Polo G And Jason Isbell Chart New Top 10 Albums Behind Future’s Latest No. 1
by Hugh McIntyre
It looked for some time like rapper Polo G may have been headed toward his first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this week, as he didn’t appear to face any competition that stood a chance at racking up as many equivalent units...but that all changed when midnight on Friday (May 15) rolled around. Fellow hip-hop musician Future stepped in and dropped a surprise album, and in no time, the race for the top spot changed dramatically.
Now, Future has claimed the throne on the Billboard 200 with his latest release High Off Life. The project opens in first place with 50,000 more units than the No. 1 title, so as it turns out, there wasn’t much of a battle for the top spot. The set, which was preceded by one major hit (“Life Is Good” with Drake, which stalled at No. 2 on the Hot 100) and another, lesser win (“Tycoon”) starts off with 153,000 equivalent units shifted. That’s enough to make High Off Life Future’s seventh leader on the all-genre tally.
Behind him, one brand new title debuts inside the region while another recent release bolts into the area.
Polo G’s The Goat might not be the No. 1 album in the U.S., but it does perform well enough to become the rapper’s highest-charting project. The set shifted 99,000 equivalent units, with 14,000 of those being pure sales. Most of the rest came from streaming platforms, where the title racked up 129 million plays.
The Goat is Polo G’s second top 10 on the Billboard 200, following the success of last year’s Die A Legend, which peaked at No. 6.
Two songs released from The Goat before it dropped have appeared on the Hot 100, and more will probably land on the list when the it refreshes in a day or so. First up was “Go Stupid,” which featured Stunna 4 Vegas, NLE Choppa and Mike Will Made It and which rose as high as No. 60. Shortly after that win, he released “DND,” which peaked at No. 84.
Four hip-hop powerhouses come next, with Lil Baby’s My Turn advancing to No. 3 once again, Drake’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes dipping to No. 4, DaBaby’s Blame It On Baby pushing to No. 5 and Lil Uzi Vert’s Eternal Atake finding space at No. 6.
The Weeknd’s several-week ruler After Hours surges to No. 7 while Post Malone’s Hollywood’s Bleeding continues to live inside the top 10, this time around making a home at No. 8.
The third and final album that enters the top 10 on the Billboard 200 for the first time this week comes from alternative country artist Jason Isbell and his backing band the 400 Unit. The act’s latest set, Reunions, vaults from No. 149, where it started last frame, to No. 9 thanks to another 35,000 equivalent units shifted. That sum is largely composed of sales.
Reunions is Isbell’s third solo top 10 on the chart, following his previous two efforts, Something More Than Free (2015, No. 6) and The Nashville Sound (2017, No. 4).
Last week’s champion, Nav’s Good Intentions, falls from No. 1 to No. 10 in its second stay on the chart.