Macklemore is in the midst of a comeback with Gemini, his latest album and his first solo project (i.e. - with Ryan Lewis lending his support) since 2009's The Unplanned Mixtape. So far, even though the critical reception may be mixed, fans have responded positively to the LP, vaulting it to the No. 2 spot on Billboard's album chart.
As per the latest set of numbers from Hits Daily Double, Mr. Haggerty's new release 51,000 units in total, of which 27,000 were traditional album sales and not streaming equivalents. The only album that bested Gemini in terms of sales figures was the new studio album from The Killers, their fifth overall. Titled Wonderful Wonderful, it moved 118,000 total units in its first week. Both records came out on September 22nd. Boasting assists from Lil Yachty, Offset, Skylar Grey, Kesha and others, it shouldn't be all that surprising that Macklemore has once again positioned himself for success as a pop-rap crossover figure, but without a bona fide hit single (save for "Glorious," which has posted below-average radio airplay numbers in North America thus far) make the first week numbers for him that much more impressive.
Elsewhere, Kevin Gates had himself a nice week with By Any Means 2, hitting a little over 40,000 units in its first week in SPS units. Currently serving a prison sentence, Gates' wife is one of the main reasons that the album even saw the light of day, so kudos to her for the tireless effort in bringing her husband's work to the masses. We did a breakdown of the most introspective lyrics from his new album as well - you can check those out here.
Finally, you have Jhene Aiko, whose new soulful record Trip inched close to 37,000 units, which was good enough to hit No. 5 on the album chart. As opposed to Gates, who had just one featured artist in P'n'B Rock grace his new album, Aiko got assists from several big names, including Big Sean, Swae Lee, Kurupt and Brandy, just to name a few. Some hip-hop artists continue to do well in terms of sales numbers outside of their first week in contention, with Lil Uzi Vert, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone and Khalid all finding themselves in the Top Ten.
