Seems everyone in hip hop lately is praying at Drake’s altar. Heavyweights such as Nas, Kanye West and mentor Lil Wayne have been singing the Canadian’s praises for nearly a year-and-a half. Last week, The Game predicted it would take less than seven days for “Thank Me Later” – Drake’s debut album – to achieve gold status (selling 500,000 copies) and clear 650,000 records sold.

The Game may have guessed a bit high, as Nielsen SoundScan’s preliminary figures show he’s moved more than 450,000 units since “Later” dropped last week – carrying him to No. 1. And expect Drake Fever to lift him to platinum status before you even solidify your Labor Day plans. Why?

·         The “Degrassi” Effect (or teenaged girls). Drake, who got his big break as Jimmy Brooks on teen soap “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” doesn’t take his younger fans for granted. (Raise your hand if you’re 14-18 and “Best I Ever Had” was your ringtone last year.) And one thing young girls prove, generation after generation, is they have purchasing power. Just ask Justin Bieber. Or Soulja Boy, for that matter.

·         Ladies Love Cool Drake. Short of taking off his shirt during every performance, Drake has borrowed a page from the LL handbook: Pensive stares? Check. Lip-licking? Check. Let-me-love-you lyrics? Double-check. The part-time crooner is smooth in his delivery, allowing women of all ages join him as he falls in and out of love, with women and with fame.

·         2010 valedictorian of Kanye U. October’s Own has graduated to the top of the emo class. And with the likes of Kid Cudi focusing on an acting career, and Yeezy continuing to keep a low(-ered) profile, fans-with-feelings have been anticipating “Later” to be their summer soundtrack. Not to mention, Drake has quickly memorized ‘Ye’s recipe for success: equal parts arrogance – “ ’bout to go Thriller, Mike Jackson on these n***as” (“Over”) – and self-awareness – “my 15 minutes started an hour ago” (“Fireworks”). Not too mention, Drake never forgets to remind listeners he’s young, rich and miserable – “the other day Lissa told me she missed the old me/ which made me question when I went missing/ and when I start treating my friends different” (“The Resistance”).

·         Hip-hop heads will pan it/bang it. Last summer, the genre’s guardian purists heard, and doubted Jay-Z’s (leaked) “The Blueprint 3.”

How dare Jay call this pop album ‘blueprint’ caliber, they ranted.

Within days of the official release, though, the purists were quoting lyrics, saying Jay hadn’t sounded as cold in years. And many will treat “Later” (also leaked) with the same flippancy, only to find much of what they loved about Drizzy’s mixtapes is present on his debut. Granted, he doesn’t take as many creative risks as he did on “So Far Gone” but how many artists are as bold on studio releases as they are when they’re giving music away? Exactly.