Playboi Carti Scores Second No. 1 on Billboard 200 With ‘MUSIC’
Written by djfrosty on March 23, 2025
Playboi Carti captures his second No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, as his latest studio project, MUSIC, debuts atop the tally dated March 29. The set debuts with 298,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending March 20, according to Luminate. That marks the biggest week of 2025 for a rap album. It also arrives with the biggest streaming week for a rap set since 2023.
Playboi Carti previously topped the chart with his last release, Whole Lotta Red, which debuted atop the ranking dated Jan. 9, 2021. MUSIC is the artist’s third top 10-charting set, as he previously visited the region with 2018’s Die Lit, which reached No. 3.
Trending on Billboard
Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, LE SSERAFIM collects its fourth top 10-charting project, as 5th Mini Album HOT debuts at No. 9.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new March 29, 2025-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on March 25. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of MUSIC’s 298,000 first-week equivalent album units, SEA units comprise 283,000 (equaling 284 million on-demand official streams of the 30 songs on the streaming edition of the album; it debuts at No. 1 on the Top Streaming Albums chart), album sales comprise 14,500 (it debuts at No. 3 on Top Album Sales) and TEA units comprise 500.
With 298,000 units earned in its first week, MUSIC lands the biggest week in 2025 for a rap album, and the second largest overall among all albums — only the debut of The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow was bigger so far this year, when it launched with 490,000 units (Feb. 15 chart). Further, as MUSIC’s songs tallied 384 million on-demand official streams combined, that marks the biggest streaming week for any album in nearly a year, since Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department collected 428.54 million clicks for its songs in its second week (May 11, 2024, chart). MUSIC nets the largest streaming week for any rap album since Drake’s For All the Dogs debuted with 514.01 million (Oct. 21, 2023, chart).
MUSIC was officially announced on Sept. 12, 2024, and went up for pre-order the same day. However, the set’s March 14 release date wasn’t announced until just two days before its arrival (March 12).
MUSIC debuts on the Billboard 200 largely from streaming activity, as it was available to purchase only as a digital download — as a widely available standard 30-song set, as well as three variants exclusive to the artist’s official webstore (the variants each have between one or two bonus tracks).
MUSIC will be issued on CD (across at least eight variants available to pre-order in his webstore) in the coming weeks. The album will also profit in the future from sales generated by an array of deluxe boxed sets (containing branded merch and a CD) that have been available to pre-order on his webstore since last September.
Lady Gaga’s MAYHEM falls to No. 2 in its second week on the Billboard 200, earning 74,000 equivalent album units (down 66%). The next six titles on the list are all former No. 1s. Kendrick Lamar’s GNX drops 2-3 (71,000; down 13%), PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake’s $ome $exy $ongs 4 U dips 3-4 (66,000; down 15%), SZA’s SOS slips 4-5 (62,000; down 9%), Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet is steady at No. 6 (57,000; down 7%), Tate McRae’s So Close To What falls 5-7 (52,000; down 18%) and Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos is a non-mover at No. 8 (50,000; down 4%).
LE SSERAFIM collects its fourth top 10-charting effort on the Billboard 200 as 5th Mini Album HOT starts at No. 9 with 45,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 38,500 (it debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 7,000 (equaling 9.42 million on-demand streams of the five songs on the streaming edition of the album) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. Sales of the set were bolstered by its availability across more than 20 CD variants (all containing collectible paper ephemera, some randomized).
Rounding out the top 10 of the latest Billboard 200 is Morgan Wallen’s former No. 1 One Thing at a Time, which falls 9-10 with 42,000 equivalent album units earned (down 3%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.