Playboi Carti’s long-awaited debut album Die Litdebuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 after he surprised fans with the drop last week. The 19-track project pushed 61,000 equivalent album units in its first frame. Billboard reports that 5,000 of those units are from traditional album sales.
Ahead of Die Lit is Pink's Beautiful Trauma and Post Malone's Beerbongs & Bentleys. Billboard notes that Pink's effort charged from No. 83 to No. 2 thanks to an album sale/concert ticket package for the U.S. leg of her tour that went on sale May 11. Beerbongs & Bentleys, which had the biggest first-week debut of the year, retained its No. 1 spot once again. At three straight weeks, it's the longest reign at the top since Taylor Swift's 2017 album, Reputation.
Die Lit is a stacked follow up to Carti's 2017 self-titled mixtape. Its performance on the charts comes as no surprise considering its star-studded list of features that includes Nicki Minaj, Lil Uzi Vert, Skepta, Bryson Tiller, Chief Keef, Young Thug, and more. The album has already received mainstream critical acclaim.
Producer Pi’erre Bourne confirmed the project was finished back in March, but Carti announced its drop on May 10 with no official rollout or marketing ahead of time. He simply tweeted the announcement “* * CARTI ALBUM @ 12* +am ok !”
