Sir Paul McCartney was able to knock Eminem’s Kamikaze from No. 1 to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 for the week ending September 13. Despite the 69 percent drop in sales, Slim Shady put up a good fight against the former Beatle and came within roughly 17,000 total album equivalent units of reclaiming the No. 1 spot.
Elsewhere on the chart, Mac Miller’s Swimming saw a huge surge in sales following his untimely death and lands in the Top 10, while Russ’ latest album Zoomakes a strong debut in the Top 5.
Meanwhile, $uicideBoy$ and their I Want To Die In New Orleans project hits the chart running at No. 9 with 45,674 total album equivalent units, 30,671 pure album sales and a streaming count of 21,654,427.
Swimming Upstream
Mac Miller passed away on September 7, roughly one month after releasing Swimming — his fifth and what became his final studio album.
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In the wake of his death, sales have made a 634 percent jump. The project lands at No. 6 with 67,086 total album equivalent units, 14,756 pure album sales and a streaming count of 66,720,973, up from No. 71 last week.
News of Miller’s unexpected death has sent shockwaves throughout the music industry. A public vigil was held at Blue Slide Park in his hometown of Pittsburgh last Tuesday.
Read the Swimming review here.
“Kamikaze” Bows Down To A Former Beatle
Eminem’s 10th studio album Kamikaze dropped into everyone’s laps on August 30 and since then, Hip Hop fans have had front row seats to the growing beef between Em and Machine Gun Kelly.
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After debuting at No. 1 last week, Kamikaze has settled in right behind Paul McCartney’s Egypt Station. Boasting 136,146 total album equivalent units, 59,274 pure album sales and a streaming count of 99,630,871, the project lands at No. 2.
Read the Kamikaze review here.
Zoo Makes Its Debut
Russ’ sophomore album Zoo has made its debut at No. 4 with 79,179 total album equivalent units, 56,919 pure album sales and a streaming count of 29,070,556.
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It serves as the follow-up to 2017’s There’s Really A Wolf, which debuted at No. 7 with first-week sales of roughly 49,000 units. The project was certified platinum by the RIAA back in April.
Top 10 Billboard 200 Rap & R&B Albums For The Week Ending 9/13/2018
Note: The first number below is this week’s “total album equivalent units” count, an intersection of album sales, single sales, and streams implemented by Billboard’s new rating system. A pure album sales figure is available in bold in parenthesis and information about each album’s streaming count is available in brackets.
- Eminem — Kamikaze – No. 2. — 136,146 (59,274) [99,630,871]
- Russ — Zoo — No. 4 — 79,179 (56,919) [29,070,556]
- Drake — Scorpion — No. 5 — 71,359 (3,504) [90,036,146]
- Mac Miller — Swimming — No. 6 — 67,086 (14,756) [66,720,973]
- Travis Scott — Astroworld — No. 7 — 65,549 (1,442) [86,187,030]
- Post Malone — Beerbongs & Bentleys — No. 8 — 48,054 (3,347) [59,735,985]
- $uicideBoy$ — I Want To Die In New Orleans — No. 9 — 45,674 (30,671) [21,654,427]
- Nicki Minaj — Queen — No. 11 — 41,260 (4,118) [50,645,554]
- Juice WRLD — Goodbye & Good Riddance — No. 12 — 37,313 (691) [57,607,178]
- XXXTENTACION — ? — No. 13 — 31,798 (1,517) [47,396,225]
