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Roc Marciano and The Alchemist have decided to do it again. The duo have announced their latest endeavor The Skeleton Key as they look to follow up their critically acclaimed collab album The Elephant Man’s Bones from 2022. And with that announcement, they dropped the project’s lead single in “Chopstick” along with its video. Directed […]
Stephen A. Smith has a message for Drake. During his YouTube series The Stephen A. Smith Show, the sports media personality revealed that the Toronto rapper may be upset with him about previous comments he made about his battle with Kendrick Lamar and that Drake should answer “Not Like Us” with a song instead of […]
The Compton MC has created one of the best catalogs in rap history.
Kendrick Lamar’s surprise album GNX debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart (dated Dec. 7), marking his fifth chart-topper, all earned consecutively. It launches with 319,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 28, according to Luminate — the year’s sixth-largest debut frame. The set’s opening week was largely driven by streaming activity, and the 12-song effort launches with 2024’s third-biggest streaming week for any album. GNX arrived with no warning on Nov. 22 around noon ET.
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Also in the top 10 of the latest Billboard 200, the Wicked film soundtrack enters at No. 2, notching the highest debut for a big-screen adaptation of a stage musical ever. The new Wicked film, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, is based on the long-running stage musical of the same name, which has played on Broadway in New York since 2003.
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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 Dec. 7, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday (Dec. 3). For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of GNX’s 319,000 first-week equivalent album units, SEA units comprise 285,000 (equaling 379.72 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 12 songs; it debuts at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 32,000 (it was only available as a widely available standard digital download, in both a clean and explicit edition; it debuts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales), and TEA units comprise 2,000.
GNX scores 2024’s sixth-largest opening week, by equivalent album units, among all albums. Further, with 379.72 million on-demand official streams generated by its songs, the album yields the year’s biggest streaming week for any R&B/hip-hop album. Further, among all albums, it logs the year’s second-biggest debut streaming week, and the year’s third-largest streaming week overall. (The year’s two bigger streaming weeks were the first and second weeks of Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, with 891.37 and 428.54 million, respectively.)
Lamar previously led the Billboard 200 with Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022), DAMN. (2017), Untitled Unmastered (2016) and To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). Earlier in 2024, he nabbed a pair of No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart with his solo cut “Not Like Us” (in May), shortly after he led the list with the co-billed collaboration “Like That” (in April) with Future and Metro Boomin. Neither song is included on GNX.
GNX precedes Lamar headlining turn at the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. He was announced as the star act of the festivities on Sept. 8. It will mark his second appearance at the halftime show, following the all-star 2022 hip-hop showcase with Dr. Dre at the helm.
The Wicked film soundtrack takes a bow at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, the highest debut ever by a big-screen adaptation of a stage musical.
The last time a stage-to-screen musical soundtrack debuted in the top five was when Chicago danced in at No. 4 — over 21 years ago, on the Feb. 1, 2003 chart — on its way to a No. 2 peak a week later. Setting aside debut ranks, the last stage-to-screen movie musical soundtrack to reach the top two was Les Miserables, which spent a week at No. 1 on the Jan. 19, 2013-dated chart. (It debuted at No. 33, and then moved to No. 2 and No. 1 in its second and third weeks.)
Among all soundtracks in 2024, Wicked is the second soundtrack to reach the top 10 for the first time this year, and the highest charting, following Twisters (No. 7 peak) in August.
Wicked launches with 139,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Nov. 28 — the biggest week for a full-length theatrical film soundtrack since Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born earned 143,000 units in its second week (Oct. 17, 2018, chart; down from its 162,000 bow). Wicked also logs the biggest week for any stage-to-screen musical soundtrack since the Billboard 200 began ranking titles by equivalent album units in December 2014.
Of Wicked’s opening-week sum, album sales comprise 85,000 (it’s No. 1 on Top Album Sales, SEA units comprise 52,000 (equaling 67.66 million on-demand official streams of the album’s tracks; it’s No. 4 on Top Streaming Albums) and TEA units comprise 2,000. With 67.66 million streams generated by its songs, Wicked has 2024’s biggest streaming week for any soundtrack, and the largest streaming week ever for a stage-to-screen musical film soundtrack.
