Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Music
Music

Worldboss: Jay-Z Sets Records With ‘Magna Carta Holy Grail’

Posted byBy Leo | Published on: CommentsComments (0)
wiki commons

It’s been a week since Jay-Z has officially released Magna Carta Holy Grail and the numbers are now in. Magna Carta debuted at No. 1  on the Billboard charts extending Jay’s record to 13 consecutive No. 1 releases.

That puts him only behind The Beatles, who are at 19. The album moved 527,000 units according to Neilsen Soundscan, and remember that was after he gave away a million units for free.

According to the washingtonpost.com:

“Jay-Z’s new album has sold more than 500,000 units its first week. Nielsen SoundScan said late Tuesday preliminary data shows that “Magna Carta Holy Grail” moved about 527,000 copies. It will debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart this week..

“‘Magna Carta’ has the second-best first-week debut of the year after Justin Timberlake’s ‘20/20 Experience.’  The album features Timberlake, Beyonce, Frank Ocean and Timbaland.”

And those aren’t the only records Hov set. He apparently also set records on Spotify as well.

As reported by usatoday.com:

“The biggest first week in Spotify history. It enjoyed more than 14 million streams in the USA — more than recent releases by Mumford & Sons, Daft Punk and Jay’s buddies and colleagues Kanye West and Justin Timberlake.”

Magna Carta Holy Grail’s No. 1 debut was not only record-breaking for Jay-Z, but for rap music as a genre.

As reported on billboard.com:

“Magna Carta Holy Grail” follows three consecutive weeks of rap albums taking turns at No. 1. First, Kanye West’s “Yeezus” topped the list, giving way to Wale’s “The Gifted“ the following week.

“Then last week, Wale stepped aside to grant J. Cole’s “Born Sinner” a turn at the top. Now, with “Magna Carta’s” No. 1 debut, it marks the first time that four different rap albums have consecutively spent their initial week at No. 1.

“We last had three in a row between Sept. 3-24, 2011. That’s when Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Watch the Throne,” the Game’s “The R.E.D. Album” and Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter IV,” all spent their initial weeks at No. 1.’

So although some critics may not have loved album, which I think shows a lack of understanding.

We can point to one Jay-Z’s favorite quotes in this instance: “Men lie, women lie, but numbers don’t.”

Stay tuned as we break down the numbers.

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top