Kingdom: Book One, the new collaborative LP from Atlanta-based Christian and gospel music collective Maverick City Music and Kirk Franklin, bounds in at No. 2 on Billboard‘s Top Christian Albums and Top Gospel Albums charts dated July 2.
In the tracking week ending June 23, Kingdom, released June 17, earned 8,000 equivalent album units, with 5,000 in album sales, according to Luminate.
The debut awards Maverick City Music its 13th top 10 on Top Gospel Albums and its sixth on Top Christian Albums. Franklin adds his 10th top 10 on the latter tally and his 16th on the former.
Kingdom includes features from acts including Dante Bowe, Brandon Lake, Chandler Moore, and Naomi Raine. It was recorded in March at Everglades Correctional Institution in Miami. The artists involved are hoping to build awareness of the levels of mass incarceration in the U.S.
Meanwhile, the set’s lead single, “Kingdom,” featuring Raine and Moore, climbs 9-7 on the Hot Gospel Songs chart and 23-17 on Hot Christian Songs, with 1.1 million U.S. streams in the tracking week.
The track is also being promoted to both Christian and gospel radio. It’s bubbling under the Gospel Airplay chart, led by plays on WEAM Columbus, Ga. (26 plays in the tracking week), WBZF Florence, S.C. (19), and WNRR Augusta, Ga. (18).
