When somebody with as high a profile as Kanye West releases an album, the people will take notice. Despite threats to "cancel" Kanye over his allegiance to Donald Trump and his controversial slavery comments on TMZ Live, the public was still tuned in to Kanye's eighth studio album and they showed up in large numbers.
While we have been treated to some great albums so far this year, none have particularly sold an insane amount during their first weeks. Then again, Drake has not dropped Scorpion yet and, let's face it, the world will just about shut down when he does. As he is gearing up for the final three albums on his schedule, including a joint venture with Kid Cudi, Nas' album, and a Teyana Taylor project, Kanye West is already achieving tremendous success with ye. According to Hits Daily Double, the album is expected to fall within the range of 175K-190K equivalent album units moved through streaming services while achieving up to 80K pure album sales.
Of course, these numbers are not finalized but, with HDD's track record in the past, it's safe to say that Kanye will be the owner to one of the largest first-week debuts of the entire year. Putting things into perspective, 2016's The Life of Pablo moved 94K units during its first week, marking a significant improvement for Yeezy this time around. Although TLOP was not eligible to chart due to its TIDAL exclusivity directly after its release, this is still a phenomenal accomplishment which, by no means, should be ignored. If you haven't yet listened to the Chicagoan's latest project, check it out here.