Lil Uzi Vert has ended the rap drought.
The artist’s Pink Tape is the first rap album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart this year.
The Generation Now and Atlantic Records release moved 167,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. for the week ending July 6, Billboard reported Monday.
Related Story: Bow Wow Calls on Hip-Hop Industry to Stop Releasing ‘Trash’ Music
Pink Tape, which dropped on June 30, is the rapper and singer-songwriter’s third studio album — and third release to debut in the top spot.
The massive 26-track disc features hip hop, trap, rap rock and rage rap, and includes the hit dance track “Just Wanna Rock.”
The album hit stores at a pivotal time for rap music.
Last month Billboard reported no rap release had made it to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 or the Hot 100 singles chart in 2023.
The publication said by June 2022, six different rappers had put out No. 1 albums — Gunna (DS4Ever), Lil Durk (7220), Tyler, The Creator (Call Me If You Get Lost), Pusha T (It’s Almost Dry), Future (I Never Liked You), and Kendrick Lamar (Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers).
Lil Uzi Vert broke the spell.
The Philadelphia rapper opened the BET Awards on June 25, with a high octane performance of “Just Wanna Rock.”
On the red carpet before the show, Bow Wow discussed the state of hip-hop with Los Angeles radio station Power 106. The rapper said the reason current hip-hop releases weren’t selling was because artists were putting out “trash.”
“I think people are starting to get tired of it, that’s why you don’t see nothing charting,” he explained. “Everything sounds the same, every girl wants to get a bag, get a rich ni–a… it’s time to shake the game up and get it back to what it needs to get back to, and that’s just the real essence of artistry, and real good music that’s gone last forever.”
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