MORGAN WALLEN

Young Thug’s ‘Business Is Business’ Debuted Behind Morgan Wallen’s ‘One Thing At A Time’ On The ‘Billboard’ 200

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Young Thug came close to doing what only Taylor Swift has managed to (briefly) do since March 18: Unseat Morgan Wallen’s One Thing At A Time from No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

On July 8, Billboard released its latest albums chart, and One Thing At A Time notched its 15th nonconsecutive week at No. 1 as Wallen nears Adele’s record-most 24 total No. 1 weeks on the Billboard 200 with 21 from 2011-12. As it stands, Wallen’s One Thing At A Time already has the most No. 1 weeks by any album since the aforementioned run from Adele, as per the publication. Tthe only interruption was Swift’s Midnights on the June 10 and June 17 charts.

Young Thug will have to settle for a No. 2 debut (89,000 equivalent album units) for his album Business Is Business, which he released while he’s still imprisoned and awaiting trial. Young Thug and other YSL members were arrested in May 2022 on a 56-count indictment, including RICO charges.

Uproxx‘s Aaron Williams reviewed Business Is Business and its deluxe counterpart, both executive produced by Metro Boomin.

“Although incarceration isn’t the same as death, the album’s compilation of old verses and guest appearances makes it feel almost cobbled together the way some notable posthumous releases have been and raises the question of how much of this was what Thug actually wanted versus how much of it was just feasible over the past few months,” Williams wrote.

He added, “As it stands, the project is a testament to the value of sequencing and an emblem of what the music world might lose if Young Thug loses his case.”

As for Thug’s No. 2 debut, Billboard explained why he shouldn’t feel bad about it, noting that Wallen’s One Thing At A Time “has blocked” 10 prior albums from sniffing the No. 1 spot and forced a No. 2 debut, including Ed Sheeran’s – (Subtract), Niall Horan’s The Show, Jimin’s Face, and Agust D’s D-Day. If it stays at No. 2 or below, Business Is Business will become the 11th album on that list.

See more Billboard 200 chart statistics below.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

“BUSINESS IS BUSINESS” First Week Sales Projections: Young Thug Up Against Morgan Wallen For No. 1

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Even from his cell in Cobb County, Young Thug is still running laps around the music industry. This past New Music Friday (June 23), the Atlanta-based artist dropped BUSINESS IS BUSINESS, his first LP since 2021’s Punk. He connected with several familiar faces on the tracklist, though fans seem to be enjoying Drake and 21 Savage’s various contributions the most so far. Others who appear throughout the 15-song effort include Future, Lil Uzi Vert, and Travis Scott.

On Monday (June 26), HDD unveiled their first week sales projections for Thugger’s album. His last project managed to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling a total of 90K. The 31-year-old’s latest work is likely to top that based on today’s estimate. BUSINESS IS BUSINESS could move anywhere from 95 – 110K album-equivalent units, giving it a strong shot at topping the charts. However, he’ll have some serious competition for country star Morgan Wallen.

Read More: 21 Savage Proves He Doesn’t Miss On Young Thug’s “Want Me Dead”: Stream

Young Thug Could Have Dropped Hip-Hop’s First No. 1 Album OTY

The embattled crooner‘s One Thing At A Time is in the midst of a 12-week run as we move into summer, and it won’t be long now before we find out if Thug has the chops to beat him. Of course, Wallen isn’t the only competition that the So Much Fun hitmaker’s highly anticipated LP was up against – Coi Leray shared her sophomore effort, and Boosie Badazz celebrated his release from jail with new music as well.

Young Thug’s decision to drop an album this past weekend isn’t entirely surprising seeing as Gunna’s a Gift & a Curse arrived the Friday before. While the latter went the featureless route and sold a total of 83K, the YSL leader’s decision to work with names like Drake and Travis Scott on BUSINESS IS BUSINESS prove to be working in his favour in terms of racking up streams – and potentially the No. 1 spot. Which of the two albums do you prefer? Let us know in the comments, and read what others have been saying at the link below.

Read More: Young Thug Versus Gunna: Which Album Is Better? Twitter Debates

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Lil Durk Suggests A Collab Album With Morgan Wallen

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Lil Durk is someone who has done a lot in the music industry. Overall, he has become one of the biggest artists in all of hip-hop. Although, this is a fairly unlikely journey. Durk came up during the Chicago drill phase of the early 2010s. Many of the artists who helped birth the movement, unfortunately, haven’t seen the same success as Durk. Moreover, some of them died due to gang violence. Ultimately, this has made Durk a particularly unique voice in the hip-hop world.

