Drake Headed for Strong #1 Debut

You can Thank him now, or Thank him Later, but the record industry should show its gratitude somehow because Drake’s new album is the first blockbuster of the summer, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

The half-Jewish Toronto hip-hop star, who got his start in the teen TV cult hit Degrassi: The Next Generation, goes to the head of the class this week on his Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Motown debut, Thank Me Later, with first-week sales in the 450-475k range, making it a lock for #1.

Based on one-day sales reports from those retailers still blowing their own vuvezelas, that would be the third highest-total this year following Sade (501k) and Lady Antebellum (481k).