Wicked’s first-week album sales score the largest sales week for a full-length theatrical film soundtrack since A Star Is Born’s second week (86,000). Wicked has the largest debut sales week for a stage-to-screen musical film since Dreamgirls opened with 92,000 (Dec. 23, 2006 chart). The last time a stage-to-screen musical film soundtrack sold more than Wicked this past week was when Les Miserables reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 93,000 in its third chart week (Jan. 19, 2013, chart).
Wicked’s opening week sales were bolstered by its availability across six vinyl variants (including a signed edition, autographed by Erivo and Grande), four CD variants (including a signed edition) and a standard digital download album.
Sabrina Carpenter‘s chart-topping Short n’ Sweet rises 5-3 on the Billboard 200 (69,000 equivalent album units; down 4%); Tyler, The Creator’s former No. 1 CHROMAKOPIA falls 3-4 (61,000; down 24%) and Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft rounds out the top five, rising 9-5 with 50,000 (up 2%).
Gracie Abrams’ The Secret of Us steps 8-6 (48,000 equivalent album units; down 5%); Rauw Alejandro’s Cosa Nuestra falls 6-7 (44,000; down 35% in its second week); Swift’s former leader The Tortured Poets Department climbs 11-8 (43,000; up 1%); Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time ascends 12-9 (42,000; up 2%); and Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is a non-mover at No. 10 (42,000; down 2%).
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.
J. Cole is celebrating the 10th anniversary of 2014 Forest Hills Drive with a special one-night-only concert at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Dec. 16. The 39-year-old rap star made the announcement on Friday (Nov. 29), marking a decade since the release of his third studio album. Presales for the Live Nation-produced event […]
Doja Cat is keeping fans on their toes with cryptic hints of what could be new music from her next album.
On Saturday (Nov. 30), the superstar rapper shared a series of brief videos on X (formerly Twitter), offering a sneak peek at what appear to be unreleased song snippets.
In the first video, captioned “Let’s about it,” Doja — dressed in all black — appears to open her mouth as if to speak, but the clip cuts off abruptly, leaving fans hanging. The next video, titled “my bad yall,” shows the “Paint the Town Red” rapper seemingly attempting to apologize. “Ok, I’m sorry. I’ve just been like f—ing with you guys this entire time and I feel like it’s rude and I apologize for that. So, I do wanna talk about basically…” she begins, before the video cuts out once again, keeping fans on edge.
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In the final, minute-long clip, Doja delivers what fans have been waiting for: she plays and pauses a total of nine unreleased tracks, before ending the video with a mischievous smile.
This isn’t the first time Doja has sparked speculation about a follow-up to 2023’s Scarlet. Earlier this month, the Grammy-winning artist posted and quickly deleted what appeared to be a 13-song track list, highlighting five of her favorites, including songs titled “Cards,” “Acts of Service,” “Make It Up,” “Did I Lie” and “Crack.”
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She also shared a since-deleted photo dump on Instagram with the caption “red 5,” which could be a reference to her upcoming fifth studio album. Among the photos was a snap of a new foot tattoo reading “Red” in red ink.
Doja’s most recent album, Scarlet, followed 2021’s chart-topping Planet Her. Scarlet, released in September 2023, reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Top Rap Albums chart. She also released the Scarlet 2 CLAUDE deluxe edition in May.
Check out Doja Cat’s mysterious videos on X below.
Drake is heading back to Australia and New Zealand in early 2025.
On Thursday (Nov. 28), the Canadian superstar revealed the dates for his upcoming The Anita Max Win Tour, which marks first visit to the region since 2017.
The Live Nation-produced tour launches with two nights at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on Feb. 9-10 and wraps with back-to-back shows at Auckland’s Spark Arena on Feb. 28 and March 1. The seven-date tour will also make stops in Sydney and Brisbane. See the full tour itinerary below.
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Tickets will be available for purchase through various presales beginning Tuesday (Dec. 3). The general onsale begins Dec. 6 at 12 p.m. local time.
