Big Sean went through a lot to get his new album made. The rapper poured his blood, sweat and tears into Better Me Than You, and fans could tell. The album was packed with introspective songwriting and uplifting sounds. Unfortunately, the uplifting elements have not applied to album sales. Hip Hop By the Numbers released the projected first week sales for Better Me Than You, and they are not good. In fact, they will mark the lowest-selling first week of Big Sean's entire career.
Big Sean's latest album is projected to sell less than 24K in its first week. Statistically, these numbers will put him outside of the top 20 on the Billboard 200 charts. Still high, right? Well, not for Big Sean. Despite not being considered "Big Three" caliber, Sean has been a steady commercial force throughout his entire career. His first four albums all topped the hip hop charts, and his third album, Dark Sky Paradise (2015), managed to top the Billboard 200. To date, none of Sean's studio albums have charted lower than three. Better Me Than You will be lucky to crack 20.
Big Sean Will Debut Outside Of Top 3 For The First Time
There are, of course, lots of variables at play here. Big Sean hasn't released an album in four years. Said album, Detroit 2, was not the commercial success that its predecessors were. It was eventually certified Gold, but it lacked a hit single. Better Me Than You has the same problem with even more distance from Sean's last hit. None of the three lead singles from the album charted on Billboard. Big Sean clearly had more of an album statement in mind, but it still stands to reason that a viral hit would have done a lot to boost his sales.
It's also worth noting that rap albums have consistently underperformed in 2024. Unless your name is Travis Scott, you are struggling to sell records. Mustard way underperformed when he put out Faith of a Mustard Seed in July. He sold only 18K copies, despite having a stellar roster of guest stars and the after glow of a Kendrick Lamar-assisted number one. Mustard's partner in crime, YG, fared even worse. Just Re'd Up 3 sold only 8K first week, which is massively down from the rapper usual Billboard numbers. It's a rough patch that the genre hopefully gets out of.
