The year is shaping up to be a big one for Hip Hop. After Drake’s More Life made its splash, Kendrick Lamar stormed onto the scene with DAMN. The Compton MC continues his reign at the top of the Billboard 200 for another week, while Gorillaz’ Humanz and Mary J. Blige’s Strength of a Woman make their debuts, giving Drake’s playlist its lowest position yet. Wale’s Shine also has its first week on the chart.
King Kendrick Lamar Sits At #1 For 3rd Straight Week
After performing his DAMN. album for only the second time since its release at Rolling Loud, Kendrick Lamar celebrates his third week at the top of the Billboard 200. The LP pushed 173,137 equivalent album units, a 28 percent drop from last week, but still enough to keep him at #1.
Gorillaz’s “Humanz” Ties Best Billboard 200 Placement
Coming in at #2, Gorillaz makes a statement with its Humanz album. The project earned 139,548 total units in its first week and did 115,063 in pure album sales, a feat for any project these days. This ties the group’s highest Billboard 200 placement, as 2010’s Plastic Beach reached the same position.
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Mary J. Blige Stands Tall With “Strength of a Woman”
After a three-year hiatus, Mary J. Blige released her Strength of a Woman album, which debuts at #3. The project sold 77,863 equivalent album units, was purchased by 72,095 fans and was streamed more than 6 million times. The iconic singer’s last project, 2014’s The London Sessions, debuted at #9, but Blige has a resume that boasts four #1 albums and three #2 placements.
Wale’s “Shine” Debuts At #16
Wale’s Shine album sold 28,409 units to put him in the #16 slot in its first sales cycle. It was streamed 21.7 million times and earned 12,156 pure album units. His last project, 2015’s The Album About Nothing, topped the Billboard 200 upon its release.
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Top 10 Billboard Top 200 Rap & R&B Albums For The Week Ending 05/04/2017
Note: The first number below is this week’s “total album equivalent units” count, an intersection of album sales, single sales, and streams implemented by Billboard’s new rating system. A pure album sales figure is available in bold in parenthesis and information about each album’s streaming count is available in brackets.
#1 Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.– 173,137 (56,557) [156,909,707]
#2 Gorillaz — Humanz — 139,548 (115,063) [31,926,483]
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#3 Mary J. Blige — Strength of a Woman — 77,863 (72,095) [6,131,800]
#4 Drake – More Life– 68,308 (4,837) [87,086,351]
#7 Bruno Mars — 24K Magic— 41,081 (15,698) [24,526,457]
#13 Migos — Culture — 30,333 (2,581) [37,100,576]
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#15 Future — FUTURE— 29,401 (1,484) [36,913,300]
#16 Wale — Shine — 28,409 (12,156) [21,761,016]
#17 The Weeknd — Starboy — 28,402 (6,492) [26,914,577]
#18 Post Malone — Stoney— 25,723 (1,722) [30,274,143]
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