Live by the charts, become undone by the charts. Such may very well be the reality for Tekashi 6ix9ine. Few rappers in the history of hip-hop have been so quick to gloat about numbers, using every conflict (and that's a high number in itself) as a means to flaunt his statistics. It wasn't uncommon to see his back and forths with Lil Durk or Smokepurpp devolve into boasts about sales or lack thereof.
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Lest we forget how irate Tekashi appeared to be upon learning that "GOOBA" would not, in fact, premiere as the world's number one song. Nor the way he told Gillie Da Kid an interview with him would be "the biggest thing [Gillie would] ever touch." Though in some ways, 6ix9ine is a master marketer, understanding how to utilize conflict to his advantage, his willingness to so freely flaunt his numbers only ensures that his inevitable fall will be all the more painful.
And now, after initial reports pointed to a first-week haul of 150k for TattleTales, it would appear a tiny snafu has rendered a fair number of 6ix9ine's projected streams null and void. According to Akademiks, a longtime friend of 6ix9ine who was recently thrown under the bus during the aforementioned Gillie Da Kid conversation, 6ix9ine's first-week sales have dropped from 150k to 50k, a marked decrease to be sure. As he explains, the reason for the plummeting drop arose as a result of a new bundling rule, rendering a fair number of his streams ineligible. And with Big Sean's projections having been amended to 110k, it's looking like he'll be rounding out the week with the number one album.
Naturally, Lil Durk wasted little time in having the last laugh. "This what happen when you go against the voice lol ima our sell him with my eyes closed," he taunts, referencing his own album that's set to drop in October. Another of Tekashi's many rivals, Blueface Bleedm, chimed in with his own take. "Dam he would still be alive rn if n***s ain’t gas him up," he remarks, having recently been on the receiving end of a sales-related taunt. While this development is still unfolding, expect 6ix9ine to weigh in with his opinion before the day is done.