04, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images)

Drake stans are flexing their muscles.

The 2000s have been one of the most competitive eras in all of hip-hop. You can obviously make the argument for the 90s and 2010s as well, but the number of hitmakers from this period is nothing to sneeze at. So, if someone decides to make a list to rank them, they are going to be in for a real doozy. Well, Billboard has gone ahead and attempted to provide their top 10 for “Biggest Rappers Of The Century” and it’s got everyone in a tizzy. According to the publication here’s how their ranking shakes out. The top five in order goes Drake, Eminem, Kanye West, Nelly, and the Jay-Z. Rounding out 6-10 is Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, and then Ludacris.

It’s worth mentioning that this ranking is a mere subset from their “Top 100 Artists Of The 21st Century.” The way they went about concocting this list was by chart performance. Particularly in regard to how well each artist did on the Hot 200 and Hot 100 charts, respectively. They took data from January 1, 2000, to December 28, 2024. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that Drake landed at “number one,” especially due to his 13 Hot 100 No. 1 singles and 13 Hot 200 No. 1 albums.

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Fans Have A Whole Lot To Say About Billboard’s List

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Those statistics scored him the title as the “Greatest Pop Star” of the 21st century, beating out names like Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and more. Despite what Billboard will eventually explain as their reasoning behind this list, fans are going to be pretty angry regardless. Right now, they are, however, there are lot of Drake stans pounding their chests in The Boy’s honor. “You mad because your darling is in 8th spot where he belongs?😂” one X user writes.

Outside of the Drake and Kendrick Lamar angle, others were very happy with Ludacris and Nelly getting their respect. “People in the replies are showing their age. I don’t think yall understand how many hits Luda and Nelly were putting out in the early 2000s.” Others were upset with Wayne being at six, with one person combating with, “Nelly over Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, & 50 Cent is insane.” Overall, though, given fans’ reactions to this, it further proves just how much of a gauntlet this period is.