Drake hit the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart with his debut full-length release, “Thank Me Later,” on July 3, 2010. The album was executive produced by Drake’s Young Money boss Lil Wayne and features the singles “Over,” “Find You Love,” “Miss Me” and “Fancy.”
“Thank Me Later” bumped “Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals” by the original cast of the hit teen show “Glee” out of the top spot. It held on at number one for a week before Eminem took over with his super-smash “Recovery.” That album stayed on top for the next five weeks.
Drake had previously appeared as a guest star on a handful of tracks by some of hip-hop’s biggest names. While speaking with MTV before his album’s release, he explained that it was important to come out strong as a solo act.
“I wanted to emerge at first from this album and just let people know 'This is how I'm coming out in the public eye. I'm ready for anything,’” he said.