Has the world reached peak Drake?

For the last few years, it's been hard to imagine the pop music world without Drake at the top. 

But Nathan Slavik says that day is coming. 

He's the managing editor of DJ Booth, a hip-hop publication out of New York City, and he says Drake has reached the peak of his very considerable powers and will soon start to fade.

"Every artist ever, they all had a peak, " he tells host Brent Bambury. "They had a moment when they were at their absolute apex of commercial sales, cultural influence. That time comes for everyone."

The years are just ticking by. Even the casual supporter is going to hit a point where they say that's enough.- Nathan Slavik on peak Drake

Drake released his sixth album Friday, the long-anticipated Views. He has more Billboard 100 hits than the Beatles, a recently inked $19-million deal with Apple Music and the up-coming Summer Sixteen tour, which is expected to one of the hottest concert events of the summer. His beef with rapper Meek Mill is widely cited as a how-to-guide for social media marketing. Even Kanye West admits that Drake is the most popular player in the field.

Slavik acknowledges all that but he still thinks the world is approaching peak Drake, if for no other reason than Drake, and his original fans, are all aging.  

"The years are just ticking by," he tells Bambury. "You think about your favourite albums, your favourite artists, they probably came when you were in high school or early college. That's when you're passionate. That's when, if someone disrespects Drake, you take it personally if he's your favourite artist. And Drake's been around for a while now. Even the casual supporter is going to hit a point where they say that's enough." 

Post-peak life

Slavik says Drake is unlikely to fall off a cliff in terms of popularity or influence and that Views will likely drive him just a bit higher before the decline sets in. 

"The Grammys will eat this album alive," Slavik says. "Drake is handing them an album that is everything they hope for. They get to look relevant and hip and cool. Hip-hop hasn't seen an album of the year Grammy since Outkast. This might be it." 
 
Slavik tells Bambury he imagines a night in 2017 when Drake, standing next to his mom, arms stuffed full of Grammy awards, grins for the camera and seals the deal. 

"He will never be as culturally, commercially powerful and successful as that one moment. That will be his walking off the stage at Madison Square Garden."

When it comes to a post-peak life, Slavik says Drake should look to Jay-Z. 

"If there's a blueprint, pun intended, it's Jay-Z. Very few people actively dislike Jay-Z, but he's certainly not the musical force he once was. Drake's future is in that music mogul sense. He's got a deal with Apple Music. He's building a clothing line."

In fact, Slavik says he thinks Drake can see the peak coming too and that he's already planning for what's next.

"He's very calculating."

But Toronto, The Six, may not fare so well. 

"Right now the city's fate is handcuffed to Drake. If Toronto is going to continue to be a force in music then the next wave is going to have to come," Slavik says. 

Slavik points to the rise and fall of Nelly and the fact that his hometown of St. Louis, Mo. stopped generating high profile rap stars the moment Nelly fell off the map. 

"Toronto could be the next St. Louis unless someone else steps up other than Drake."