He has been around a lot of violence throughout his life, and he has no issues with speaking on that with his music. For instance, on his latest album Almost Healed, Durk delivers an introspective view of his life and what he has been through. Fans have been loving this album, and the sales reflect that fact. However, it seems as though Lil Durk is already looking ahead. For instance, he recently said he would be making shorter albums from here on out.

Read More: Lil Durk Says He’s Done With Long Albums

Lil Durk x Morgan Wallen

Today, he took to Instagram where he suggested that he might be interested in doing a project with none other than Morgan Wallen. Of course, these two have already collaborated together in the past. They have two tracks together, “Broadway Girls” and “Stand By Me.” Although Wallen has had a racist controversy in the past, Lil Durk has stood by him. While some fans are confused by it, others are interested in a collaborative effort between these two.

As it stands, Wallen is one of the biggest artists in America. His albums and songs always seem to be near the top of the charts. With Durk’s charting success, this would be a commercial slam dunk. Let us know what you think of the idea, in the comments section below. Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for more news and updates from around the music world.

Read More: Lil Durk Wants To Hold The “Largest Prayer In Chicago”

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Lil Durk Breaks His Own Record With “Almost Healed” Chart Debut

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Lil Durk has achieved another significant sales milestone in his rapidly growing career. His latest album, Almost Healed, has made an incredibly strong debut at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. According to Billboard, the album entered the chart at No. 3 in its first week, accumulating 125,000 album-equivalent units. Out of this total, 122,000 units were generated from 167.82 million on-demand official streams. The other 3,000 units came from track equivalent albums and pure album sales. This achievement marks the highest-selling week for Lil Durk as a solo artist. It surpassed the already impressive performance of his previous album, 7220, which opened with 120,500 units in March of last year.

However, this still does not surpass Lil Durk’s most successful project. The rapper’s most successful commercial project to date remains his joint album with Lil Baby, The Voice of the Heroes. That album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with an impressive 150,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. Still, the new album is an impressive showing from the rapper. In addition to his spot on the Billboard 200, Lil Durk is anticipated to make a significant impact on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week. All 21 tracks from Almost Healed are projected to land on the chart, according to Talk of the Charts. The song “Stand By Me,” featuring Morgan Wallen, is expected to have the highest debut. Currently, Durk’s collaboration with J. Cole on “All My Life” holds a spot in the top 10.

Lil Durk Gives Back

Lil Durk has made no secret of his desire to do good recently. Whether it’s for his fans or the community, he wants to give back. In a heartwarming gesture towards his devoted fan base, Durk demonstrated his generosity by reaching out to a homeless fan. The fan had gained attention for watching the “All My Life” music video using a projector inside a tent. As such, Durk wanted to make a positive and lasting impact on the fan’s life. To say thank you, the rapper provided him with a hotel room for 30 days. Additionally, he gave him a mobile phone, gift cards, and an undisclosed amount of cash.

Durk expressed his intentions during an Instagram Live video while driving around Los Angeles. In the video, he stated, “I want to do something real special. I got kindness in my heart, right?” Then, he located the homeless man and approached him in person. “You know you were playing the video on the screen, ‘All My Life.’ You know that’s me featuring J. Cole?” Durk said to the man. “So look, I got you a room for 30 days, I’ma give you a couple of dollars, I’ma give you gift cards, and I’ma give you a phone for showing support.” Stay tuned to HNHH for the latest updates on Durk and all things hip-hop.

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Lil Durk’s ‘7220’ Tracklist Features Gunna, Summer Walker, Future, And Morgan Wallen

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At the end of this week, Lil Durk will release his first solo project in a little over a year. The Chicago rapper’s seventh album, 7220, is set to arrive this Friday, and it serves as his follow-up to 2020’s The Voice. In the almost 15 months between these works, Durk has remained fairly active, working with artists like Drake, DJ Khaled, Nardo Wick, Meek Mill, and more. He even teamed up with Lil Baby for their joint album Voice Of The Heroes. But now time for Durk to shine on his own.

With just a few days left until 7220 arrives, Durk took a moment to unveil its tracklist. Listeners will be able to enjoy 17 tracks, including the previously released singles “AHHH HA,” “Pissed Me Off,” and “Broadway Girls.” The album will also feature guest appearances from Future, Gunna, Summer Walker, and Morgan Wallen.

