After a breakout year in 2020, Lil Durk begins 2021 with a new achievement as he captures his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with his album The Voice. The set climbs from No. 2 on the chart dated Jan. 16.
The Voice, released Dec. 24, debuted at No. 13 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums due to having one day of activity for the album tracking week cycle, which runs Friday-Thursday. Still, on that single day, the album generated 23,000 equivalent album units, according to MRC Data.
After its first full tracking week (ending Dec. 31), The Voice raced 13-2 on the chart with 66,000 equivalent album units. In its third week, The Voice reaches No. 1 despite a drop to 48,000 equivalent album units, down 28% from the prior week.
With Voice, Lil Durk attains his first No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart after three previous runner-up finishes. The Chicago-bred rapper debuted and peaked at No. 2 with 2015’s Remember My Name and 2019’s Love Songs 4 The Streets 2, while last year’s Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 debuted at No. 5 in May and rallied to a No. 2 best in July after the release of a deluxe addition with seven additional tracks.
Streaming makes up virtually all of The Voice’s chart activity this week, with 47,000 units deriving from streams of the album’s tracks, with the remaining units split between traditional album sales and downloads of the album’s songs from digital retailers.
Elsewhere, The Voice likewise becomes Lil Durk’s first leader on the Top Rap Albums chart and climbs 3-2 on the all-genre Billboard 200, behind only Taylor Swift’s Evermore.
Seven of the album’s songs have reached the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, led by “Still Trappin’,” a collaboration with the late Chicago rapper King Von, which debuted at No. 15 on last week’s list (Jan. 9) after the project’s first full tracking week. The partnership has special significance, as Lil Durk dedicated the entire Voice album to King Von, who was killed in Atlanta in November at age 26. In its second week on the list, “Trappin’” slides 15-19.
In addition, new Voice cuts “Backdoor” (No. 18), “Redman” (No. 24), “Refugee” (No. 31) and “Death Ain’t Easy” (No. 34) also made their first entrance on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in the previous week. Plus, the album’s single “Stay Down,” with 6lack and Young Thug, returned to a new peak of No. 26, while the title track revisited the chart at No. 39.
Beyond his Voice work, Lil Durk also nabs two more concurrent hits on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs by assisting other acts. His guest spot on Pooh Shiesty’s “Back in Blood” helps the track re-enter the list at No. 31, its best showing yet, while Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later,” on which Lil Durk features, holds at No. 3. The latter maintains its remarkably steady showing, having debuted at No. 2 on the chart in August and having yet to depart the chart’s top three positions, including a six-week stay at No. 1 in November – December.
