It's a pretty good week for rap artists on the Billboard charts. Drake was able to reclaim the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 from previous owners Blink-182, and ScHoolboy Q managed to fend off the pop-punk band as well, nabbing a very respectable #2 debut with his new album Blank Face LP. Rihanna and Beyonce's respective albums continue to thrive in the top 10, while Bryson Tiller, Kevin Gates and Maxwell find spots in the top 20. Kanye West and Chance The Rapper, two Chicago MCs who didn't sell a single copy of their latest projects in the last week, are charting off the strength of streams alone. Desiigner isn't featured below, but it's worth noting that his mixtape New English is also charting off streams as well, although a bit further down at #36. Finally, YG's album Still Brazy had a rather quick fall-off, it's currently charting down at #67.
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1) Drake – VIEWS: As we mentioned, Drake regains the #1 spot from Blink-182, after the group's new album California claimed it last week and bumped the 6 God down to #2, only momentarily. VIEWS tops the charts once again with 91,978 TAEU and 17,949 in pure sales.
2) ScHoolboy Q – Blank Face: ScHoolboy Q's new album, Blank Face, is getting pretty rave reviews thus far and the sales aren't too far behind. The album, which features the likes of Kanye West, Anderson .Paak, SZA, and Miguel, had a great debut week on the charts, doing 73,935 TAEU and 51,727 in physical sales. We'll have to see if Groovy Tony manages to keep the #2 spot on lock two weeks in a row, or if it's all downhill from here.
3) Rihanna – ANTI: Rihanna's eighth studio album ANTI peaked at #1, and hasn't strayed too far away throughout its 25 weeks on the chart. This time around, the record lands at #6, tacking 34,312 TAEU and 6,876 pure sales to its success.
4) Beyonce – LEMONADE: Beyonce has typically been finding herself a spot above RiRi, but not this week. This week Queen Bey comes in at #7, which is a 3-spot drop from last week's #4 position. With 32,979 TAEU and 21,730 in pure sales, LEMONADE is at least staying within the top 10.
5) Bryson Tiller – Trapsoul: Bryson Tiller sticks to the same #15 spot he was in last week with Trapsoul, the breakthrough release from the Louisville crooner. Tiller tallies 19,425 TAEU and 5,386 physical sales as the record celebrate a very lengthy 42 weeks on the charts.
6) Kevin Gates – ISLAH: Baton Rouge native Kevin Gates was grinding for a while before seeing the type of mainstream success his latest album, ISLAH, has brought him. The record has been on the charts for 24 weeks now, and isn't fading any time soon. This week, Gates moves 17,756 TAEU and 5,323 in pure sales after landing at #17-- which is actually two spots up from last week.
7) Maxwell – BLACKsummers'night: After debuting at #3 last week, Maxwell has made a significant drop to #19. The R&B singer moves 17,101 TAEU amd 15,850 in pure sales, meaning his fans are buying, as opposed to streaming, at a much higher rate than many other artists' fans. Perhaps a reflection of his older demographic?
8) G-Eazy – When It’s Dark Out: The Bay Area MC has seen a great deal of success with his LP When It's Dark Out. The record peaked at #5, and has since slipped and slide around the top 30 spots on the Billboard 200. Last week he was at #29, and this week G-Eazy surges back up to #22, moving 14,860 TAEU and 4,124 in pure sales.
9) Kanye West – The Life of Pablo: #23 on the Billboard 200 isn't a bad place to be for somebody who didn't actually sell any records last week. It's a good thing Billboard has decided to count streams, because Kanye West's 14,505 TAEU came exclusively from fans listening online, and not purchasing.
10) Chance The Rapper – Coloring Book: Similarly to Kanye, Chance The Rapper didn't sell any records last week either. The only difference is Chance's record isn't even for sale. Ha. His 14,033 TAEU are good enough to land him at #26, two spots down from last week.
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You may not remember a time when "One Dance" wasn't the #1 song in America, because the Canadian artist has been holding down that spot for so long (fifteen weeks to be precise). Desiigner's "Panda" continues to slide down the charts, slowly but surely, this week landing at #8. Lil Uzi Vert has a new one on the Hot 100: "You Was Right" makes a debut at #89. Drake has a total of 8 songs on the chart, Rihanna has 4, and Future has 3. Until next week.