After a myriad of setbacks, Kanye West finally unleashed his ninth studio album ‘Jesus Is King’ yesterday (October 25th).
The rapper has long marched to the beat of his own drum, as such the Gospel-flavored set wasn’t preceded by a slew of music videos or a pronounced press run. Instead, it was paired with a short film screened exclusively in IMAX theaters worldwide.
Still, for all the excitement, a cloud of uncertainty hung over the LP’s commercial viability – given how at odds West’s behaviour, utterances, and political affiliations seem to be with his arguable core audience.
Well, it looks as though any doubt has been dispelled. Because the first week sales predictions are here and deliver an emphatic answer.
Details below…
According to Hits Daily Double, ‘Jesus Is King’ looks set to top the Billboard 200 with the following numbers:
225,000-275,000
[Sales Plus Streaming]
***********
60,000-85,000
[Pure Sales]
**********
Impressive, all things considered. Sure it’s a far cry for Kanye’s heyday, but so are sales across the board. These numbers, should they hold, actually represent an upward trend in performance, as they’d best the 208k debut of last year’s ‘Ye’ project.
Digging into the digits, the streaming-to-sales ratio points to a number of interesting points.
The first, and perhaps most apparent, is that Kanye has managed to do what so few veterans have pulled off – which is to be fully in and of the streaming era. Many a solid album have been arriving D.O.A due to a lack of streaming presence in the midst of a shrinking pure sales market.
From our vantage point, West’s savvy play of conjuring up a project of 11 short tracks (most of which average 2 minutes) plays to today’s fast paced consumption patterns and lends itself repeated plays and thus higher streaming points.
What’s more, it seems there is indeed a degree of potency in his drumming up of headlines. Because, despite frequenting the negative end of media reporting (and consequently public opinion), it seems that exact brand of notoriety has created a curiosity that has many (even his fiercest critics) rushing to play his album on streaming services. Which, in today’s marketplace actually helps his cause.
He still has his work cut out for him, though. Because, as ‘Ye’ proved, debuting with high numbers is one feat – sustaining the sales longterm is another. That project capped off around the 500,000 mark domestically after a year and half with almost 50% of its total sales to-date coming from its premiere week. So, in order for ‘Jesus Is King’ to have legs, he’ll need to cultivate a better strategy.
Enough from us, though. What are…
Told yall.
The public will always eat up what kanye serves even if its trash.
The name kanye is enough to sell atleast 100k first week.
White boys who want to be black
College kids
Woke crowd
Art crowd
stoners
White Christian moms who watch keeping up with the Kardashians
This is his demographic. He don need black community to buy his stuff.
Basically, all the idiots of America; racist whites that love them a good lil ni@@er that will scrape and bow for them, and self hating blacks that don’t want to p*** off whitey. And the gag is that this album will free fall next week.
Front loaded tho cuz he never ends up selling over 700k in the long run
Exactly!!!!
You are a moron.
Stoners? Try again b****!
No Lie the album is actually good…SMH it just crazy where he stands at times. From his earlier music he was on top and respected yet after his mother’s passing everything since then has gone astray from his greatness in terms of mindset, reputation, and contradicting social issues in favor of a opposing side towards good.
My jaw literally dropped
I cannot believe even after all the shenanigans this fool still pulled these kind of numbers
I’m not, at all. Trump supporters will throw their entire weight behind anyone who supports that clown, no matter who it is.
Exactly.
Lmao! I just knew I was going to see 90k but wow! I’m impressed!
Most people who bought or streamed the album did it out of curiosity.
They were curious about what a gospel album from kanye would sound like so they bought or streamed the album.
Curiosity sells albums.
???
He’s been selling millions of albums forever. Something that Camicky will never acheive
No one is curious to even stream Camickys flops lmfaoooooo
All female albums to reach #1 in 100 countries on iTunes (in order):
#1. Prism (100)
#2. BEYONCÉ (113)
#3. 1989 (100)
#4. 25 (114)
#5. Lemonade (108)
#6. reputation (114)
#7. Camila (109)
#8. Sweetener (101)
#9. Lover (100)
Queen Camila at number 7
Camila did this with her debut album.
None of the pop girls on this list achieved this with their debut album except Camila.
Bow down bìtches.
