Another week, another posthumous rap album debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
On Sunday (July 19), Billboard revealed the top 10 of its weekly album's chart. Juice Wrld's latest LP, Legends Never Die, easily came in at the top spot, after Pop Smoke's Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon album topped the chart last week. The new album from the late Chicago MC moved an eye-popping 497,000 equivalent album units. That total includes a massive 209,000 traditional sales. It also earned 422.63 million streams.
The huge week was good enough to put Juice Wrld in the record books. LND is the biggest selling posthumous debut in 23 years, only being eclipsed by The Notorious B.I.G.’s Life After Death (690K) and 2Pac’s R U Still Down (549K), both released in 1997. The album also notched the biggest sales week of 2020, passing The Weeknd's After Hours debut by nearly 60,000 units.
The LP even scored the biggest audio streaming week of 2020 and the biggest video streaming week of the year. Juice Wrld's name is now fourth on the list of biggest streaming debuts ever, falling in line behind Drake's Scorpion (746M), Lil Wayne's Tha Carter V (433M) and Post Malone's Beerbongs and Bentleys (431M).
The highly-anticipated LP was released on less than a week's notice. The 21-song offering features guest appearances from Trippie Redd, Marshmello, Polo G, The Kid Laroi and Halsey, and was spearheaded by the singles "Come & Go," "Tell Me U Luv Me" and "Righteous."
Luckily, it appears this won't be the last music we hear from the beloved rapper, who died last December from an accidental overdose. Lil Bibby, head of Grade A Productions, the label Juice Wrld was signed to in partnership with Interscope Records, recently revealed to XXL that more music and a documentary are on the way.
"I don't think the albums are gonna stop. It's plenty of music," Bibby said. He also noted, "We are working on a documentary. That's in the works. Be on the lookout for that. That will be coming out soon."
In celebration of the album's major accomplishment, Juice Wrld's mother, Carmela Wallace, and his Grade A family have released a statement.
“The overwhelming love that millions of music fans clearly have for Jarad reminds us how much his poetic words, creativity, and bright light continues to shine throughout the world,” the statement reads. “This first collection of songs is a poignant reminder of his great artistic talent and emotional honesty. Music was his passion and recording gave him the outlet to share everything he was going through. In addition to his music, Jarad's legacy will continue to provide help to young people through his Live Free 999 Foundation. We are incredibly grateful to the fans who continue to uplift him every single day and our hope is that his words touch your life in a way that helps you through any challenges you may be facing.”
Other rappers in this week's Billboard 200 top 10 include Pop Smoke (Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, No. 2), Lil Baby (My Turn, No. 4), Post Malone (Hollywood's Bleeding, No. 5), DaBaby (Blame It on Baby, No. 6), The Weeknd (After Hours, No. 9) and Polo G (The Goat, No. 10).
See 11 of the Best Posthumous Hip-Hop Albums,
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