Cardi B is about to invade the charts. According to early projections, her debut album Invasion of Privacy will top the Billboard 200 in its first week with 160-210,000 equivalent album units.
This could be a major milestone. If she opens at No. 1, Cardi B will be the fifth female rapper to top the Billboard 200. Nicki Minaj did it twice as a solo artist with 2012’s Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded and 2011’s Pink Friday.
Foxy Brown also did it twice, but only once as a solo artist. She achieved this feat with 1999’s Chyna Doll and 1997’s The Firm with Nas, AZ, and Nature. Eve (1999’s Let There Be Eve… Ruff Ryders’ First Lady) and Lauryn Hill (The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill) also reached the pinnacle position.
Invasion of Privacy went gold before it was even released. Billboard reports that the project surpassed 500,000 units earned due to a technicality.
The fact that “Bodak Yellow” is 5x-platinum certainly helped with this result. Ten track units equal one album sale, according to Chart Data. That means the five million units earned translates to 500,000 units for Invasion of Privacy. Additionally, “Bartier Cardi” is also a platinum smash. The 21 Savage-assisted song peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Still, the album’s gold status will not impact her first-week figures. Only the units earned during the album’s first week will be part of that tabulation.
Cardi B unleashed Invasion of Privacy on Friday featuring SZA, Chance the Rapper, Kehlani, YG, Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and more.
To celebrate the album’s release, Professor Cardi is taking fans to school with Spotify. She stars in a hilarious commercial for the streaming service, in which she teaches a choir to make her signature sound effects and mimic her “Get Up 10” flow. Owww!