Wow, Kanye has overtaken MJ for most top 40 singles.
Of course, they're both below chodes like Chris Brown and Drake for some reason. But I imagine that has a lot to do with the latter two having so much of their success in the streaming era, where a "single" doesn't need to be an actual
single to chart.
If every song from Thriller or Dangerous was allowed to enter the charts based on how many people listened to them, MJ would be king of the mountain for solo artists... next to Elvis, since MJ didn't release as many songs.
Also there's a caveat in that any song with a feature by the artist in question, whoever it may be, is eligible for a spot. So Drake charted for "Tuesday" (which is bullshit) and Kanye charted for "American Boy" (which makes more sense because he produced and co-wrote the track and performed half of it.... And because I'm totally biased).
The whole "system" as it stands is flawed in that it fundamentally favors artists from certain genres and certain eras. Specifically hip-hop/hop-hop related artists — who are about 100x more likely to record feature tracks than any artists from any other genre — and artists of the streaming era, who can enjoy seeing
every song on an album chart as a "single," as Drake did on IFYRTITL and VIEWS, while also having those exact same figures count toward "album equivalent" figures. When those Drake songs charted, they did double duty, counting toward his official solo Billboard song record and also counting toward his album sales.
This is frustrating to me. Sure, I love Kanye (in case you guys missed that bit), but he's had plenty of chart success on his own. Scoring multiple #1 singles over multiple albums is a big deal for any artist. Nirvana never really came close to a #1 single. Led Zeppelin never had one. But in the first real decade of all around decline for album and single sales alike, Kanye West thrived in both album and single sales. That's good enough for me. I don't think he should necessarily get credit for his verse on "THat Part," because that song isn't a "Kanye West Joint" in any way, shape or form.
And don't get me started on Drake again. Goddamnmotherfucking Drake.
Anyway, here's an article from NME magazine where Mike's daughter defends Kanye against a super fucked up commenter who suggests that Kanye should be dead instead of MJ. Ms. Jackson also says the first time she heard Kanye West was when her father (a Kanye fan) played 808's & Heartbreak for her repeatedly in '08.
Somehow it really makes me happy that Michael Jackson "loved that album." I'll bet Kanye would be over the moon about it too, as MJ was definitely a massive inspiration to him overall, but perhaps moreso on 808's than any other project. Kanye's "pop singer" persona always felt like an attempt to recapture some of the singular magic of MJ's power-period, right down to the glove.
http://www.nme.com/news/kanye-west/95703