XXXTentacion's second studio album, ?, has edged out Metallica's Hardwired… To Self-Destruct to earn the 20-year-old rapper his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
The Florida rapper achieved the top position largely on the strength of streaming numbers. Of the album's 131,000 total units, 106,000 were streaming equivalent albums, which translates to 159.4 million on-demand audio streams during its opening week. 20,000 of the total were from traditional album sales and 5,000 came from track equivalent album units.
The streaming numbers were so strong that XXXTentacion would have earned a No. 1 even if traditional album sales and track equivalent albums weren't counted. Metallica's Hardwired… To Self-Destruct came in at No. 2 with 65,000 total units. Black Panther: The Album charted at No. 3 with 53,000 total units, while Logic's Bobby Tarantino II fell from No. 1 to No. 4 in its second week with 47,000 total units. Migos' Culture II rounded out the top five with 45,000 total units.
? is now XXXTentacion's highest-charting project. His debut studio album 17 peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart in September 2017. The new project is comparatively more accessible than the dark sounds of 17, as he made clear in the intro: "This album is far different, far more versatile, far more uplifting than the last."
XXXTentacion's commercial success comes amid continued legal troubles. He is still awaiting trial for aggravated battery of his pregnant ex-girlfriend, as well as domestic battery by strangulation, false imprisonment, and witness-tampering. He was under house arrest until March 21 when a judge granted his request to be released so he could earn income from live performances.
