- Drake scored his ninth #1 album with Care Package, and while it should be no surprise that a Drake project debuts on top, what is surprising is that he accomplished this with a collection of old songs. Care Package consists of 17 songs that have been previously released, but not available on streaming services until now. Many spent years racking up millions of plays on SoundCloud, but found new life with their inclusion on Care Package. The fact that a collection of old song can sell 110,000 albums in the first week is a testament to Drake, who clearly holds the title as the most successful artist in the streaming era.
- Lil Nas X‘s “Old Town Road” extended its record-setting run at #1 on the Hot 100 charts to 19 weeks. At this point, even Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus believe the end should be near. Billy Ray tweeted earlier this week that it is “someone else’s turn now,” and Lil Nas X announced he will be performing his second single, “Panini,” at the VMAs.
- Lil Durk also has a successful week, with his new project Love Songs 4 The Streets 2 debuting at #4 and selling just over 42,000 albums. The Chicago artist has evolved over the years, and his numbers show the fans appreciate his growth. He even joked that he has the biggest debut of last week because “Drake don’t count that’s Drake.”
- I feel obligated to mention Lizzo‘s song “Truth Hurts” remained at #4 on the Hot 100, and her album Cuz I Love You is #8 on Billboard 200. She made headlines earlier this week when she was upset at those who do not consider her a rapper, dragging other artists into a since-deleted Twitter rant.
- Chris Brown’s Indigo remained at #5, spending its 6th week in the Top 10 after debuting at #1 in July. The album is propelled by the success of “No Guidance,” which held at #6 on the Hot 100.
- NF’s The Search and Chance the Rapper‘s The Big Day, which were #1 and #2, respectively, on last week’s chart, both stayed in the top 10. NF finds himself at #6 and Chance sits at #9.
- Lil Tecca’s “Ransom” remained in the top 10, and with the release of a remix featuring Juice WRLD, is hoping to climb in next week’s charts.
- Speaking of next week’s charts, they will feature new albums from Rick Ross and Trippie Redd. Ross’ Port of Miami 2 is projected to sell around 80,000 albums, while Trippie’s ! is on pace for 45,000 albums.
Top 2019 First Week Sales in Hip-Hop
- 172,377 – Tyler the Creator, Igor
- 164,076 – Juice WRLD, Death Race For Love
- 131,717 – DJ Khaled – Father of Asahd
- 130,000 – NF, The Search
- 125,251 – Future, The WIZRD
- 125,000 (projected) – Chance the Rapper, The Big Day
- 115,000 – Dreamville, Revenge of the Dreamers III
- 109.891 – Drake, Care Package
- 108,000 – Chris Brown, Indigo
- 108,000 – Chance the Rapper, The Big Day
- 89,955 – Gunna, Drip or Drown 2
- 88,311 – Offset, FATHER OF 4
- 82,000 – Nav, Bad Habits
- 81,417 – Logic, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
- 81,000 – ScHoolboy Q, CrasH Talk
- 77,000 – Lil Nas X, 7
- 64,960 – 2 Chainz, Rap Or Go To The League
- 55,000 – Anderson .Paak, Ventura
- 54,270 – Lil Skies, Shelby
