Drake‘s Views matched industry projections as it returned to no. 1 on the Billboard 200 for the week ending September 22. Views earned its 13th non-consecutive week atop the chart primarily based on streams — Apple Music claimed the album has been streamed a total of over 1 billion times on its service alone — to edge out Mac Miller‘s debuting The Divine Feminine by less than 6,000 total equivalent album units.
Since Views moved 53,126 album units with only 8,098 in pure album sales, however, it didn’t take back no. 1 on the sales-based Billboard Rap Albums chart from Travi$ Scott‘s Birds in the Trap McKnight. Instead, The Divine Feminine‘s 32,119 pure album sales allowed it to seize the top spot.
Here are the 10 best-selling hip-hop or R&B albums on the Billboard 200 for the week ending September 22, determined by total equivalent album units. Pure album sales are in parentheses, with total streams in brackets.
1. Drake – Views – 53,126 (8,098) [57,353,624]
2. Mac Miller – The Divine Feminine – 47,723 (32,119) [20,345,569]
3. Suicide Squad: The Album – 46,103 (15,726) [24,106,999]
5. Usher – Hard II Love – 38,426 (27,559) [10,730,938]
7. Travis $cott – Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight – 31,706 (4,691) [37,057,777]
12. Rihanna – ANTI – 23,775 (4,195) [23,725,088]
14. Frank Ocean – Blonde – 22,217 (4,528) [26,533,964]
15. Beyonce — Lemonade — 21,874 (15,358) [1,561,008]
18. Kanye West – The Life of Pablo – 17,605 (0) [23,410,091]
20. DJ Khaled – Major Key – 16,817 (3,475) [15,214,782]
Album sales aside, D.R.AM. and Lil Yachty also continued a successful week. Their collaboration, “Broccoli,” was certified double platinum by the RIAA and held onto no. 1 on the Rap Songs chart for the third consecutive week. The track also moved into the Top 10 of the Hot 100 by rising from no. 12 to no. 8.
(Via Billboard 200, Hot 100)
