Both Memphis rap titan NLE Choppa and Philadelphia Hip Hop icon Meek Mill are skeptical of the validity of first-week album sales projections.
On Wednesday (April 13), the pair of MCs simultaneously shared short Twitter rants expressing their disdain for album sales projections due to how the metric estimates undermine an artist’s individual identity and value as a creative.
The source of NLE Choppa and Meek Mill’s frustrations seems to stem from a tweet from the music industry tracking platform Chart Data. The Billboard 200 chart preview revealed surprisingly low first-week sales numbers for both EST Gee and 42 Dugg’s collaborative Last Ones Left project and Fivio Foreign’s star-studded debut album B.I.B.L.E., which were released on April 8.
US album chart preview (via @HITSDD):
#1 @lildurk 46K
#2 Encanto 44K
#3 @MorganWallen 43K
#4 Jack White 43K
#5 @oliviarodrigo 43K
#6 @theweeknd 33K
#7 @Drake 31K
#8 @DojaCat 31K
#9 @ChiliPeppers 29K
#10 @FivioForeign 29K
#11 @42_Dugg & @ESTGEE 26K
#13 @Camila_Cabello 25K
— chart data (@chartdata) April 12, 2022
Additionally, on April 13 Akademiks shared an Instagram post claiming 2022 HipHopDX Rising Star Coi Leray’s debut Trendsetter album was on pace to sell roughly 11,000 total album-equivalent units in its first week.
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NLE Choppa apparently caught wind of both posts as the “Too Hot” rapper tweeted his support directly to Fivio Foreign and Coi Leray, while also criticizing the industry-standard practice of judging an artist’s entire body of work at face value rather than in real-time.
“First week numbers doesn’t determine if a album good or not,” NLE Choppa wrote in part. “Literally says ‘FIRST WEEK’ I’ve yet to have a album that just goes crazy first week but I’m sitting on 2 gold projects and another one working towards that. @FivioForeign @coi_leray y’all craft is beyond perfect.”
First week numbers doesn’t determine if a album good or not. Literally says “FIRST WEEK” I’ve yet to have a album that just goes crazy first week but I’m sitting on 2 gold projects and another one working towards that. @FivioForeign@coi_leray y’all craft is beyond perfect ‼️
— NLE Choppa (@Nlechoppa1) April 14, 2022
Meek Mill compounded on NLE Choppa’s sentiments by disqualifying the actual process of recording sales data, implying it is something that can be manipulated by record labels and other powers that be.
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“We don’t go off first week numbers….,” Meek wrote. “Labels run that shit … and most of the numbers be fake … you can clearly see all the artist that’s killing shit! Focus on your brand and impact!!”
We don’t go off first week numbers ….Labels run that shit … and most of the numbers be fake … you can clearly see all the artist that’s killing shit! Focus on your brand and impact!!
— MeekMill.nft (@MeekMill) April 14, 2022
He continued by further questioning the current state of the music industry and the distribution market as a whole.
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“They crashing the rap game out….,” he wrote. “That everybody drop on Friday bs …. Wtf is that … why would you want to sell your product on the same day as the competition… for a billboard look? lol what does that do for the artist?”
They crashing the rap game out …. that everybody drop on Friday bs …. Wtf is that … why would you want to sell your product on the same day as the competition… for a billboard look? lol what does that do for the artist?
— MeekMill.nft (@MeekMill) April 14, 2022
Earlier this year, NLE Choppa faced a similar fate when his Me vs. Me album was projected to move 20,000 copies in its opening week. The record ended up debuting in the top 20 of the Billboard 200 Albums Chart at No. 14 on February 12.
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NLE Choppa owned the figures on Twitter, claiming he was “Grateful” for everything despite critics’ opinions on his sales milestones.
“Big W, My first Album Sold 36K First Week And Is Now Currently GOLD,” he wrote. “This Is A Mixtape I’m Grateful For What I Have I’m In Competition With No One This Is Perfect For Me My Plaque Still Coming, Watch.”
Big W, My first Album Sold 36K First Week And Is Now Currently GOLD. This Is A Mixtape I’m Grateful For What I Have I’m In Competition With No One This Is Perfect For Me My Plaque Still Coming, Watch ? https://t.co/hpopdYvoYe
— NLE Choppa (@Nlechoppa1) February 2, 2022
For a frame of reference, two of the biggest first-week album sales projections in 2022 so far were generated by Gunna and The Weeknd. Back in January, Gunna and The Weeknd held down the No. 1 and No. 2 spots on the Billboard 200 with their DS4Ever and Dawn FM albums, which were both projected to sell over 150,00 units in the first week.
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