The late DMX achieves a 10th top 10 album on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart as Exodus debuts at No. 4. The album, released on May 28 via Def Jam Recordings, arrives with 32,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending May 3, according to MRC Data.
Exodus is the first posthumous LP for DMX, born Earl Simmons, who died in April at age 50. The 13-song album is packed with guest appearances, including contributions from Jay-Z, Nas, Alicia Keys and Bono, among others.
As noted above, Exodus secures DMX’s 10th top 10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Here is a look at his updated top-10 collection, which includes seven No. 1s:
Album Title, Peak Positon, Peak Date
It’s Dark and Hell is Hot, No. 1 (two weeks), June 6, 1998
Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood, No. 1 (four weeks), Jan. 9, 1999
…And Then There Was X, No. 1 (two weeks), Jan. 8, 2000
The Great Depression, No. 1 (one week), Nov. 10, 2001
Grand Champ, No. 1 (one week), Oct. 4, 2003
Year of the Dog…Again, No. 1 (one week), Aug. 19, 2006
The Definition of X: Pick of the Litter, No. 7, June 30, 2007
Undisputed, No. 2, Sept. 29, 2012
The Best of DMX, No. 1 (one week), April 24, 2021
Exodus, No. 4, June 12, 2021
Elsewhere, Exodus debuts at No. 4 on the Top Rap Albums chart and at No. 8 on the all-genre Billboard 200.
Two of the album’s songs sold enough copies to enter the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart. “Bath Salts,” featuring Jay-Z and Nas, opens at No. 8 thanks to its 2,400 downloads in the week ending May 3, while “That’s My Dog,” featuring The Lox and Swizz Beats, begins at No. 22 with 1,100 in sales.
“Bath Salts” also leads all Exodus songs in streaming, with 4.5 million on-demand U.S. streams.
Activity surrounding Exodus and its songs help DMX re-enter at No. 26 on the Billboard Artist 100, which ranks artist popularity through four music consumption metrics — album sales, track sales, radio airplay, streaming — and social media fan interaction. He previously reached a No. 2 best on the chart in April, following widespread fan activity in the wake of his death.
