Last year, Hip-Hop fans were spoiled with major releases from Kanye West, Drake, J. Cole, Tyler, the Creator, Doja Cat, Baby Keem, and countless other artists. December saw everyone from fans to music critics proclaiming what they believed to be the best albums of the year, but there’s always one thing that always cuts through all of the rampant opinionated takes online: numbers.
And according to Complex, the official numbers from MRC Data — formerly known as Nielsen — are in. Many of the usual suspects, from Adele and Morgan Wallen to Drake and The Weeknd, are included in MRC’s roundups, but surprisingly, no album released by a Hip-Hop or R&B artist was big enough to earn the title of best-selling album of 2021.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images, Prince Williams/Wireimage/Getty Images, Kevin Winter/Getty Images, & Rich Polk/Getty Images
Although Hip-Hop and R&B were ultimately unable to crack into the top 10 best-selling albums of 2021, both genres were still able to do impressive numbers when it came to streaming, with artists such as Drake, Pop Smoke, Doja Cat, and The Weeknd leading the charge. When it came to the most popular songs of the year, Lil Nas X unsurprisingly managed to earn two placements on that list, and sensational Hip-Hop upstarts The Kid LAROI and Polo G were also able to make a big splash with their respective singles “Stay” and “Rapstar.”
Scroll down to check out MRC Data’s full 2021 stats for the top-performing albums (based on album-equivalent units), top-selling album, and top-streamed songs.
Top 10 Albums Of 2021 In U.S. By Total Equivalent Album Units
1. Morgan Wallen, Dangerous: The Double Album (3.226 million)
2. Olivia Rodrigo, Sour (2.856 million)
3. Drake, Certified Lover Boy (1.97 million)
4. Adele, 30 (1.936 million)
5. Pop Smoke, Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon (1.533 million)
6. Doja Cat, Planet Her (1.51 million)
7. The Kid LAROI, F*ck Love (1.505 million)
8. Justin Bieber, Justice (1.473 million)
9. Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia (1.403 million)
10. The Weeknd, After Hours (1.342 million)Top 10 Selling Albums Of 2021 In U.S. (Physical & Digital Sales Combined)
1. Morgan Wallen, Dangerous: The D1. Adele, 30 (1.464 million)
2. Taylor Swift, Red (Taylor’s Version) (621,000)
3. Olivia Rodrigo, Sour (557,000)
4. Taylor Swift, Evermore (529,000)
5. Taylor Swift, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (521,000)
6. Billie Eilish, Happier Than Ever (430,000)
7. Harry Styles, Fine Line (317,000)
8. Taylor Swift, Folklore (304,000)
9. Carrie Underwood, My Savior (293,000)
10. Morgan Wallen, Dangerous: The Double Album (288,000)Top 10 Most Streamed Songs Of 2021 In U.S. (On-Demand, Audio & Video Combined)
1. Dua Lipa, “Levitating” (804.71 million)
2. Olivia Rodrigo, “Drivers License” (761.58 million)
3. Olivia Rodrigo, “Good 4 U” (709.79 million)
4. Lil Nas X, “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” (684.9 million)
5. The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber, “Stay” (679.9 million)
6. The Weeknd & Ariana Grande, “Save Your Tears” (677.91 million)
7. Masked Wolf, “Astronaut in the Ocean” (609.9 million)
8. Doja Cat featuring SZA, “Kiss Me More” (599.1 million)
9. Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow, “Industry Baby” (597.8 million)
10. Polo G, “Rapstar” (572.96 million)
Steve Jennings/WireImage/Getty Images, Tim Mosenfelder/FilmMagic/Getty Images, & Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images
What do you think about these stats? Are you surprised that rap flopped against competing genres in terms of pure sales? Or are you shocked that any popular albums from 2021 didn’t even crack the top 10 (streaming and sales) albums of the year?
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