Durk recently joined Lucky Daye for “NWA,” which will appear on Daye’s sophomore album, Candy Drip, which also drops on Friday.

You can view the cover art for 7220 above and its tracklist below.

1. “Started From”
2. “Headtaps”
3. “AHHH HA”
4. “Shootout” @ My Crib
5. “Golden Child”
6. “No Interviews”
7. “Petty Too” Feat. Future
8. “Barbarian”
9. “What Happened To Virgil” Feat. Gunna
10. “Grow Up / Keep It On Speaker”
11. “Smoking & Thinking”
12. “Blocklist”
13. “Difference Is” Feat. Summer Walker
14. “Federal Nightmares”
15. “Love Dior Banks”
16. “Pissed Me Off”
17. “Broadway Girls” Feat. Morgan Wallen

7220 is out 3/11 via Alamo Records/Sony Music Entertainment. You can pre-save it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Jason Isbell Criticized Morgan Wallen’s Surprise Appearance On The Grand Ole Opry

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Morgan Wallen had a strange 2021. He was very commercially successful as his second album Dangerous: The Double Album was the most popular album of the year. However, he was also caught on camera using the N word, a moment that evoked tons of backlash from mainstream critics. In one of his first interviews since the incident, Wallen called his use of the slur “playful,” but has also said a number of times that it was wrong for him to say it and apologized. Since Dangerous is the first album to stay at No. 1 on the Billboard charts for eight weeks in over a decade, it’s clear that Wallen still has plenty of listeners despite the misstep.

But others aren’t so quick to forgive him. When Wallen made a surprise appearance on the Grand Ole Opry this weekend, when an artist he’s collaborated and written with, Ernest, was performing. Ernest is a co-writer on Wallen’s “More Than My Hometown” hit, and the pair recently released the collaboration “Flower Shops,” so naturally, Ernest invited Wallen to perform that tune with him on the Opry stage. While the Opry itself seemed to welcome the surprise, others artists criticized the institution for tacitly co-signing Wallen. Jason Isbell, in particular, has spoken out about the situation. Early on, Wallen covered Isbell’s incredible song, “Cover Me Up,” so naturally Jason feels the need to speak out, and he even donated all the proceeds from Wallen’s version to the NAACP.

“Last night @opry you had a choice- either upset one guy and his ‘team,’ or break the hearts of a legion of aspiring Black country artists,” Isbell wrote. “You chose wrong and I’m real sad for a lot of my friends today. Not surprised though. Just sad. The thing that really upsets me is bigger than one person’s words. It’s the idea of a young Black artist walking into that venue and wondering if ANYBODY is on their side. What a lot of us consider to be a grand ole honor can be terrifying for some. Doesn’t have to be that way.”

Other artists like Joy Oladokun and Alison Russell, who performs as Outside Child, also shared their frustration and sadness over Wallen’s appearance:

A group called the Black Opry, founded by Holly G and described as “a home for Black artists and Black fans of country, blues, folk, and Americana music” also issued an open letter to the Opry about the incident. You can check that out in full below.

Lil Durk Vouches For His ‘Broadway Girls’ Collaborator Morgan Wallen: ‘He Ain’t No Racist’

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Country star Morgan Wallen’s recent controversy regarding a certain racial slur didn’t deter him from collaborating with one of Chicago’s biggest rappers, Lil Durk, for a song that quickly rose on the charts, “Broadway Girls.” Apparently, now that he’s gotten a taste of rap collab success, Wallen wants to expand his pool of coworkers to include Kendrick Lamar — a sentiment with which Durk agrees 100 percent.

TMZ caught up to the Windy City drill rap pioneer recently, asking him about the controversy surrounding Wallen. Durk vouched for his collaborator, saying, “Nah, he ain’t no racist. That’s my boy. We had a long talk—he had his public situation, we had [a talk] behind closed doors, and I’ll vouch for him and he good.” When asked whether Wallen should be “uncanceled,” Durk was adamant that he never was. “He ain’t canceled,” he asserted. He also agrees that Kendrick should collaborate with Wallen.

The numbers certainly seem to bear out that sentiment (remember, kids, no one is ever really canceled, that’s just a buzzword and a red herring). Wallen topped several Billboard year-end charts despite the kerfuffle, and his fans even rented billboards to request forgiveness for him. If Kendrick did decide to accept Wallen’s collaboration invitation, it would almost certainly result in some impressive sales figures, if nothing else.

Watch Durk’s interview with TMZ above.