Playboi Carti's "Whole Lotta Red" First-Week Sales Are In

BYAron A.Updated on September 26, 202239.2K Views

Here's how many units Playboi Carti's "Whole Lotta Red" sold in its first week.

The tail-end of the year is always an awkward time to release new music, especially during a pandemic. Christmas 2020 landed on a Friday, the typical day for new album releases. While it was dry, for the most part, the long-awaited sophomore album from Playboi Carti arrived in its 24-song entirety.

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Whole Lotta Red was pretty much two years in the making. The rapper has had fans on the edge of their seats anticipating its release. And while he has been a star in his own right, it appears that WLR certifies Playboi Carti as a mainstream giant. Immediately after its release, the first-week sales projections emerged and they were pretty high. Industry forecasters predicted that he would be pushing somewhere between 125,000-135,000 in its first week, earning Carti his first #1 on the Billboard 200.

Mind you, Taylor Swift's latest album is also going strong on the charts so it seemed like even with the high projections, there was a chance he wouldn't be able to notch the #1 spot. According to Hits Daily Double, Carti's latest album performed under its initial projections but still, Carti is essentially propped to hold down the top spot on the Billboard 200. With 110k-115K units moved, Carti will surely come out on top on the charts this week, marking the first #1 album of 2021.

Meanwhile, Lil Durk's The Voice has moved upwards of 65k-70k in its first full week, earning Durk the #3 spot on this week's chart.

Stay tuned for the official Billboard 200 announcement.

[Via]

About The Author

Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.