Once again, Drake snags the #1 spot this week with VIEWS, his fourth studio album that continues to beat out the competition. Beyonce moves into #3 after an appearance at #4 last week (it should be noted that she also just went Platinum with Lemonade, alongside Future's DS2 album), and Australian producer Flume debuts at #8 with an album that features some of hip hop's brightest, young talents. Kevin Gates' new EP Murder For Hire II debuts at #12, another impressive showcase of the MC's appeal on the commercial front. Lil Uzi Vert's recent mixtape Lil Uzi Vert Vs. The World happens to make a debut this week as well, at #122-- it's definitely a start for the quickly-rising Philly MC, and not too shabby considering the project was available for free. The rest of the charts stay more or less the same as prior weeks, in the rap world at least.
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1) Drake - VIEWS: He gon' make you "One Dance" to this! For the fifth week in a row, Drake takes the #1 spot with VIEWS. The record continues to thrive, selling 152,069 TAEU (total album equivalent units) and 36,855 in pure sales.
2) Beyonce - LEMONADE: After moving to the #4 spot last week, Beyonce bounces right back up a spot to #3 this week. LEMONADE, which debuted at #1, moves 79,310 TAEU and 55,544 pure sales for its sixth week on the charts.
3) Rihanna - ANTI: Rihanna's eighth studio album is still going strong, although it's slipped a couple spots this week. For its 19th week on the charts, ANTI rings in at #7, moving 42,269 TAEU and 9,960 in pure sales.
4) Flume - Skin: Australian producer who you may or may not know of, Flume, dropped his sophomore full-length last week. It features the likes of Vic Mensa, Raekwon and Vince Staples. He makes a pretty strong debut at #8 this week, moving 31,489 TAEU and 18,085 in pure sales.
5) Kevin Gates - Murder For Hire II: After the whopping success of ISLAH (which is actually still ongoing), Kevin Gates released Murder For Hire II. The for-sale project, which is a follow up to his mixtape from the same series, walks the thin line between 'album' and 'mixtape.' Even so, Gates once again proves the (surprising? perhaps not any more) strength of his fanbase, with a #12 debut. He moved 27,093 TAEU and 20,500 in pure sales.
6) Prince - Very Best of Prince: Coming in at #16 is Prince, who has seen a massive spike in sales since tragically passing earlier this year. His Very Best of Prince compilation has been charting since his death, and this time around does 22,366 TAEU and 18,364 in pure sales.
7) G-Eazy - When It's Dark Out: Northern California MC G-Eazy is riding high on the success of his sophomore full-length When It's Dark Out. Jumping all the way up from the #26 spot to #17, he moves 22,165 TAEU and 9,281 sales for its 26th week on the charts.
8) Kevin Gates - ISLAH: While his new release comes in at #12, his old release is still killing it too, coming in at #19. ISLAH moves 21,340 TAEU and 7,169 this time, flourishing off the success of its many singles.
9) Kanye West - The Life of Pablo: At #21, Kanye West's The Life of Pablo slips two spots from last week's stint at #19. The album does 18,840 TAEU and sells just 16 physical copies this time around.
10) Bryson Tiller - Trapsoul: For its 36th week on the charts, Bryson Tiller's Trapsoul comes in at the #22 spot, moving 17,068 TAEU and 3,036 in pure sales. Tiller improves just one spot from last week's appearance at #23.
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In the Hot 100 this week, the top 7 spots have stayed exactly the same: Drake is #1, Desiigner is #2, so on and so forth until you get to Rihanna, who moved up from #8 to #9 with the latest ANTI record "Needed Me." Drake goes from having 14 tracks on the Hot 100 to 12, still a very impressive feat. Meanwhile, Rihanna has 5 tracks on the Hot 100, Future has 3, and The Weeknd has 2. That about sums it up this week.