2024 has been a big year in hip-hop, and thanks in part to the return of some of hip-hop’s biggest names, the sales numbers are turning up.
Following a four-year hiatus, Eminem checked back in the game with his 11th album, The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce). The latest effort from the Rap God moved 281,000 equivalent album units in its first week. Enough to dethrone Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department for the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart. Taylor’s latest LP held the No. 1 spot for 12 weeks until Marshall Mathers arrived. Em’s seven-day total has served as the benchmark for hip-hop in 2024.
Future’s return on his highly anticipated collab albums with Metro Boomin, We Don’t Trust You and We Still Don’t Trust You, resulted in consecutive No. 1 albums. The two artists racked up 251,000 and 127,500 equivalent album units moved in the first week, respectively. Hendrix also released a solo mixtape in September, Mixtape Pluto, which clocked at in at 129,000 EAU. All three projects topped the Billboard 200, making Future the first rapper to achieve the feat of having three No. 1 releases in a six-month period.
Ye proved to be bulletproof to the controversy. His joint album, Vultures 1 with Ty Dolla $ign, moved 148,000 EAU in the first week and doubled back to retain pole position in consecutive weeks. The earnings make Vultures 1 and 21 Savage’s American Dream the only two rap albums to hold down the top spot for consecutive weeks this year. Rod Wave continues to put out big releases with his Last Lap album scoring a No. 2 debut with 127,000 units in October.
As of press time, hip-hop has not seen as big of a debut from any artist as it did in 2023 when Travis Scott’s Utopia album moved an impressive 496,000 in its first week or Drake’s For All the Dogs hit 402,000. Rappers’ biggest sales this year maxed out around 361,000 units, which was achieved by the rerelease of Travis Scott’s Days Before Rodeo mixtape.
Check out hip-hop’s biggest first-week sales of projects in 2024 below.
