Playboi Carti Scores His First No. 1 Album

Playboi Carti in 2019. Photo by Earl Gibson III/Shutterstock (10506034bc)

Hip-hop albums have been having a moment on the Billboard 200 chart last year, and it seems 2021 is shaping up the same way. The chart’s very first no.1 album of the year is here, and it just happens to be Playboi Carti’s Whole Lotta Red.

With 100,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. during its first week on the chart, the rapper’s latest studio effort easily surged to no. 1. It was followed by Taylor Swift’s latest album Evermore and Lil Durk’s The Voice in the second and third spots.

Whole Lotta Red is Playboi Carti’s very first album to top the Billboard 200 chart, but he came pretty close in the past. His debut album Die Lit made it to no. 3 in 2018, becoming his first record to make it to the top ten on this chart.

Whole Lotta Red was released on December 25th, 2020 and it was preceded by the lead single “@Meh”. In addition to this song, Playboi Carti’s latest LP also featured collaborations with Future, Kanye West, and Kid Cudi.