Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape is the first rap album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2023.
The outlet broadcasted the top 10 projects on their most recent Billboard 200 chart on Monday (July 10th), disclosing that Uzi’s third studio album earned the No. 1 spot. Pink Tape grossed about 167,000 album-equivalent units, making it the largest week for any hip-hop or R&B album this year so far.
This achievement has put an end to the most extensive gap between No. 1 rap albums in almost 30 years. According to Billboard, the last rap album to reach No. 1 was Metro Boomin’s Heroes and Villains in December 2022. Metro Boomin gave the Philly native praise yesterday on his Instagram story by sharing the report, tagging them with an additional handshake emoji. Shortly after, Uzi reposted it to their story.
Uzi delivered their long-awaited album on Sunday, June 30 with features such as Travis Scott, Nicki Minaj, Snow Strippers, Bring Me The Horizon, Don Toliver, and BABYMETAL. The hit single “Just Wanna Rock,” which debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, is included in the 26-track project. Nonetheless, this song has been simultaneously hyping up the album throughout the year and it certainly has done a great job doing so.
Back in March, Uzi spoke candidly about Pink Tape’s recording process with TMZ. “It was challenging at first. But then after probably after a month, I got used to it,” they stated. “I thought that my creative process wasn’t going to be the same because I wasn’t on drugs no more. It was the same. Even better. Because I could think more clear and I could actually, like, instead of my words slurring, which is kinda of cool, everything made sense. I didn’t just make random music. How can I say? I didn’t play off the beat. I actually made song with topics this time.”