To say that this week has been filled with new music would be an understatement. On Friday night, listeners were given new music from Nas, Jacquees, 2 Chainz, Jay Rock and many others. On Saturday afternoon, fans were given a surprise album from The Carter family. To top it all off, The Carters dropped off a single that wasn’t even on their album. While much of our perception of these albums will be shaped by how this music ages over time, part of it will be gauged by how many units each artist is able to move in their first week.
In the world of rap music, Jay Rock appears to have moved anywhere from 24,000 to 27,000 units during his first week. Nas appears to have sold between 40,000 and 50,000 physical albums and he is on track to move between 70,000 and 80,000 units when streaming is factored in. Holding down the top spot, Beyonce and Jay-Z appear to have sold anywhere between 72,000 and 77,000 physical albums. Furthermore, the couple appears to have secured the top spot on the Billboard 200 Charts with 120,000 units moved when streaming is factored in. Unfortunately, these numbers do not currently reflect the first day streaming done via TIDAL. However, those numbers will hopefully become available soon.
Outside of the world of rap, Christina Aguilera’s Liberation appears to have moved approximately 70,000 units in its first weeks and Five Seconds of Summer appears to have locked down the number two spot on the charts with approximately 115,000 units moved during their first week. Official numbers will be released shortly. In the meantime, feel free to stream Nasir, Redemption or Everything Is Love on Def Pen.
