Young Thug scored his third No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as “Punk”, debuts in the top spot, knocking off Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy.”
Billboard reports that “Punk” reached the top of the chart after amassing 90,000 equivalent album units. 77,000 of those came from SEA units, equalling 102 million on-demand streams of the album’s tracks. 12,000 accounted for pure album sales.
Projections from earlier in the week had “Punk” in a tight race for the top place with Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy.”
In the end, Drake took the second spot with 83,000 units sold after Drake spent four non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 chart. “CLB” has spent a total of 7 weeks on the chart and is yet to drop below No.2.
Young Thug may have softened the blow with his choice of birthday gift for the 6 God, who turned 35 this weekend. Thug gifted Drake a custom double-sided chain with the OVO emblem on one side and an image of Drake’s son, Adonis on the other.
Thugger must have been feeling generous this weekend as 21 Savage also received his own one-of-a-kind gift from Young Thug. He gifted 21 a custom TRX truck with “21 Savage” emblazoned on the side and decorated with knives.
Young Thug & Elton John
Earlier this week, Young Thug’s collaboration with Elton John and Nicki Minaj, “Always Love You”, was released.
Elton had praised Young Thug’s ability to freestyle. He revealed to Billboard:
“I mean, I’ve seen Marshall [Mathers] do it in Detroit, but I’ve never seen someone like Thug come in and do that,” Elton explained. “In the end, I had to leave because I think he felt a bit intimidated that I was there and I just wanted him to relax. But it’s just an amazing moment in my musical life… I have no understanding of how rap records are put together and it’s fascinating to watch.”