Kanye West stirred up a lot of hype for his gospel record Jesus Is King by pushing back the release date and making some last-minute changes. The hype evidently worked as the record debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 charts, making it the rapper’s ninth consecutive No. 1 album, tying with Eminem for longest No. 1 streak.
According to Billboard, Jesus Is King sold 264,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending with October 31. Less than half the number, 109,000 to be specific, were in actual record sales. The remainder of the impressive number was powered by streaming services.
Jesus Is King arriving at No. 1 continues Kanye’s impressive streak with the entirety of West’s records from 2005 to 2019 making a debut at the top slot. His only record he that didn’t debut at No. 1 was his first, The College Dropout, which both debuted and peaked at No. 2.
Since this is Kanye’s ninth No. 1 debut in a row, he now ties with Eminem. Eminem also holds nine No. 1 album debuts, starting with his 2000 record The Marshall Mathers LP and continuing to his most recent effort Kamikaze. Like Kanye, Eminem has only had one album miss a No. 1 debut spot. Eminem’s 1999 The Slim Shady LP also debuted and peaked at No. 2.