Normani will not have a debut album, she will release an EP or a mix tape . Lol
Camila is not a Queen, with one album. Let’s see that sophomore album. ?
The album is dope, can’t stop listening.
There is no way on this Earth that any celebrity‘s foolish antics that lend them to the “negative end of media reporting” are ever going to make me “curious” enough to rush and play their album. People today are too gullible, too susceptible to FOMO and too caught up in the sensationalist spectacle to stand alone and make decisions based on talent and merit. FOH will I ever spin this freak or the next celebrity car crashes album. ? NO ‘MAM
Thank God there are a few intelligent self thinkers like you left in this crazy world!!!
I’m not surprised.
1) Male rap artists dominate streaming.
2) As you guys stated in the article, 50 percent of his total sales from his last project came from his opening week.
3) Kanye is still one of the biggest stars in hip hop.
4) His open support of Trump gained him a whole new fanbase over the last few years.
5) His weekly Sunday ‘spiritual gatherings’ the last few months served as his promotion. It paid off.
His fan base isn’t majority black so I could careless ??
Congrats Koonye
Still no match for Lil Kim’s latest album sales.
Lol
The album is actually good say what you want but he always delivers regardless ??♂️
Ugh I hate y’all. I wish I got rewarded for acting ignorant.
Stream/download Lil Kim ‘9’ instead ?
So many people were dragging Michelle Williams for recording both mainstream and gospel music.
Nobody is saying sh!t to Kanye, what a double standard.
Not counting he asked his staff to not have s** before mariage… like WTF Who the hell do you think you are ? Mind your own looney life, just as if he wasn’t fu<king left and right, what a hypocrite.
And he announced he’s gonna stop performing his old music. That’s a big ?? at his fanbase because that « old music » got him to where he is now.
Sᴛᴀʀᴛ ᴡᴏʀᴋɪɴɢ ғʀᴏᴍ ʜᴏᴍᴇ! Gʀᴇᴀᴛ ᴊᴏʙ ғᴏʀ sᴛᴜᴅᴇɴᴛs, sᴛᴀʏ-ᴀᴛ-ʜᴏᴍᴇ ᴍᴏᴍs ᴏʀ ᴀɴʏᴏɴᴇ ɴᴇᴇᴅɪɴɢ ᴀɴ ᴇxᴛʀᴀ ɪɴᴄᴏᴍᴇ… Yᴏᴜ ᴏɴʟʏ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ᴀ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴜᴛᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ ʀᴇʟɪᴀʙʟᴇ ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴇᴛ ᴄᴏɴɴᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ… Mᴀᴋᴇ $80 ʜᴏᴜʀʟʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴜᴘ ᴛᴏ $13000 ᴀ ᴍᴏɴᴛʜ ʙʏ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡɪɴɢ ʟɪɴᴋ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏᴛᴛᴏᴍ ᴀɴᴅ sɪɢɴɪɴɢ ᴜᴘ… Yᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ғɪʀsᴛ ᴄʜᴇᴄᴋ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅ ᴏғ ᴛʜɪs ᴡᴇᴇᴋ
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This is why he clowns Black people and supports white idiots. Cause they buy his music.
Comments like this say that all black people are the same and all white people are the same. When are we going to stop seeing people by their race and just see them as people and the person/s they are? Stop with all this.
Exactly. You can’t condemn racism by being a racist yourself. What is wrong with you people ?
At no point did I generalise or be racist. I merely quoted Kanye’s own words. Over the last 18-24 months, he said that the opinions of black people don’t matter but he listens to and cares about what his white fans think. He also tried to deny the extent of slavery by saying black people victimised themselves and enjoyed being enslaved against their own will. Kanye has disrespected his own culture and kind for years for headlines. He creates music that might be creative but in the process he alienates people, and clearly displays signs of mental illness. Aside from that he’s shown to be ignorant about black history and culturally appropriated religion for his music. And I’m the racist one/the one with issues? Do your f****** research and take several seats for your fat ass.
He doing better than his mentor JAY-Z!
Y’all love saying Ye is cancelled but somehow everything he drops sells out soooo somebody lying ??♂️
Cancel culture has been single-handedly canceled by Ye. Thank Gawd!
this dude is weird AF
i aint supporting this im sorry im not paying for Trump moves`1