A$AP Rocky is starting the year off on top. The Harlem rapper lands at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with his debut Long.Live.A$AP.
Despite leaking a month in advance of its street date, the critically-acclaimed set sold 139,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan (via Billboard). It also becomes the first debut album to reach No. 1 since 2 Chainz’s Based On a T.R.U. Story opened atop the charts last September.
A grateful A$AP celebrated the news. “Having a #1 album is just crazy alone because we leaked a month early—a whole month,” he told MTV News. “That means that people just really wanted to support. It must mean that the proof is in the pudding and people appreciate art again. I’m just thankful, man.”
The album features the single “Fuckin’ Problems” with Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and 2 Chainz, which remains in the top 5 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It has sold 854,000 downloads to date.
Elsewhere on the chart, Bruno Mars’ Unorthodox Jukebox moves up 6-5 (39,000), while the Pitch Perfect soundtrack climbs 5-3 (45,000).