Tekashi 6ix9ine spent weeks bagging on other artists for their low album sales but got a rude awakening when his TattleTales album’s first-week sales projections dropped from roughly 150,000 to 45,000. Subsequently, the project debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart this week as Big Sean’s Detroit 2 album soared to the No. 1 spot.
Interestingly enough, even older albums from two late rappers — Pop Smoke and Juice Wrld — outsold the brash Brooklyn rapper. According to Billboard, Pop’s posthumous release Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon landed at No. 2 while Juice Wrld’s Legends Never Die settled in at No. 3.
This week's top 5 on the #Billboard200:
1. @BigSean Detroit 2 (debut)
2. @POPSMOKE10 Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon
3. @JuiceWorlddd Legends Never Die
4. @6ix9ine TattleTales (debut)
5. @taylorswift13 Folklore— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) September 14, 2020
Pop’s Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon was initially released on July 3, five months after he was murdered at a Hollywood Hills home. With the help of 50 Cent, his debut effort was able to come to fruition and made its grand entrance at No. 1 with approximately 251,000 total album equivalent units sold in its first week.
Meanwhile, Juice Wrld’s third studio album dropped on July 10, seven months after he suffered a fatal seizure at the Chicago Midway Airport. The 22-track effort also entered the chart at No. 1 with over 497,000 total album equivalent units sold in its first week.
Seventeen of the album’s songs charted on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending July 25, with five entries in the Top 10 — “Come & Go,” “Wishing Well,” “Conversations,” “Life’s A Mess” and “Hate the Other Side,” the third artist next to The Beatles and Drake to achieve this feat.
Although 6ix9ine’s TattleTale album was originally expected to debut in the coveted spot, Billboard reportedly disqualified over 100,000 streams that were wrapped up in bundles. But Billboard says they actually were counted; the album simply didn’t sell well.