The Billboard 200 matter to some (i.e. major label artists) but most independent artists could care less about it. Over the past few days, we were blessed with the early release of Run The Jewels highly anticipated fourth studio album, RTJ4. The album arrived in the wake of protests across the country in support of Black Lives Matter, so it was either bound to get overshadowed by the headlines or bring solace to fans who are participating in the protests.
None of this actually matters to Killer Mike and El-P who both decided to give the album away for free with an option to purchase. Per Billboard, even with two tracking days, RTJ4 is by far Run The Jewels' most commercially successful to date. In a few days, it moved 38K album-equivalent units, propelling it to number 10 on the Billboard 200. This is now their first album to ever enter the top 10 on the chart.
The album benefitted from merch bundles with 30K of the 38K units coming from pure sales. Though it was available for free, they did encourage listeners to donate. After two days, they generated $160K in charitable donations for National Lawyers Guild Mass Defense Program and several other organizations.
Surely, this album couldn't have come at a better time. What's your favorite track off of the project? Sound off below.