NEWS
Playboi Carti is having a moment. He managed to translate all the anticipation and buzz surrounding his album into a massive first week. MUSIC lived up to its lofty title by dominating the music conversation. It racked up impressive streaming numbers, and Hip Hop All Day likened its first week numbers to some of the biggest rap albums in recent memory. Here's the thing, though. MUSIC's numbers do not reflect its physical sales, and everyone, including Playboi Carti, is confused.
Hip Hop All Day reported that Carti's album moved 250K just from streaming units. They likened these healthy streaming numbers to blockbuster releases like UTOPIA by Travis Scott and WE DON'T TRUST YOU by Future and Metro Boomin. The account noted, however, that MUSIC's first week numbers fail to incorporate physical and bundle sales. Why? They've no idea. A fan asked Hip Hop All Day why such an obviously established metric would no unreported during its most important. The outlet responded. "Not a clue," it wrote. "They never report the sales like this, seems odd." Then, Playboi Carti responded. The rapper quote tweeted Hip Hop All Day and wrote: "IT IS ODD."
Playboi Carti is doing fine, of course. MUSIC is projected to debut at number one on Billboard 200, which would mark the biggest debut of his career. This album has absolutely dwarfed the albums and mixtapes that precede it, despite them all being hailed as classics. Carti is the rare artist who has sold increasingly more with each new release. His self-titled album sold 28K units first week, while Die Lit sold 61K. Then, the highly anticipated and highly influential Whole Lotta Red sold 100K units in 2020. Despite being such an enigmatic figure, it seems Playboi Carti's approach to releasing music is proving effective.
If physical sales and bundles were included, one can imagine that the first week numbers would be even more impressive. In this regard, it's easy to see why Carti is annoyed. Still, he's doing fine. In fact, MUSIC is on pace for a historical first three days. Hip Hop All Day claims the album amassed 139 million streams on Spotify during its first day, followed by 89.7 million streams its second day. The album is therefore on pace to achieve a top three biggest opening week of all time for a hip hop release.
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso honored Shyne with a key to the city during a ceremony held at the East Flatbush Young Men’s Mentorship Expo on Saturday. The recognition highlighted both his influence in hip hop and his contributions as a public figure and advocate. Reynoso also declared April 25, 2026 as “Shyne Day” in Brooklyn.
“Shyne embodies what is possible when a community believes in its young people, and the magic that can happen when young people are given the resources they need to thrive. East Flatbush raised Shyne, and it only made sense to present him with the Key to Brooklyn as we team up to deliver hope and opportunity to dozens of young men today,” Reynoso said at the event, as caught by BK Reader.
Shyne also addressed the crowd. “This is the community that raised me, and it’s important for me to pass that love forward,” he said. “There couldn’t be a better way to celebrate this milestone than coming back home and pouring into the next generation.” He also revealed that everyone in attendance would receive complimentary tickets to his 25th anniversary concert on May 2 at the Kings Theatre.
The show will mark 25 years since the release of his self titled debut studio album, which arrived on September 26, 2000. Even while Shyne was incarcerated at the time, the project debuted and reached number five on the Billboard 200 chart. It moved close to 160,000 units in its opening week.
Earlier this week, Shyne posted a video of himself standing outside the Kings Theatre on Instagram while promoting the upcoming performance. "Can’t wait to see you this Saturday, May 2 @kingsbklyn as we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Shyne Album…..the celebration will continue @crownhilltheatre where I will meet, take pictures and party with you, my loyal supporters, who’ve made Shyne a Rap Legend," he captioned the post. Fans filled the comments with fire emojis in response.
