Following a week of exclusive streaming on Tidal in which play counts were not reported, Jay-Z's 4:44 has debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 in its second week of release. 4:44 is Jay's 14th number one album, moving 262,000 album equivalent units this week, with 174,000 of that figure accounted for in traditional sales, according to Billboard.
This gives Jay the fourth-largest sales week of 2017 thus far, following Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. (603,000 units), Drake’s More Life (505,000) and Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (451,000). He continues his record of most number one debuts at 14, followed by Bruce Springsteen at 8. Each of his solo albums has debuted at number one beginning with his third album, Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life. Counted among the total are also collaborative albums with R. Kelly, (Unfinished Business), Kanye West (Watch The Throne), and Linkin Park (Collision Course).
Sales numbers for the rest of the top ten, including, most likely, 21 Savage's Issa Album, will be revealed by Billboard later today.
