A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie secured the top spot on Billboard 200 for the first time in his career. The Atlantic Records artist’s Hoodie SZN reached No. 1 after spending the previous two weeks behind 21 Savage’s I Am > I Was. 21 didn’t slip much though, flipping spots with A Boogie with a No. 2.
Elsewhere on the chart, Hip Hop continued to dominate the Top 10. Meek Mill, Post Malone, Drake, Travis Scott and Kodak Black maintained their strangleholds on the chart while emerging artists such as Blueface and YNW Melly managed to find their way onto the Top 200.
A Boogie Reaches No. 1
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie earned the first No. 1 album of his career, surpassing 21 Savage for the top spot. The Bronx native’s Hoodie SZN moved 58,341 total album equivalent units, edging out 21’s 55,719 units moved.
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Although 21 sold much more in terms of pure album sales (2,804 copies compared to A Boogie’s 823), A Boogie’s streaming numbers allowed him to dethrone Slaughter Gang rhymer. The co-owner of Highbridge The Label racked up more than 83 million streams, making up for his relatively modest album sales.
Prior to Hoodie SZN, A Boogie’s best performing project was his debut album, The Bigger Artist. The LP peaked at No. 4 in 2017.
R. Kelly Returns To Chart Amid Controversy
The increased scrutiny facing R. Kelly due to Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly docu-series hasn’t stopped people from listening to his music. Despite the outrage, an RCA Records compilation of his work titled Essential R. Kelly managed to make its way onto the Billboard 200.
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The 35-track compilation reached No. 144 by selling 6,832 total album equivalent units. The project, which was released in 2014, includes some of Kelly’s biggest hits such as “I Believe I Can Fly” and “Ignition (Remix).”
Blueface & YNW Melly Crack Top 200
A few Hip Hop up-and-comers found their way onto Billboard 200 during a relatively quiet week. More than six months after its release, Blueface’sFamous Cryp made its chart debut at No. 162. YNW Melly’sI Am You, which dropped last August, also snuck into the Top 200 at No. 192. The meme-friendly Blueface moved 6,374 units while Melly secured a total of 5,680.
The two may have lucked out due to the slow release schedule in early January, but it’s still a noteworthy accomplishment for the newcomers. Their projects each attained over 9 million streams for the week, which is impressive considering how long ago they were released.
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Top 10 Billboard 200 Rap & R&B Albums For The Week Ending 01/10/2019
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. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie — Hoodie SZN — No. 1 — 58,341 (823) [83,023,006]
2. 21 Savage — I Am > I Was — No. 2 — 55,719 (2,804) [74,290,232]
3. Meek Mill — Championships — No. 4 — 46,386 (1,534) [59,122,941]
4. Post Malone — Beerbongs & Bentleys — No. 5 — 42,989 (4,679) [50,799,968]
5. Travis Scott — Astroworld — No. 6 — 41,148 (2,581) [51,781,966]
6. Drake — Scorpion — No. 8 — 40,786 (3,119) [50,160,149]
7. Kodak Black — Dying To Live — No. 9 — 38,512 (613) [53,780,461]
8. Juice WRLD — Goodbye & Good Riddance — No. 13 — 27,252 (483) [41,663,452]
9. Cardi B — Invasion Of Privacy — No. 14 — 26,192 (2,087) [31,321,330]
10. YoungBoy Never Broke Again — Realer — No. 15 — 26,165 (403) [38,138,072]
