Back in October, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, a 20-year-old Louisiana rapper with a big following on YouTube, topped the Billboard album chart for the first time. Now, just seven months later — and still at age 20 — he is back with another No. 1 release, even though his numbers have slipped.
“38 Baby 2,” YoungBoy’s latest mixtape, is a 17-song collection that includes a verse on its opening track performed by the star’s mother, Sherhonda Gaulden. (“I love my baby boy,” she raps, “he the wind beneath my wings.”) The mixtape had the equivalent of 67,000 album sales in the United States last week, according to data from Nielsen Music. The vast majority of that activity came from streaming, with songs from the album racking up 97 million clicks; just 4,000 copies were sold as a complete package.
The total for “38 Baby 2” was considerably less than YoungBoy had for his last chart-topper, “AI YoungBoy 2,” which hit No. 1 with the equivalent of 110,000 sales, including 145 million streams. But with less competition among major releases these days — many big albums are being delayed — “38 Baby 2” had enough to win the week.
The North Carolina rapper DaBaby’s latest album, “Blame It on Baby,” which topped the chart last week, fell to No. 2, while the rapper Lil Uzi Vert holds at third place with “Eternal Atake.” The Weeknd’s “After Hours” is No. 4 and Lil Baby’s “My Turn” remains at No. 5.
Fiona Apple’s new album, “Fetch the Bolt Cutters,” got a rapturous reception from critics, but in its second week out fell 122 spots to No. 126.
Source: Music - nytimes.com
