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\n\tOn today\u2019s (Nov. 4) episode of the\u00a0Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century podcast<\/a>, we reach No. 4 on our list with a rapper (and singer) who became a pop star without ever specifically going pop \u2014 by changing the face and sound of hip-hop and dragging it further towards the mainstream\u2019s center than it had ever been before. (Read our No. 4 Greatest Pop Star essay about Drake\u00a0here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n \n\tHost Andrew Unterberger is joined by\u00a0Billboard R&B\/Hip-Hop <\/em>deputy director Carl Lamarre and staff writer Michael Saponara to remember the crazy journey of one Aubrey \u201cDrake\u201d Graham from teen TV phenom to mixtape hype to globe-conquering superstar. First, we discuss why it was so important for us to have a rapper in this list\u2019s top five, and then debate whether he makes sense as the highest-ranked MC on our list \u2014 comparing his case to such lower-ranking stars as Eminem and Kanye West, who he might not be able to match in terms of all-consuming pop magnitude, but who he likely has beat in both overall hits and continued pop impact. <\/p>\n \n\tThen, we remember just how suddenly Drake snuck up on the music world as a star, and how game-changing his success was almost right away. Then, as we get into the mid-2010s, we wax rhapsodic about how Drake faced a pair of challenges from mighty foes that he not only weathered, but brilliantly used to springboard to even greater success, until he\u2019d become the biggest artist of the entire early streaming era and the no-doubt top-dog in hip-hop every time out \u2014 before finally facing the one opponent he couldn\u2019t vanquish or rocket past earlier this year. We end by remembering our favorite Drake videos and interviews, sizing up Adonis Graham\u2019s chances of making the NBA in the next couple decades and wondering how the hell \u201cFeel No Ways\u201d was never released as a single. <\/p>\n