The long-awaited Carter V album finally dropped this past week, and the entire hip-hop game was put on hold. The triumphant return of Lil Wayne prompted athletes like LeBron James and peers like Kanye West and Chance the Rapper to show their respects. In a rare moment of modesty, West even announced that he was happy taking second place to Wayne when the numbers come in for album sales. Well, West's Yandhi is set to drop tonight, but first week projections for Wayne's album are already in.
According to Hits Daily Double, Tha Carter V is predicted to move 475-525k units in its first week. 165-180k are predicted to be pure album sales. That would give Wayne the third biggest opening of the year, behind Drake (732k), and Travis Scott (537k). Tha Carter IV moved 964,000 in its first week back in 2011, but it was accompanied by a long list of singles and months of promotion, unlike the new album.
Logic's Young Sinatra IV is predicted to move 90-110k units in its debut week, with 45-55k in pure album sales. Kanye West's release of Yandhi may change these predictions though, as millions of Americans switch their streams from other albums to his.
