This week, the charts belonged to the late David Bowie. Days after releasing what would prove to be his swan song (an a very much intentional one), Blackstar, the legendary artist lost his battle to cancer. The album became his first LP to top the Billboard 200, while Best Of Bowie, The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust, Hunky Dory, The Platinum Collection, Nothing Has Changed, Let's Dance, Aladdin Sane, Low, and The Next Day all re-entered the charts.
As far as hip-hop goes, we saw Bryson Tiller, G-Eazy, and surprisingly, J. Cole ascending the Billboard 200, while big-seller The Weeknd maintained his dominance.
Check out the full breakdown below.
1) The Weeknd—Beauty Behind The Madness: While Abel slipped two positions this week, he's still the biggest seller in the rap and R&B world. Beauty Behind The Madness moves 38,869 units (13,114 excluding streams) for a total of 891,456 sales.
2) Bryson Tiller—TRAPSOUL: Bryson Tiller has been one of the biggest success stories of the last little while. This week he moves up one spot from 9 to 8, reaching his highest position on the charts yet. He moves 32,542 units (11,394 excluding streams), putting his full tally at 159,000.
3) G-Eazy—When It's Dark Out: G-Eazy is up from 13 to 9, making a gradual comeback after taking a considerable slip in the weeks after his debut. He moves 28,742 units (9,245 excluding streams) and stands at 181,000 sold thus far.
4) Fetty Wap—Fetty Wap: Fetty shows his incredible momentum may be slowing slightly as he falls from 8 to 10, moving 28,632 units (5,833 excluding streams) for a total of 269,000 sold.
5) Chris Brown—Royalty: Chris Brown falls from 12 to 14, still selling a decent percentage of units through traditional sales with 23,770 moved (12,690 excluding streams). This puts him at 229,000 total sales.
6) J. Cole—2014 Forest Hills Drive: J. Cole is this week's biggest jump, moving from 31 to 16. It's possible his recent HBO documentary has something to do with it. He moves 21,395 units (8,339 excluding streams), which makes his total 1,107,000 so far. He's now closed the gap on Drake's total sales to under 50,000 copies.
7) Drake & Future—What A Time To Be Alive: Drake and Future stay steady at 17 for another week, moving 21,277 units (3,318 excluding streams) . They're at 516,000 total sales.
8) Future—DS2: Future is down from 21 to 26, with 15,693 units sold (3,161 excluding streams), putting him at 347,000 total sales.
9) Drake—IYRTITL: After a brief ascent last week, Drake takes another fall as he moves from 24 to 30. He sells 13,404 units (3,288 excluding streams), and lands at a total of 1,153,000 copies sold.
10) Flo Rida—My House: Flo Rida's EP is up from 42 to 38 this week, moving 11,871 units (1,179 excluding streams).
Drake's "Hotline Bling" hype has finally begun to dissipate, as the single falls from 4 to 7 this week. Meanwhile, "Jumpman" remains at 12, and doesn't seem ready to jump into the top 10 any time soon. The Weeknd's "In The Night" is unsurprisingly climbing the charts, moving from 16 to 15. Will it be another #1 for Abel? We'll have to just wait and see.
Elsewhere, Post Malone may have hit a ceiling with "White Iverson," as it falls from 14 to 16, while just below it is Travis Scott's "Antidote," moving from 19 to 17.
G-Eazy's "Me Myself & I" has made major moves, leaping from 29 to 19, and Kevin Gates' "2 Phones" has officially become his highest charting single yet, going from 93 to 71.