The top story on the Billboard charts is A Tribe Called Quest, who returned last week with a brand new album that put a ray of light on a relatively dark week. The record features contributions from legends like Andre 3000 and Elton John, along with frequent collaborators Busta Rhymes and Consequence. Just a few spots below Tribe is Rae Sremmurd, who represent a totally different sound on the hip hop spectrum, but are seeing some measurable success after "Black Beatles" the soundtrack for the mannequin challenge. Elsewhere, Jeezy's Trap or Die 3 continues to plunge down the charts after debuting at #1 just three weeks ago.
...
1) A Tribe Called Quest — We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service: Eighteen years after the release of their last album, A Tribe Called Quest is back at it again! The new album debuts at #1 on the charts, moving 134,628 TAEU and 111,884 pure sales on an album that bucks the new trends and sticks to the script: solid hip hop with conscious and heartfelt lyrics.
2) Rae Sremmurd — SremmLife 2: With "Black Beatles" continuing to thrive off viral social media success, Rae Sremmurd comes in at #4 this week with their sophomore album SremmLife 2. Moving up slightly from last week's stint at #4, the duo moves 42,751 TAEU with just 3,217 in sales.
3) Drake – VIEWS: Up to #5 from #8 is Drake with VIEWS. The Canadian superstar might have seen a boost in sales from his AMA success as he clocks 31,910 TAEU and 4,321 pure sales with what is commercially the most successful album of the year.
4) Various Artists – Suicide Squad: The Album: The Suicide Squad soundtrack is having one of the best runs of any OST in recent history. It's back into the top 10 after spending last week at #12. On the cusp at #10, the record moves 23,877 TAEU and 8,138 sales.
5) Travis Scott – Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight: Travis Scott drops from #18 to #19 this week with his sophomore record Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight. This time around, during the record's 11th week on the chart, the Houston native does 17,966 TAEU and 1,949 pure sales.
6) Alicia Keys — HERE: At #20 is Alicia Keys, who debuted at #2 just last week. The songstress tallies 17,941 TAEU and 14,008 pure sales this time, with an album that features some Swizz Beatz production along with an A$AP Rocky feature.
7) Rihanna – ANTI: Rihanna's eighth studio album has spent 43 weeks on the Billboard charts now, and this week shows up in the #22 spot. Moving 17,417 TAEU and 2,726 sales, ANTI continues to have an impressive run.
8) Meek Mill — Dreamchasers 4: Philly's Meek Mill occupies the #27 spot this week with his latest effort Dreamchasers 4. Clocking 15,756 TAEU and 2,332 sales, the MMG MC had a fine week.
9) 21 Savage and Metro Boomin — Savage Mode: Coming in at #29 is the collaborative effort from 21 Savage and Metro Boomin, a couple of ATL upstarts. The Savage Mode project moves 15,284 TAEU and just 590 sales, meaning that people are streaming a lot, but not necessarily purchasing the record very often.
10) Kanye West — The Life of Pablo: Kanye West is having a rough week, and we send our thoughts out to the modern-day legend. His latest LP, The Life of Pablo, comes in at #37 this week with 13,017 TAEU and no sales.
...
At #1 for the second week in a row is Rae Sremmurd with "Black Beatles," a song that has been used time and time again on videos around the web and Instagram as part of the mannequin challenge, of which there's a bunch of great ones. The Weeknd and Daft Punk hold strong at #3 with "Star Boy," and D.R.A.M. does the same at the #9 spot with "Broccoli." A little higher up, and you see that Migos and Lil Uzi Vert have a new one at #76 called "Bad and Boujee" and A Tribe Called Quest's "We The People..." debuts just behind them at #77.