Two years ago, two hip-hop stars, DJ Khaled and Tyler, the creator, faced each other on the Billboard album list, doing not only music, but also t-shirts, lawn signs and energy drinks.
The competition between them – Tyler won, Khaled finished runner-up – sparked long-simmering frustrations in the industry over the use of retail bundles to increase music sales and improve goose performers’ chart positions. The aftermath of this and other similar card fights led Billboard to tighten its rules late last year.
This week, DJ Khaled took first place with his latest release, “Khaled Khaled,” which equaled 93,000 sales in the US, including 107, as the bundle has largely been relegated to the trash can of industrial sales gimmicks – a very overcrowded trash can, according to MRC Data Millions of streams and 14,000 copies were sold as a complete package. It’s the third time that DJ Khaled has been ranked # 1.
The album, titled after the star’s full name, is a textbook example of DJ Khaled’s style: pumped-up affirmations of fame and humility (“Thankful” is the first track, not to be confused with “Grateful” a few albums ago). Comes with a deep bank of guest stars – this one includes Drake, Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Wayne, Nas, Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake, Post Malone, Jay-Z and more than a dozen others. In addition to DJ Khaled, recognized executive producers on the album include his two young sons Asahd and Aalam.
Also this week, Memphis rapper Moneybagg Yo’s second week “A Gangsta’s Pain” fell to number 2. Morgan Wallen’s “Dangerous: The Double Album” was number three; Bieber’s “Justice” comes fourth; and Slime Language 2, rapper Young Thug’s project, is # 5.
