Eminem Earns Ninth No. 1 Album with 'Kamikaze'

Shady is back on top.

Eminem earns his ninth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 as his surprise release Kamikaze debuts at No. 1. The project, which dropped without warning on Aug. 31, moved 434,000 equivalent album units in its first week. Of that total, 252,000 were in traditional album sales.

Those numbers easily surpass Eminem’s last album, Revival, which entered at No. 1 in Dec. 2017 with 267,000 units (197,000 in traditional sales).

Nine of the Detroit rapper’s major-label albums have hit No. 1 with the exception of his 1999 debut The Slim Shady LP, which debuted No. 2. The only act with more No. 1 debuts is JAY-Z, as all 14 of his albums opened in the top spot.

Additionally, Kamikaze earns the fourth-largest week for an album in 2018 following Drake’s Scorpion (732,000), Travis Scott’s Astroworld (537,000), and Post Malone’s beerbongs & bentleys (461,000).

Elsewhere in the top 10 this week, Scott’s Astroworld remains at No. 2 with 80,000 units, while Drake’s Scorpion holds at No. 3 with 79,000 units. Ariana Grande’s Sweetener falls 4-5 (56,000), Post Malone’s beerbongs & bentleys sits at No. 6 (51,000), and Nicki Minaj’s Queen slips 5-7 (47,000).

Billboard 200 Top 10

1. Eminem – Kamikaze – 434,000
2. Travis Scott – Astroworld – 80,000
3. Drake – Scorpion – 79,000
4. Troye Sivan – Bloom – 72,000
5. Ariana Grande – Sweetener – 56,000
6. Post Malone – beerbongs & bentleys – 51,000
7. Nicki Minaj – Queen – 47,000
8. BTS – Love Yourself: Answer – 44,000
9. Why Don’t We – 8 Letters – 44,000
10. Juice WRLD – Goodbye & Good Riddance – 38,000