The Anita Max Win Tour is named after a viral moment from Drake’s December 2023 livestream on Kick, where he introduced a new “alter ego” named Anita Max Win. The name is a playful pun on the gambling phrase “I need a max win,” referring to hitting the maximum payout on a slot machine.
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Drizzy first hinted at the tour on Nov. 24 during a livestream with gaming streamer xQc, saying, “February 9th for anybody that’s watching from Australia, I’m coming back to Australia for the first time in eight years. Coming back to Australia on tour. Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast… February 9 ’til like… March something.”
This marks a major return for Drake’s Australian and New Zealand fans, who last saw him live during the Boy Meets World Tour in 2017. “Funny enough, it’s actually called the Anita Max Wynn Tour,” the Toronto MC said during the xQc livestream.
In August, Drake also announced his forthcoming collaborative album with PARTYNEXTDOOR. PND recently went live on Instagram, sharing exciting news about the joint project. “Guys, I have one more show left on this tour,” PARTYNEXTDOOR told his followers. “Then the album is getting finished. That’s all I gotta say.”
Drake’s tour announcement is especially noteworthy as it coincides with Kendrick Lamar’s highly anticipated Super Bowl Halftime Show performance on Feb. 9 — the same date as the start of Drake’s tour. The two rappers have been at the center of a well-publicized rivalry in 2024, trading shots through diss tracks like Lamar’s “Not Like Us” and Drake’s “Push Ups.” Lamar also recently dropped his surprise album GNX, adding more fuel to the fire.
See Drake’s Anita Max Win Tour dates below.
Feb. 9: Melbourne, Australia (Rod Laver Arena)Feb. 10: Melbourne, Australia (Rod Laver Arena)Feb. 16: Sydney, Australia (Qudos Bank Arena)Feb. 17: Sydney, Australia (Qudos Bank Arena)Feb. 24: Brisbane, Australia (Brisbane Entertainment Centre)Feb. 28: Auckland, New Zealand (Spark Arena)March 1: Auckland, New Zealand (Spark Arena)
Ye has dropped a futuristic music video for “Bomb.”
On Wednesday (Nov. 27), the superstar rapper — formerly known as Kanye West — unveiled on YouTube the post-apocalyptic visual, which features his daughters North and Chicago racing through a barren desert alongside monstrous creatures.
In the surreal clip, North, 11, and Chicago, 6, take the wheel of a Tesla Cybertruck, speeding past furry gremlin-like beasts that evoke the hot rod monster art of Stanley Mouse. Rapper Yuno Miles also makes a cameo, joining the high-speed chase while wearing a black mask.
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North, dressed in an oversized jacket with a furry hood, raps in Japanese, while Chicago, sporting cute buns, chimes in midway with the catchy lines: “I like to have fun/ I like to go to the beach/ I like the sun/ You know it’s Chi/ I only wave when I’m telling them ‘bye.’”
Proud mom Kim Kardashian reposted the video on her Instagram account, writing, “BOMB ft. North West & Chicago West.” Ye and Kardashian are also parents to sons Saint West, 8, and Psalm West, 5.
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“Bomb” is featured on Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 2, which was released in August and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
In September, Ye brought all four of his children on stage for a performance of his shelved Vultures track “Everybody” during a concert at the Wuyuan River Sports Stadium in Haikou, China. Earlier this year, North joined Ye at his Vultures listening event in Paris, where she sang along to the track “Talking” from the album.
Watch Ye’s “Bomb” music video on YouTube below.
TDE founder Top Dawg weighed in on Kendrick Lamar‘s latest album GNX, suggesting rivals might not want to engage with the red-hot rapper. “Dot is a dangerous man right now,” Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith said on his Instagram Story. “Everything I thought he would be at 16 years old is here right now. Everybody stand […]
Many were taken aback when they played Kendrick Lamar‘s surprise album GNX and the first voice they hear is a woman singing in Spanish: “I felt your presence here last night, and we started to cry.” Well, that voice belongs to 49-year-old mariachi singer Deyra Barrera from Tucson, Arizona. Barrera became good friends with Mexican baseball player […]