Kendrick Lamar's ‘GNX' Projected To Reclaim Billboard 200 Top Spot From Drake
Kendrick Lamar's GNX is projected to reclaim the Billboard 200 top spot from Drake.
Chart Data and HITSDD reported on Tuesday (Mar. 4) in a post on X/Twitter that K. Dot's November 2024 release is set to return to No. 1 on the coveted chart, with 92K units sold for the first week of March.
Before this news, CD reported that it was a three-way race involving Dot, Drake & PARTYNEXTDOOR, and pop star Tate McRae, challenging for first-place bragging rights, with less than 10K units separating the distance between the three musical acts offerings. However, things appeared to have shaken out in favor of the Compton native this week.
Drake and PND's $ome $exy $ongs 4 U reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 upon release. In its inaugural week, the album sold 246,000 album-equivalent units, taking the No. 1 spot away from Dot in mid-February. It should be noted that the Canadian duo's figure was noticeably less than Lamar's first-week sales for GNX, which amassed 319,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. during the week ending Nov. 28, per Luminate. Regardless, the feat marked the 14th No. 1 for Aubrey, tying him with Taylor Swift and JAY-Z all-time.
As for Kendrick, if projections hold steady, Lamar's GNX will have spent three weeks atop the Billboard 200 overall. The news arrives just a month after Lamar made Billboard chart history. As GNX returned to No. 1 after Super Bowl LIX, the 37-year-old's previous LPs, DAMN and good kid, m.A.A.d city, occupied spots in the top ten simultaneously, with No. 9 and 10, respectively.
The chart positions mark the first time in history that a rap act has placed at least three albums concurrently in the top 10. Taylor Swift was the last musician, regardless of genre, to accomplish the feat on the December 9, 2023 chart, with five albums in the top ranking. Prince was the last artist to claim three albums in the top 10 following the singer's 2016 death.
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