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Youngboy Never Broke Again Wears Elite 100 Crown
Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File – NBA Youngboy
NBA YoungBoy performs at the Lil’ WeezyAna Fest at Champions Square in New Orleans in 2018.
Youngboy Never Broke Again (previously known as NBA Youngboy) is all grown up on the Elite 100 Artists chart, as he has earned the top slot for the week ending Oct. 17.
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Youngboy released his latest album, Al Youngboy 2, Oct. 11, and his strongest category by a mile was on-demand streams, of which he logged 189.5 million. He led the chart in that category, and it was enough to get him to a 162,700 total album units for the week.
He was on tour with Kevin Gates earlier this year, playing United Center in Chicago June 22 and Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore July 12. He also played festival sets at JMBLYA in Austin and Dallas, and the flagship Rolling Loud in Miami this year.
The rapper was the target of a drive-by shooting in Miami prior to his appearance at Rolling Loud, but according to the Miami Herald he refused to cooperate with police. He was later temporarily jailed for violating his parole, and according to XXL he is currently under house arrest.
The young rapper has had a series of legal encounters, having also been arrested on disorderly conduct charges in Atlanta in February. He was also arrested for kidnapping and weapons charges last year, and prior to that was sentenced to probation for participation in a drive-by shooting.
Still, Youngboy Never Broke Again’s numbers prove he has built a substantial following and many are listening as he continues to tell his story through his albums and mixtapes. His live numbers are also the real deal, as he reported three grosses of more than $100,000 last year, each with attendances in the 2,200 range, meaning tickets were not cheap.
Wale comes in at No. 18 with 41,400 total album units after the release of Wow… That’s Crazy. His routing includes a play at Rolling Loud Los Angeles in December.
Further down the chart, Babymetal enters at No. 38, leading the chart in album sales, with 26,800.
The all-female metal-idol trio logged 28,100 units for the week, after the Oct. 11 release of METAL GALAXY. Having opened for the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Guns N’ Roses, Babymetal has already played huge stages.
The group entered new realms in the U.S. when it reported a gross of $419,955 for its show at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Oct. 11. Most of Babymetal’s grosses do not approach that range, but the group did report multiple shows above $100,000 in 2019.
The Japanese idols next head for Europe in February.
Cody Jinks hopped onto the list at No. 53, with album sales being his strongest metric, with 14,500 for the week. He also sold 7,600 songs and logged 9 million on-demand streams once he dropped After the Fire Oct. 11.
The country star took the bold strategy of releasing two albums back-to-back, so look for him again on next week’s chart after the Oct. 18 release of The Wanting.
Jinks is in Texas this week, with shows in Fredericksburg Oct. 25 and Nacogdoches Oct. 26. After that he is in theaters until mid-November.
Right below him on the chart at No. 54 is Hillsong Worship, which released Awake on Oct. 11. The group had a healthy blend of album sales (10,700), song sales (7,500) and on-demand streams (12.8 million) for a total of 23,100.
Hillsong United, one of the many touring groups carrying the Hillsong name, recently reported its full arena tour through the U.S. in 2019. The grosses mostly ranged from around $200,000 to 500,000 to mostly packed houses of 6,000 to 10,000.
Hillsong Worship/Casting Crowns is scheduled to take in arenas throughout the U.S. in November.
One newcomer on the chart is
Next week’s chart will include data for new releases from Gucci Mane, Jim James, G-Eazy, Cody Jinks, Third Eye Blind, Foals, Kash Doll, Jimmy Eat World, Joey Trap, Black Moon, and Chris Janson.
Also be on the lookout for new projects from Kanye West (after his album release got pushed back), Grace Potter, Van Morrison, Old Dominion, FKA Twigs, Allison Moorer, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Cigarettes After Sex, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Muffs, and Rex Orange County.