The final numbers are in, and another release date battle has been decided. Rod Wave and GloRilla may not seem like obvious choices to go at one another, but that's exactly what happened when the former decided to move his release date to match GloRilla's. The Southern rapper was not happy, and said as much on social media. Well, now the first week sales are in, we understand why. Rod Wave won, and he won handily. DJ Akademiks confirmed the numbers on October 21.
Rod Wave wound up moving 127K units of Last Lap during its first week. GloRilla, meanwhile, sold 69K units of her debut, Glorious. This is the second-highest first week total of Rod Wave's career, following his breakthrough release SoulFly. That album sold 130K first week. The rapper has proven to be one of the most consistent artists of the 2020s, and he nearly doubled what GloRilla managed out of the gate. Despite this gap in numbers, GloRilla has been receiving praise throughout the industry. Her 69K units was the highest number by a female rapper in 2024. This is quite the feat, given that the year has seen high profile releases from the likes of JT, Ice Spice and Latto.
Rod Wave Scored His Second Number Two Billboard Debut
GloRilla also received praise from Wale. The DC legend heaped praise on Glorious, and even drew paralells between the album and his commercial breakthrough, Ambition, in 2011. "GloRilla project remind me of ambition album," he explained. "That girl is a light in the game right now." He also had words for GloRilla's critics: "STOP PLAYING WIT DAT GIRL." GloRilla kept the celebration going with shoutouts to her team and her fans. "S/O to God, my fans & supporter & my team," she tweeted. "Thank yall."
Glorious debuted at number five on the Billboard 200. Rod Wave's album, meanwhile, debuted at number two. Last Lap is the second time Wave has managed this feat in his career. He's also scored one number 10 debut and a whopping four number one debuts. Rod Wave is a proven commodity, and was always going to come out on top of a same day release with GloRilla. That said, it's nice to see both artists thriving and racking up stellar numbers for the points they are at in their respective careers.
